logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
22m 37s

Spy-fall: Trump imperils intelligence pa...

The Economist
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Today
The end of the world is AI? An existential threat
Is artificial intelligence becoming uncontrollably powerful? Our correspondent analyses whether a pause to breakneck development is possible or feasible. We have entered the new age of the orator. And why cheese is getting more popular in India. Guests and host:Alex Hern, AI writ ... Show More
24m 16s
Yesterday
Islamism in Britain: what is the threat?
Though a growing share of the British population is anxious about Islam, they have no reason to be. Islamism, a fringe ideology that believes government and society should be guided by Islamic principles, is the real concern. America cracks down on multinationals’ efforts to shif ... Show More
23m 41s
Sep 14
Strait and narrowing: the Houthis’ striking advance
After years of stalemate, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis are taking territory, including on a Red Sea strait. We ask what has changed, and how the shift fits into the wider regional conflict. As America’s midterm elections approach, we examine the fragmentation of the coalition that ... Show More
22m 46s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2025
Truce story: (a sketch of) a Trump-Xi trade deal
Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed to holster their trade weapons for now. But even if the deal holds, it does not address the deeper problems in the relationship. We examine why mercenaries—and slick international firms that employ them—are doing a roaring trade these ... Show More
27m 13s
May 2025
132. Former Head of MI6: Russia, China, and Trump (Sir Alex Younger)
What is the real job of a spy? What is the role of the UK’s intelligence community in Trump’s new world order? How does the relationship between politicians and intelligence services work? TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our ... Show More
1h 7m
May 2025
Duty falls: US and China reach a deal
Tariffs against China were the centrepiece of Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” trade plans. Our correspondent explains the significance of a new 90-day hiatus. Will Ukraine and Russia come to the negotiating table this week (7:51)? Why new techniques to compress the contrast betwe ... Show More
21m 41s
Feb 2024
The Intelligence: Redoubled agents
A slew of spycraft mishaps might suggest Russia’s once-great intelligence services have hopelessly decayed. Do not be fooled: the spooks are back, and better. We ask why a “supercycle” commodities boom might not come to pass, even though the conditions are ripe for one (10:04). A ... Show More
23m 29s
Mar 2025
China's Power Projection: A Message to Donald Trump
<p><span class="yt-core-attributed-string--link-inherit-color" dir= "auto">As the world watches the Transatlantic Alliance continue to strain, America's allies to the West are wondering what it all means for them. Analysts Victoria Herczegh and Ronan Wordsworth joined host Christ ... Show More
4m 13s
Jun 2025
Will the wheels come off Nato?
US president Donald Trump has said Israel and Iran have agreed a ceasefire, shifting priorities in the US are putting pressure on Nato members in Europe, and emerging markets defy US President Donald Trump’s trade war. Plus, the US has yet to find Iran’s uranium stockpile. Mentio ... Show More
9m 59s
Feb 2025
The Demise of U.S.A.I.D. — and American Soft Power
<p><i>Warning: This episode contains strong language.</i><br /><br />As President Trump demolishes the government’s biggest provider of foreign aid, the United States Agency for International Development, he is ending a 60-year bipartisan consensus about the best way to keep Amer ... Show More
33m 52s
Jan 2024
The Intelligence: The darkness before the Don
Many of America’s business leaders reckon a second Trump term would be worse for them and for the economy than the first was—not that they’re speaking up about it. We examine just how much of Ukraine’s art and cultural heritage has been moved or looted in the course of the war (9 ... Show More
23m 20s