Latest Interviews
Showing 196–210 of 225 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- The Economist22 min
America's next top-job model: our election forecast
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Dan Rosenheck, Natasha Loder, Caitlin Talbot
Recent polling indicates Donald Trump holds a 60% probability of winning the 2024 election despite legal convictions, as economic dissatisfaction drives a stable race in the Sunbelt states. Concurrently, global malaria progress has stalled due to drug resistance and funding gaps, prompting the rollout of the affordable R21 vaccine as a critical intervention tool. Meanwhile, the "tradwife" social media trend has garnered hundreds of millions of views by romanticizing domesticity, though labor statistics reveal this aesthetic remains largely performative rather than a mass workforce exodus.
- The Economist21 min
Doing their not-own thing: “generation rent”
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Tom Sass, Holly Berman, David Benin
Global analysis reveals a significant rise in private renting across Western democracies, driven by economic stagnation and housing inflation, while strict rent controls in Stockholm prove counterproductive compared to Auckland's successful upzoning strategies that boosted supply. Concurrently, the Biden administration's ultimatum to force TikTok's divestiture over national security concerns has sparked a high-profile legal battle alleging First Amendment violations, despite the administration's continued political reliance on the platform. In the cultural sphere, major artists like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish are revitalizing the album format to secure dual revenue streams and challenge historical gender biases in music consumption.
- The Economist21 min
French anti-foreign legion: an EU-election shock
Emmanuel Macron, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Chris Lockwood, Tamara Jilkes-Bohr
Following shock defeats for centrist leaders Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, the European Parliamentary elections highlighted a significant surge for far-right parties in France and Germany despite a marginal overall EU-wide shift. Concurrently, U.S. schools are grappling with a post-pandemic absenteeism crisis driven by economic instability and lost learning habits, prompting a pivot from punitive measures to supportive interventions like high-impact tutoring and basic needs assistance. In the automotive sector, manufacturers increasingly rely on alphanumeric or abstract naming conventions to distinguish models, though these strategies risk consumer confusion and cultural blunders ranging from mistranslations to legal disputes over regional naming rights.
- The Economist25 min
One dam thing after another? Ukraine and reconstruction
Rosie Bloor, Oliver Jones, Avantika Chilkoti, Anne Rowe
One year after Russia's destruction of the Khovka Dam flooded an area the size of Kiev and displaced one million people, Ukraine faces stalled reconstruction in four active front-line oblasts while prioritizing critical water infrastructure over immediate dam replacement. In India, Narendra Modi's loss of a single-party majority forces the long-reinvented leader to adapt his coalition style after ending his English-language interview ban, a strategy shift following his 2007 confrontation with Karan Thapar. Meanwhile, Cambridge Egyptologist Barry Kemp's death at 84 concludes a four-decade excavation of Amarna that disproved total societal conversion to Akhenaten's monotheism and revived the memory of a city lost for three millennia.
- The Economist23 min
Modi’s mess: a shock election result spells uncertainty for India
Modi, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Jeremy Page, Anjani Trivedi, Emily Steinmark
Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured a third term with his BJP party relying on coalition partners after failing to win an absolute majority, forcing a shift from centralized governance to a consensus-based approach. In parallel, foreign investment in Africa contracted by $32 billion due to global economic headwinds, prompting businesses to pivot toward regional supply chains despite persistent logistical hurdles like visa restrictions. Meanwhile, researchers from the University of Milan successfully demonstrated that running along a suspended circular wall could simulate lunar gravity using only two minutes of daily exercise, offering a potential low-tech solution for long-term space health.
- The Economist23 min
The big gag: Hong Kong’s crackdown on freedom
June Mendoza, Rosie Bloor, Emma Irving, Simon Rabinovich, Anne Rowe
Following the 2020 national security law and subsequent Article 23 implementation, Hong Kong authorities have secured 14 convictions out of 17 defendants in the "Hong Kong 47" trial while arresting activists for social media posts, effectively aligning the territory's political freedoms with mainland China. Concurrently, the US startup ecosystem is experiencing a surge in business formation that has increased by approximately 80% since 2020, driven by a geographical shift toward smaller cities and a pivot toward AI-focused ventures despite tight interest rates. In the cultural sector, British artist June Mendoza died at age 99 after a career defined by painting over 400 likenesses of subjects ranging from royalty to strangers, often utilizing barter systems to exchange her art for goods.
- The Economist21 min
Out on a ledger: Trump convicted
Trump, Ora Okunbiyi, Jason Palmer, Sumi, Kenneth Werner, John McDermott
Former President Donald Trump became the first U.S. ex-president criminally convicted on 34 felony counts, a verdict he attributes to political retaliation while likely facing a suspended sentence and using the outcome to bolster his fundraising ahead of the November election. Simultaneously, South Africa's African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since 1994, forcing President Cyril Ramaphosa into difficult coalition negotiations between pragmatic centrist partners and populist allies. In personnel news, The Economist's Auret van der Merwe transitioned from on-air host to its Africa correspondent in Lagos to lead coverage of the continent's emerging business and cultural landscape.
- The Economist28 min
The Intelligence: Rishi Sunak’s report card
Rishi Sunak, Jason Palmer, Ora Ogunbiyi, Matthew Holhouse, Ana Lankas, Katrin Braik
Britain's July 4th general election concludes Rishi Sunak's technocratic yet polarizing tenure, pitting a disunited Conservative Party struggling with a twenty-point polling deficit against a disciplined Labour opposition amidst a global security landscape resembling the Cold War. Concurrently, Latin America faces a homicide crisis driven by shifting drug markets, prompting Ecuador to adopt El Salvador's "iron fist" military strategies despite expert warnings that the region's wealthy, diversified gangs differ fundamentally from the impoverished extortion networks previously targeted. In a third distinct domain, climate-induced ice melt is altering the Earth's rotation by redistributing mass toward the equator, a phenomenon that temporarily offsets core-driven acceleration and delays the technical need for a negative leap second in global timekeeping systems.
- The Economist23 min
The life of Alexei Navalny
Alexei Navalny, Sam Colbert, Pete Naughton, Ksenia Barakovskaya, Lika Kremer, Weidong Lin, Darren Ng, John Shields
Russia's primary opposition leader Alexei Navalny, confirmed poisoned with the state-exclusive nerve agent Novichok, died in solitary confinement at penal colony IK6 after years of systematic physical torture by Russian authorities. Despite enduring severe deprivation, including forced standing sleep and isolation from the outside world, Navalny maintained a defiant stance against the Kremlin's strategy of intimidation until his death in prison. The event underscores the Russian state's continued suppression of dissent, having recently sentenced other opposition figures to decades in prison to dismantle democratic movements.
- The Economist21 min
How AI is generating a revolution in entertainment
Alfie, Ankit, Tobias, Harry Yeff, Marcus Hutton, Tom Wainwright
The event details how artificial intelligence is reshaping the music, film, and entertainment industries through data-driven discovery, generative creation tools, and predictive analytics like Cinelytic. While these technologies promise trillions in economic growth and lower barriers for under-resourced creators, they simultaneously spark significant labor disputes over job displacement and intense legal battles regarding copyright and consent. Stakeholders remain divided on whether these advancements will ultimately enrich human creativity or lead to a market flooded with derivative content.
- The Economist20 min
How green is the energy revolution really?
Triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the global energy crisis initially boosted fossil fuel reliance but ultimately accelerated clean energy investment to surpass fossil fuel infrastructure spending. While record capital flows are driving rapid expansion in solar, wind, and electric vehicles, the transition faces persistent hurdles including grid bottlenecks, critical mineral shortages, and political resistance demanding faster decarbonization. Analysts estimate these geopolitical pressures have fast-tracked the green shift by five to ten years, yet significant gaps remain in meeting global net-zero targets by 2050.
- The Economist25 min
Why the baby business is booming
Jessica, David Smotrich, Nima, Hamish, Alan White, Nick, Emma, Catherine Wade, Mian Ridge
Valued at over $14 billion with projections reaching $130 billion, the global surrogacy industry is rapidly expanding due to rising infertility rates and restrictive laws in home countries that drive demand toward unregulated hubs. While the United States and Ukraine have historically served as major centers, tightening regulations in Asia and safety crises in Africa have forced a geographic shift that exposes gestational surrogates to severe exploitation and high maternal mortality. Experts now advocate for comprehensive international legal frameworks to replace bans with regulated standards, ensuring protections for children, intended parents, and surrogate workers across a market spanning costs from $30,000 to $200,000.
- The Economist24 min
War in Ukraine: The Economist interviews President Zelensky
Zelensky, Zanny Minton Beddoes
Economist editor-in-chief Jeremy Paxman traveled to Kyiv to interview President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding the war's trajectory, victory conditions, and critical gaps in Western military support. Zelensky asserts that Ukraine will fight until the last city while criticizing insufficient Western sanctions and inconsistent aid from Germany and the United States compared to the consistent backing of the United Kingdom. The President further warns of potential chemical weapon deployments by Russia and argues that a post-war resolution requires a decisive victory rather than compromises that threaten Ukraine's sovereignty.
- The Economist25 min
Business: go woke or go broke?
Modern corporations are shifting from pure profit maximization to ESG-driven models where investor pressure, consumer ethics, and younger demographics force the adoption of technologies like GHGSat sensors for methane detection and molecular tagging for supply chain transparency. While AI tools now help verify these environmental and social claims, leaders face a strategic tension between meeting stakeholder expectations for diversity and ethical sourcing and maintaining short-term financial returns. Consequently, the market rewards verified stewardship with stronger performance metrics but punishes perceived grandstanding or opaque governance, making genuine responsibility a critical component of business viability.
- The Economist24 min
Covid-19: why vaccine mistrust is growing
Professor Jonathan Heaney, Professor Heidi Larson, Dr Jonathan Kennedy, Kristin Urquiza, Neil Johnson, Fadi Kouran, Slavia Chankova
With over 20 COVID-19 vaccine candidates in development, experts warn that failing to achieve 70% population uptake due to widespread hesitancy could necessitate indefinite social restrictions. This crisis of trust is driven by political polarization, the legacy of the retracted Andrew Wakefield study, and algorithmic amplification of misinformation on social media platforms that have disproportionately spread falsehoods from figures like President Trump. In response, health organizations and tech-savvy clinics are launching counter-misinformation campaigns to protect herd immunity goals against hostile narratives that link political populism with declining public confidence.