Yesterday

Saving your bacon: healthy-eating policy evolves

Decades of messaging have not worked, so governments are trying new ways to get citizens to eat well, from scary labelling to taxing the junkiest foods. Will it work? The death of a plague researcher in Russia is made more mysterious by the government’s resolute lack of transpare ... Show More

24m 42s

Oct 8

Valley of the shadow of debt: bond-market jitters

Bond yields across the rich world keep ticking up. We take a global look at where the risks are mounting most, and just how much worry is warranted. What might have once seemed fanciful is becoming real: delivering daylight to dark parts of the world using mirrors in space. And t ... Show More

21m 39s

Oct 7

Gilets jeunes? France’s school protests

What started as a small protest about conditions of a school and of schooling has mushroomed, and tapped into national anxieties that may prove hard to tame. In the context of the “Cornell 7” case we examine Title IX, the statute that should protect students—but that is failing. ... Show More

19m 36s

Aug 2024

Arrivals haul: anti-tourism’s folly

Tourists are getting decidedly less-warm welcomes in popular spots, but blunt anti-tourism policies are self-defeating. We look at how to maintain benefits for both the visitors and the visited. As Russia tries to avoid another military draft, a slick recruitment drive seems to b ... Show More

21m 28s

Jul 2025

Overtourism

Summer is here and crowds are getting booed in some places in the world. Host Carmel Crimmins looks at the economic trade-offs at play in mass tourism as backlash grows in places like Spain and Japan. Listen to Charlie Devereux, in Madrid and John Geddie, in Tokyo, as they examin ... Show More

42m 42s

May 2024

The tourist tax

Venice is drowning in tourists. A new fee for day-trippers is the latest tool aimed at keeping overtourism at bay. This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Rob Byers, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Transcr ... Show More

27m 28s

Mar 2024

Tourism in Europe Recovers Causing Delight and Dismay

During the COVID-19 pandemic, European cities experienced a dramatic drop in tourism. Now that visitors have returned in force, locals have mixed feelings. Many cities rely on tourism money, but throngs of people and the demand for short-term rentals can change the very places pe ... Show More

5m 52s

Jun 2021

Bear necessities: learning to handle Russia

<p>As both <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2021/06/17/america-and-russia-return-to-traditional-great-power-diplomacy?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">summitry</ ... Show More

21m 34s

May 2022

Bear traps: Russia’s push in eastern Ukraine

<p>Russian forces are having some successes in eastern Ukraine; our defence editor discusses the situation on the ground and what may <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/05/26/ukraine-needs-support-not-timorous-advice?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_ ... Show More

24m 13s

May 2024

The morale of the story: Ukraine’s front lines

At a hidden command centre our correspondent finds deflated but defiant soldiers. Fight against Russia now, they say, or fight for Russia against Europe later. With inflation poised to play a critical role in America’s election, we ask why voters despise it even though it can sig ... Show More

25m 7s

Mar 2023

Bear backed: Xi heads to Moscow

<p>The visit of Xi Jinping, China’s president, to Moscow may seem like the solidifying of a simple, anti-Western alliance. But China is walking <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2023/03/19/what-does-xi-jinping-want-from-vladimir-putin?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=a ... Show More

25m 45s