Economist Podcasts

For 15 years, the British media dismissed Tommy Robinson as a far-right extremist. We kept him off our televisions, and out of our newspapers.

Today his rallies attract tens of thousands of followers and he has the ear of the world’s richest man.

Shire Folk is the story of how some of the most powerful people in America came to see Britain—and Islam—through the eyes of a fringe football hooligan.

Topics covered:

Radical Islam
Gangs
English Defence League

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OpenAI’s claim to have solved one of the great problems in mathematics has itself created problems. We ask why the breakthrough has shaken the field. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11 we examine the vast counterterrorism machinery that followed in America, and nascent efforts to pare those powers back. And remembering Guo Lanying, a Chinese singer who championed traditional opera.

Watch extended clips from Insider here.
Guests and host:
Sam Wikeley, science correspondent
Sam Beal, Washington correspondent
Ann Wroe, obituaries editor
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:
mathematics, AI, Millennium Prize Problems
9/11 anniversary, counterterrorism law
Guo Lanying, Chinese opera

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The labour data are in from America and a trend is becoming clearer: on balance AI is starting to create more jobs than it hoovers up. Despite advancements of just about every other kind, China cannot seem to escape its food-safety problems. We ask why not. And why Kenya’s ants have become the target of smugglers.

Guests and host:
Alex Domash, economics correspondent
Gabriel Crossley, China correspondent
Carla Subirana, news editor
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:
AI, labour statistics, labour market
China, regulation, food safety
ants, smuggling, Kenya

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.
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Shire Folk is the story of how some of the most powerful people in America came to see Britain—and Islam—through the eyes of a fringe football hooligan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Javier Milei has tamed inflation and improved the lot of many Argentines. But an election season approaches, and the promised economic and wage growth are not materialising. As LIV Golf files for bankruptcy, we ask where it went wrong in trying to disrupt the sport. And the growth that is good for India’s people is bad for its elephants.

Guests and host:
Kinley Salmon, Latin America correspondent
Henry Tricks, US technology editor
Abhishek Kumar, India writer
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:
Argentina, Javier Milei
golf, LIV Golf, Saudi Arabia
India, elephants

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.
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