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

Jan 2025

A tax or attacks: how the Houthis fund themselves

The procedure is simple—genial, even. Contact Houthi rebels in Yemen and pay up, and your freight can pass into the Red Sea unmolested. We examine how this extortion affects world trade. China is fast closing its gap with America on AI innovation, and doing so far more cheaply (7 ... Show More

22m 50s

Feb 2025

Rebel with a new cause: meeting Syria’s president

From media-studies dropout to international jihadist to Syria’s ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa has an unlikely résumé. He speaks with our editor-in-chief, sharing hopeful-sounding hints of his vision—but precious little detail. Japan’s economy has been hobbled by low inflation for years; ... Show More

28m 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

Apr 2025

Division multiplication: the UAE’s foreign meddling

The United Arab Emirates projects an image of level-headed calm in the Gulf. Its actions abroad, however, betray a far more divisive and ideological agenda. Japan’s recent rice crisis is in part about market reforms—but solving it is mostly about making farmers happier (10:29). A ... Show More

22m 32s

Mar 2025

You spin me right round: Europe’s populists reckon with Trumpism

For Europe’s hard-right politicians, Donald Trump’s second White House bid looked like validation and opportunity. Now that he is in it, the tensions and trade-offs are becoming clear. The Houthis’ grip over Yemen and the Red Sea is only strengthening, even as other Iranian proxi ... Show More

21m 30s

Mar 2025

Sects and balances: a violent flare-up in Syria

Horrifying attacks on Alawites, the sect of deposed leader Bashar al-Assad, throw into question the power—or the will—of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the country’s leader, to maintain peace. For the first time in decades it now makes more sense to pay off a mortgage early (10:36). And high-e ... Show More

22m 36s

Jul 2024

Bibi talk: a speech light on detail

Anyone hoping to glean hints of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s plans for the Gaza war and its aftermath will have been disappointed: it was a political speech aimed at Israelis. Nigerians spend more than anyone on food, as a fraction of income. We look at the factors making ... Show More

23m 45s

Mar 2025

Kurds in the right place: a truce nears

The leader of Turkey’s Kurdish rebels has called on the group to disband. That could end one of the world’s longest running conflicts. How tariffs and political volatility may affect the American economy (10:16). And the craze for eating caviar… with chicken nuggets (18:33). Lis ... Show More

25m 15s

Jul 21

Land of the rising shun? Immigration and Japan’s politics

The Liberal Democratic Party, which has dominated the country’s politics for seven decades, just got a pasting at the polls—again. We ask why staid politics are getting swiftly messy. Iceland is a NATO member in a volatile region; at last it must consider raising its own army. An ... Show More

22m 49s

Mar 2025

Whack of all trades: America’s economy

No surprises here: The Economist reckons tariffs are a terrible trade tool. But what is most clearly harming American businesses and scaring off investors is persistent uncertainty about them. Our correspondent sees the effects of one non-military donor to Ukraine: help not to fi ... Show More

26m 19s

A tax or attacks: how the Houthis fund t...