logo
episode-header-image
May 2025
23m 15s

Duties bound: a Trump-tariff smackdown

The Economist
About this episode

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). And a new book about Xi Jinping’s father reveals much about the Chinese president himself (16:42).


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.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Nov 21
Flee country: Britain seeks to slash migration
<p>Britain’s home secretary Shabana Mahmood proposed a big shift in <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/11/20/will-britain-copy-asylum-policy-from-a-place-with-poor-integration?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discov ... Show More
23m 22s
Nov 20
War graft: scandal engulfs Ukraine
<p>Pentagon officials are meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss a <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/11/19/a-terrible-american-russian-proposal-to-end-the-war-in-ukraine?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_con ... Show More
25m 24s
Nov 19
Crown prince arming: Trump sells jets to MBS
<p>Muhammad bin Salman’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/11/18/saudi-arabia-is-in-no-hurry-to-join-the-abraham-accords?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-n ... Show More
21m 55s
Recommended Episodes
May 2025
Duties bound: a Trump-tariff smackdown
<p>The US Court of International Trade ruled that Donald Trump’s so-called fentanyl and Liberation Day tariffs constituted <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/05/29/the-courts-block-trumps-tariffs-can-he-circumvent-them?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio ... Show More
23m 15s
Mar 2025
Spy-fall: Trump imperils intelligence pact
<p>America’s international intelligence-sharing relationships have been decades in the making and rely not on a treaty but trust. Could <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2025/03/16/trump-v-the-spies-of-five-eyes?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_sou ... Show More
22m 37s
Sep 3
Sino-the-times: China gathers global allies
World leaders flocked to China this week for an international summit followed by a giant military parade commemorating the end of the second world war. Xi Jinping is capitalising on the chaos of Donald Trump’s second term. AI is helping fraudsters and hackers become more producti ... Show More
21m 17s
Oct 24
The great brawl: China is winning the trade war
This weekend American and Chinese officials are meeting to try and ease tensions over trade after China’s recent decision to restrict rare-earth exports. How has China gained the upper hand? Anxiety about screen time is focused on young people, but the elderly are addicted to dev ... Show More
23m 20s
Feb 2025
Rebel with a new cause: meeting Syria’s president
<p>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 <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/02/03/syrias-new-president-ahmed-al-sharaa-gives-his-first- ... Show More
28m 44s
Aug 18
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
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
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
Apr 2025
Carney score: last days of Canada’s campaign
<p>Canada’s sovereignty has loomed large in the federal <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2025/04/23/captain-canada-carney-gains-in-the-maple-leaf-v-maga-election?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content. ... Show More
26m 19s
Mar 2025
Trump’s speech, Trudeau hits back and China’s economic plan
U.S. President Donald Trump touted the relentless start to his term as evidence that "America is back" in a marathon speech to Congress. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hits back against Trump’s "dumb" trade war, slapping retaliatory tariffs on American goods. And China un ... Show More
11m 43s