logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2019
21m 29s

Better the devil they know? Sri Lanka’s ...

The Economist
About this episode

After multiple suicide bombings in April, much campaigning has been about security. Will Sri Lankans vote tomorrow for the authoritarian-but-effective candidate, or the more untested peacemaker? We examine the growing nostalgia for Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted as Egypt’s president as part of the Arab Spring. And a trawl through historical records shows how long it took for William Shakespeare to reach real fame.

For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer



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

Up next
Yesterday
Wage against the machine: the distortions of minimum pay
<p>For decades governments have found minimum-wage rises a politically expedient means of redistribution. But the onward <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/11/20/why-governments-should-stop-raising-the-minimum-wage?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_so ... Show More
22m 16s
Nov 24
Emission creep: a contentious COP closes
<p>It is telling and troubling that the annual climate talking-shop’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2025/11/22/cop30-ends-with-a-whimper?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownote ... Show More
25m 51s
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
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2021
Left, right and no centre: Chile’s elections
<p>The presidential election will now go to a run-off—between candidates of political extremes. We ask how <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/11/20/chiles-voters-are-on-the-verge-of-a-terrible-mistake?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third- ... Show More
21m 13s
Aug 2022
Not-so-safe house: America kills al-Qaeda leader
<p>For decades Ayman al-Zawahiri was the chief ideologue of the terrorist group. We ask what <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2022/08/02/the-death-of-al-qaedas-leader-may-not-halt-a-jihadist-resurgence?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligenc ... Show More
24m 11s
Apr 2023
One Good Term Deserves Another: Biden Declares
<p>He made the same <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/04/25/joe-biden-fires-the-starting-gun-on-the-presidential-race?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term ... Show More
25m 18s
Apr 2024
'Influencer of influencers': Modi's strategy to win the Indian election
India's PM Narendra Modi is favoured to win a third term as 970 million voters hit the polls in a six-week general election. Using an aggressive digital campaign, he’s doubling down on Hindu nationalism and promising more development. However, crackdowns on opposition and the pre ... Show More
30m 48s
Jun 2024
Iran After Raisi: Presidential Election
Negar Mortazavi speaks to NPR radio about the six candidates cleared to run in Iran’s upcoming presidential election. The snap election comes less than a month after former President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash. The winner of the June 28 election will have to contend ... Show More
13m 30s
Nov 2023
The Intelligence: Yes, Trump could win again
<p>Were America’s presidential election to be held today, Donald Trump would <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/11/07/donald-trump-looks-terrifyingly-electable?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.conten ... Show More
28m 52s
Jun 2024
Martin Wolf and Raghuram Rajan on democracy’s year of peril
<p>Across the world, billions of citizens are being asked to cast their vote in elections taking place in more than 50 countries and in many places, populist, illiberal and far-right parties are either growing in support or consolidating gains they have already made. But India, t ... Show More
42m 47s