Yesterday

Pump and circumstance: is China the new OPEC?

The Iran war triggered the largest supply shock in the history of petroleum, yet prices never rose as high as feared. Our correspondent explains how action taken by China steadied global oil flows. Why Brazil has such strict laws on racist language. And the legendary lager of Lao ... Show More

20m 22s

Aug 11

Spring, then fall: a weakened Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood won power and influence in the Arab Spring of 2011. Now autocrats are resurgent and its leaders are in jail or exile. Elon Musk says Europe is more dangerous than America. Is he right? And the puzzling popularity of padel.Guests and host:Gareth Browne, Midd ... Show More

21m 39s

Aug 10

Under strAIn: breaking the British state

Britons are turning to artificial intelligence to file objections to state institutions, and claim their dues. The resulting deluge of complaints and demands may overwhelm bureaucracies. Should Catholic priests have to report child abuse disclosed in confession? And the perfect h ... Show More

24m 51s

Sep 2025

Honey, we shrunk the kids: population fall

Falling fertility makes a global decline in population inevitable. That will change the shape and make up of societies. But it may not make us poorer. Are large language models really woke? And reading is on the wane – and why that matters. Listen to what matters most, from globa ... Show More

23m 46s

Jun 2023

Not born yesterday: the world’s ageing population

<p>Fertility rates are falling to worrying levels, and an <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/06/01/global-fertility-has-collapsed-with-profound-economic-consequences?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.conten ... Show More

26m 10s

Nov 2025

How Smaller Families are Changing the World

Across the globe, there is a shift in the size of families as birthrates decline. Communities, schools, and workforces are all shrinking at an alarming rate. Even in the wealthiest countries populations are aging and straining key social systems. How are smaller families changing ... Show More

22m 5s

Mar 2024

#452 | The World’s Shrinking Population

In part one of a three-part mini-series, we'll look at the global trend of shrinking populations and what it signifies for the future. Is the world's population really in decline, what are the reasons for this, and what does it mean for the world? Global population trends and dow ... Show More

23m 4s

Mar 2024

Birthrates Are Plummeting Worldwide. Why?

<p>For a long time, the story about the world’s population was that it was growing too quickly. There were going to be too many humans, not enough resources, and that spelled disaster. But now the script has flipped. Fertility rates have declined dramatically, from about five chi ... Show More

1 h

Jun 2022

Is China’s population falling?

The numbers of people living in the most populated country in the world is expected to start falling this year, for the first time since the great famine more than six decades ago. There's concern about what that means for the global economy, but what do people in China think? BB ... Show More

41m 3s

Oct 2023

The truth about human population decline | Jennifer D. Sciubba

With birth rates falling, the worldwide human population is getting older and smaller. According to traditional thinking, this spells a future of labor shortages, bankrupt social security systems and overall economic collapse. Before you panic about the end of life as we know it, ... Show More

10m 44s

Oct 2024

Why Paying People to Have Babies is a Billion-Dollar Mistake

Overpopulation has been our biggest fear for decades, but now, shrinking populations are the real crisis. From aging societies to dwindling birth rates, countries worldwide are grappling with the risks of a declining population and struggling with radical measures to reverse it. ... Show More

15m 45s

Jan 2024

The truth about human population decline | Jennifer D. Sciubba

With birth rates falling, the worldwide human population is getting older and smaller. According to traditional thinking, this spells a future of labor shortages, bankrupt social security systems and overall economic collapse. Before you panic about the end of life as we know it, ... Show More

12m 36s

Honey, we shrunk the kids: population fa...