Today

Elbows up, again: a US-Canada trade flare-up

Promising trade talks imploded after a literal 11th-hour change from the American side. We examine the new trade barriers being erected, and the complex calculation for Prime Minister Mark Carney. In Japan Gen X workers are even still bearing the costs of an economic bubble-burst ... Show More

21m 48s

Aug 21

I, robot? AI and consciousness

The rise of generative AI has put new urgency into ancient questions. What is consciousness, and can machines ever have it? We dive into the data that reveal a surge in sexually transmitted infections in Europe. And our obituaries editor considers the life of Mary de Rachewiltz, ... Show More

24m 48s

Aug 20

Bombs and bombshells: Zelensky under pressure

From anti-corruption probes to a disgruntled ex-minister calling for elections to disrupted grain shipments, headaches are mounting for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. China has until now coped with a patchy, pricey system for mental-health treatment. The government is no ... Show More

22m 45s

Nov 2025

Recall of duty? Trump’s tariffs in court

Just as soon as President Donald Trump started applying sweeping tariffs on trading partners, legal challenges to them started piling up. We listen in on the Supreme Court proceedings that might end them. America’s gender gap in labour-force participation is growing for the first ... Show More

25m 15s

Jul 2025

Sprawl of duty: Trump’s tariff drama

Once again President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/07/07/the-great-dealmaker-is-conspicuously-short-of-trade-deals?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_s ... Show More

21m 53s

Nov 2025

Supreme Court Weighs Trump’s Tariffs And The Limits Of Presidential Power

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week about whether President Trump overstepped the limits of his power when he implemented widespread tariffs to address trade deficits. We discuss what both sides argue and the potential ramifications of the court striking down the presiden ... Show More

17m 8s

Apr 2025

Pulp friction: the trade war bites Apple

As Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs take effect, our correspondent explains how one of America’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2025/04/04/apple-gets-caught-in-a-trade-war-nightmare?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_conten ... Show More

23m 4s

Sep 2025

President Trump Asks Supreme Court To Uphold Tariffs

President Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold his authority to issue tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. We discuss the implications of a possible ruling — if the court strikes down his tariffs and if it says Trump’s tariffs are legal.This ... Show More

15m 42s

May 2025

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 <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

Apr 2025

Import-extort: what to make of Donald Trump’s titanic tariffs

After months of bluster, he’s finally done it. At a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, Donald Trump overturned decades of American trade policy with a simple signature. The new wave of <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/04/03/trump-takes-americ ... Show More

46m 35s

Feb 2025

Thy neighbours, beggared: Trump’s opening tariffs

President Donald Trump followed through on his tariff threats, starting with Canada, Mexico and China. We look at the <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/02/02/trumps-brutal-tariffs-far-outstrip-any-he-has-imposed-before?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=a ... Show More

21m 55s

Nov 2025

SCOTUS Hears Arguments on Trump Tariffs

Today's show begins as we've been listening to live Supreme Court arguments over President Trump's authority to impose tariffs without Congress's approval. The president has been using a national emergency law to do so. Our analysis begins with American legal scholar Steve Vladec ... Show More

32m 10s