logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
23m 20s

Putty people: can Trump get his picks?

The Economist
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Yesterday
Power ballot: Japanese PM’s electoral gamble
Japan’s prime minister Takaichi Sanae has called an election three months into her term. Can she capitalise on her popularity, or will her less-popular party be punished at the ballot box? Will a new treaty curb the destruction of the oceans? And how fancy restaurants are respond ... Show More
23m 37s
Jan 19
Thin ice: could the Greenland clash kill NATO?
Donald Trump has promised to impose a 10% tariff on eight countries, all NATO members, that oppose his plan to acquire Greenland. As the argument over the territory’s future continues, our correspondent analyses the fragile state of international relations. American megachurches ... Show More
23m 55s
Jan 16
Clutching at shahs: Iran’s would-be revolutionary
Reza Pahlavi, son of the shah deposed in the 1979 revolution, tells us he sees himself as the people’s choice to lead. We ask how that might work. Our correspondent reckons that, in a full accounting of buying versus renting a home, the smart choice has become clear. And our obit ... Show More
26m 36s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
Putty people: can Trump get his picks?
<p>As some of Donald Trump’s most <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/01/29/kash-patel-is-a-crackpot?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners ... Show More
23m 20s
Nov 2024
Legally bombed: Trump cases dropped
tail spinning
19m 35s
Oct 2024
Coming up Trump: our election model puts Harris behind
<p>The two American presidential candidates have been neck and neck. But this week, the <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/10/21/why-donald-trump-has-moved-ahead-in-our-election-forecast?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&u ... Show More
23m 23s
Nov 2024
Needs Musk: Donald Trump’s new appointments
<p>A week after Donald Trump won a decisive victory in the presidential election, he is <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/11/12/how-to-get-hired-by-donald-trump?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.cont ... Show More
25m 4s
Nov 5
Into the blue: Democrats win big
In the first electoral test of Donald Trump’s second term, Democrat supporters voted in a socialist mayor of New York and governors to New York and Virginia. What does this mean for next year’s midterms? Democracy in Turkey is being eviscerated. And the world may be becoming less ... Show More
24m 31s
Aug 2025
Peace by piece? Zelensky and Trump meet again
After an inconclusive summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, the stakes are high for Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with the US president in Washington today. Enter the “solopreneur”: why AI is allowing entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses on thei ... Show More
21m 6s
Nov 13
Opening punch: Shutdown ends, now more Epstein emails
Last night Donald Trump finally managed to end the longest federal government shutdown in history. But, amid a new release of emails relating to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the political storm continues. Why Airbnb is searching for new beds in new markets. And the amazi ... Show More
23m 14s
Oct 1
Shut happens: US federal funding stops
After Republicans and Democrats failed to compromise on the budget bill, money to US federal agencies has officially been cut off. Donald Trump threatens “irreversible cuts”. The gaping security flaws in generative AI. And don’t call your colleague a moron, and other tips on how ... Show More
22m 54s
Oct 15
Aid pro quo: Trump weaponises foreign help
After cancelling much of America’s international development funding, President Donald Trump is now using that money to boost friends, allies against China and buy goods and influence. Ukraine is striking Russia’s fuel infrastructure deep inside the country. And why JD Wetherspoo ... Show More
23m 32s
Sep 2025
Under different thumbs: a scant TikTok deal
President Donald Trump’s executive order ostensibly puts a years-long debate to bed. But questions persist about who will own—and influence—TikTok’s American operations. We examine the evidence on how climate change will aid the spread of dengue fever, a brutal and potentially de ... Show More
23m 10s