logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
28m 44s

Rebel with a new cause: meeting Syria’s ...

The Economist
About this episode

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; is that now in the past (14.05)? And the lucrative media gigs of Britain’s lawmakers (21.30).


Special thanks to Mamoon Alhidayat, our interpreter in Syria. 


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
Yesterday
Sprawl of duty: Trump’s tariff drama
Once again President Donald Trump extended the deadline for spine-stiffening tariffs to go into effect on trading partners. We look at the effects of all the uncertainty. Brazil once dominated the world of football; we ask where it went wrong and assess the route to a comeback. A ... Show More
21m 53s
Jul 8
The French reconnection: Macron in Britain
Anglo-French relations have not been so good since before the Brexit vote. Beneath the state-visit pageantry, though, there is much co-operation for President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss. Gangs have infiltrated many of Latin America’s mining operati ... Show More
21m 10s
Jul 7
Trump card: can he broker a Gaza deal?
While Israel and Hamas officials discuss a ceasefire via mediators in Qatar, a key meeting will take place at the White House today, when Israel’s prime minister talks to the US president. Why the Chinese Communist Party is removing alcohol from official events. And remembering J ... Show More
21m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 27
Going gang-buster: we meet Ecuador’s president
Yesterday’s arrest of a notorious gang leader is a win for Daniel Noboa. He assures our journalists he can beat back rampant transnational gangs without trampling democracy. The torrent of big geopolitical news has, perhaps surprisingly, not much moved the markets; we ask why. An ... Show More
25m 48s
Aug 2024
More than Sheikh could stick at: Bangladesh’s PM resigns
Sheikh Hasina, who led the country for 20 of the past 28 years with an increasingly authoritarian grip, was ultimately undone by student protests that would not be quelled. China may be world-leading in autonomous taxis—but our ride in one is not without complications (9:00). And ... Show More
24m 16s
Jun 17
Confused unity: the mood in Iran
A sudden war made Iran’s leaders look unprepared. And many Iranians loathe the regime. But there are no signs yet that internal dissent will shape the conflict. Shortly after Nayib Bukele became El Salvador’s president, he was labelled as the world’s first millennial dictator; no ... Show More
23m 28s
Feb 2025
Leeward: we meet South Korea’s probable president
We meet the opposition leader who is likely to be the next president. Cleaning up the domestic mess after an alleged coup would seem easy compared with his tasks on the international stage. Our correspondent reports on renewed violence in Colombia; again, or still, it is about co ... Show More
25m 4s
Jun 26
Not-deciding factor: Iran’s supreme leader
We examine the path of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, once a bookish cleric underrated by everyone—including himself. He has hung on to power perhaps in part by not making decisions at crucial points. Our finance correspondent looks at the shifting wisdom on how best to manage an inheri ... Show More
23m 54s
Jan 2025
How South Korea's President Avoided Arrest
Pre-Order the next issue of Too Long: https://toolong.news/Vote For the World's Most Influential People: https://forms.gle/CJKV6LTEvZHtRpsk7 Welcome to the TLDR News Daily Briefing In today’s episode, we run through how the South Korean president is still avoiding arrest. Also, w ... Show More
8 m
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
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
May 29
Duties bound: a Trump-tariff smackdown
The US Court of International Trade ruled that Donald Trump’s so-called fentanyl and Liberation Day tariffs constituted executive overreach. Now what? Artificial intelligence is on a wild ride through a well-known hype cycle—and is arriving at a “trough of disillusionment” (8:49) ... Show More
23m 15s
Sep 2024
Mario druthers: Draghi’s plan for Europe
The EU’s unofficial chief technocrat issued a doorstop of a report outlining how the bloc can boost growth and keep up in a changing world. Is it all too ambitious? Mexico’s lame-duck president has one last project in mind: undermining the judiciary (10:44). And as the film “Figh ... Show More
24m 20s