logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2024
24m 48s

Shoal searching: the South China sea sim...

The Economist
About this episode

A constellation of islands, reefs and rock-piles has been the source of disputes for decades. As a new phase in the conflict begins, how to calm things down? In the first of a series of first-person dispatches, we speak to a student in Gaza (09:50). And after a conservation success story, Europe’s wolves are again villains in the popular imagination (18:19). 


Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Up next
Aug 22
Rule and divide: opposition grows in Syria
Less than nine months after Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled, the honeymoon is over. How is the new regime responding to rising dissent? Introducing Britain’s revolutionary retirees: why pensioners increasingly dominate political protest. And celebrating the life of o ... Show More
23m 38s
Aug 21
Stake and chips: will America take 10% of Intel?
Intel was once synonymous with chip-making, but in recent years it has fallen behind. Now the Trump administration may become its biggest shareholder. A political assassination in Colombia raises fears about a return to violence. And what an annual snail race tells us about rural ... Show More
21m 2s
Aug 20
Trouble in paradise: US plans for Pacific war
With China as its new rival, America is reviving old wartime facilities across the Pacific. Our correspondent visits an abandoned airfield that has been given new life. The outlook for climate technology is surprisingly bright. And why the universe of Hello Kitty keeps expanding. ... Show More
22m 34s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
Shoal searching: the South China sea simmers
A constellation of islands, reefs and rock-piles has been the source of disputes for decades. As a new phase in the conflict begins, how to calm things down? In the first of a series of first-person dispatches, we speak to a student in Gaza (09:50). And after a conservation succe ... Show More
24m 48s
Aug 1
State swing: recognising Palestine
The aims of France, Britain and Canada in recognising a Palestinian state are laudable—but now is not the time to deploy what little leverage they have. AI optimists reckon the era of superintelligence will bring about explosive growth; we ask what that world would look like. And ... Show More
29m 26s
Aug 2024
One peace at a time: Gaza, Israel and Iran
Peace talks in Doha have a chance at progress even in Hamas’s absence. The outcome could determine the scope of Iran’s promised retaliations against Israel. New research suggests Mars may have an ocean’s worth of water deep in its crust (10:30). And Colombia’s bid to sate the glo ... Show More
23m 52s
Aug 15
A farewell to arms? Hamas considers its options
Opinions of Hamas are shifting—among its international backers, in Gaza, even within its affiliates’ ranks. If it opts to disarm, what would happen next? A new analysis suggests using a sense of risk to explain markets’ movements might be focusing on the wrong emotion. And our fi ... Show More
24m 28s
Jan 2025
Against the clock: Gaza peace talks
Israel continued to pound Gaza, even as ceasefire negotiations began in Qatar. The familiar dynamic will soon be interrupted by a new American administration. Our analysis shows that Nordic firms have markedly better fundamentals than the European average; we examine what’s behin ... Show More
25m 16s
Feb 2025
Phase transition? Gaza’s shaky peace
The first phase of Gaza’s ceasefire is near its end, but planning for the even more fraught second phase has hardly begun. What chance for near-term peace? We examine the harmful outcomes from the Trump administration’s slashing funding for America’s science institutions (9:45). ... Show More
25m 48s
Jun 24
Truce and consequences: a fragile ceasefire in Iran
Iran’s strikes both before and apparently after a ceasefire began seem to threaten peace. If it holds, what will that mean for Iran’s ambitions, and for the wider region? A meeting of NATO-country leaders seems precision-engineered to appease the alliance’s most fickle member. An ... Show More
24m 44s
May 23
Get rich, quick: Vietnam’s next revolution
The country’s leader is in a mad rush to transform his country into an upper-middle-income powerhouse before geopolitical forces stall its rise. America’s army is being thinned out; we examine the risks of putting both weapons and generals on the chopping block (10:12). And remem ... Show More
24m 59s
Aug 12
Next top model: GPT-5 and its AI rivals
A look at progress in generative AI shows that OpenAI’s latest, greatest model sits on a neat curve of growing utility over time. But what other firms are on that curve, and where is it taking humanity? After a long, wary time, Japanese savers are getting into investing—with gust ... Show More
21m 42s
Jul 2024
Lost in stagnation? Japan’s economic paradox
After decades of torpor, is Japan recovering its dynamism? Our correspondent turns to an ancient bento box merchant to test Japan’s economic future. A new study shows how few therapies tested on animals end up being applied to humans (10:02). And if you don’t know a pickle fork f ... Show More
21m 56s