Latest Interviews
Showing 16–30 of 138 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- The Economist20 min
In sickness and in stealth: threats to America’s CDC
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Rebecca Jackson, Josh Roberts, David Benin
Following the inauguration of the Trump administration, the CDC has faced severe operational disruption through Executive Orders targeting DEI initiatives, a mass termination campaign involving 750 employees, and the imposition of restrictive communication protocols by the acting director and DOGE-affiliated entities. Simultaneously, silver market dynamics have shifted as institutional demand surged with Russia adding reserves to holdings and industrial requirements for solar manufacturing drove a 50% increase in consumption, outpacing gold in recent returns. In the entertainment sector, a resurgence of live album releases has emerged among major artists like Dua Lipa and The Cure, driven by post-pandemic appreciation for raw performance energy and a strategic pivot away from the studio-centric production models that dominated the late 20th century.
- The Economist25 min
Wheels of justice: the ICC gets Duterte at last
Duterte, Jason Palmer, Aaron Connolly, John Joe Devlin, Cassio de Gea, Tobias Adielson, Charmec Elmi, Anne Rowe
The International Criminal Court successfully transferred former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague for trial on crimes against humanity related to his "war on drugs," a move enabled by a political rift between his family and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Concurrently, Sweden confronts an unprecedented surge in gang violence involving coordinated bombings and the recruitment of vulnerable minors, prompting legislative changes regarding wiretapping and intensified debate over immigration policies. In a separate development, celebrated apartheid-era playwright Athol Fugard passed away at age 92, leaving a literary legacy that chronicled the moral complexities of South African oppression and the enduring resilience of its people.
- The Economist22 min
When the levy doesn’t break: a trade-war world adjusts
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Rachana Shanbhog, Owen Winter, Lane Green
Markets and investors are reacting to a shift in Donald Trump's protectionist agenda, characterized by broader steel and aluminum tariffs and a predicted trade war with Canada and Mexico that threatens to raise costs without boosting domestic production. Simultaneously, hard-right political parties in Europe have gained significant ground, now securing 24% of the continental vote and breaking post-war voting records in Germany, driven largely by economic insecurity and immigration anxieties. Complementing these geopolitical and economic shifts, new research by Michael Erard debunks cultural myths regarding the significance of first words and deathbed statements, reframing them as products of specific societal expectations and medical realities rather than universal truths.
- The Economist25 min
Thirty-day trial? A Ukraine-ceasefire proposal
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Oliver Carroll, Shashank Joshi, Sophie Petter, Ainsley Johnston
Ukrainian officials accepted a US-brokered proposal for a reciprocal 30-day ceasefire and immediate negotiations to end the conflict, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Watts leading constructive bilateral talks that secured President Zelensky's public endorsement. While the agreement paves the way for resuming American military assistance, the final outcome remains contingent on Moscow's response to demands for Ukraine's neutrality and potential territorial concessions. Parallel to these diplomatic developments, a new longitudinal study using UK Biobank data identifies chronic loneliness as a primary predictor of early death, carrying a mortality risk equivalent to physical inactivity and outweighing genetic factors in overall longevity.
- The Economist23 min
Sects and balances: a violent flare-up in Syria
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Gareth Brown, Josh Roberts, Tim Cross
Following the December fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, a violent insurrection led by a former Alawite military council has triggered widespread sectarian killings in Syria's coastal heartland, severely testing Ahmed al-Shara's new government as it struggles to control radical factions while racing against a thirty-day deadline to investigate atrocities. Simultaneously, a global financial pivot is occurring as soaring borrowing costs and maturing low-rate mortgages reverse the investment calculus that previously favored equities, compelling homeowners to prioritize debt repayment over market exposure. In the aerospace sector, Albedo Space is disrupting the market by deploying a commercial satellite constellation in Very Low Earth Orbit to deliver ten-centimeter resolution imagery at one-tenth the cost of military systems, aiming to democratize high-fidelity surveillance for both commercial and limited governmental applications.
- The Economist24 min
No question, Mark: Canada’s new PM
Mark Carney, Donald Trump, Rose Girone, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Rob Russo, Sarah Wu, Anne Rowe
Mark Carney has won the Liberal Party leadership to succeed Justin Trudeau, leveraging his technocratic background and a nationalist backlash against US tariff threats to close the polling gap with the Conservatives ahead of a potential April or May election. Concurrently, China is driving a $205 billion winter sports strategy to revitalize its Northeast Rust Belt, with Harbin serving as the global hub for this sector expansion designed to reach 300 million participants by 2030. In a tribute to historical resilience, Rose Gerone, the last known Holocaust survivor in New York, passed away at 113 after surviving Kristallnacht and sustaining her family through a knitting business in Shanghai and the Adirondacks.
- The Economist25 min
Kurds in the right place: a truce nears
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Pyotr Zalewski, Simon Rabinovich, Danielle Zaslavsky, Henrietta McFarlane
Following secret negotiations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and former hardline leader Devlet Bahçeli have advanced a peace initiative with imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, aiming to end a 40-year conflict through a PKK ceasefire while securing regional stability against Israel and Western alliances. Simultaneously, President Trump's aggressive tariff escalation on China, Mexico, and Canada triggered immediate global market sell-offs and record-low consumer sentiment as nations retaliated, compounding existing economic vulnerabilities in housing and business investment. In a contrasting cultural shift, the $3.1 billion caviar industry is surging toward a projected $4.6 billion valuation by 2029, driven by viral social media trends among young consumers who are adopting unconventional pairings and spurring innovations in cultivated, fish-free alternatives.
- The Economist28 min
Pompcast: Trump rallies Congress
Trump, Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, John Priddow, Ana Lankes, Alex Hearn
President Donald Trump suspended military aid to Ukraine following a dispute with Volodymyr Zelensky, triggering retaliatory 25% tariffs from Mexico and Canada and prompting Zelensky to signal readiness for a new minerals deal. In his first congressional address, Trump claimed record-breaking approval swings and erroneously contrasted European and American aid contributions while asserting he ranks alongside George Washington. Simultaneously, Ecuadorian Attorney General Diana Salazar continues high-stakes investigations into corruption linking drug cartels to former President Rafael Correa, with the outcome threatening to determine whether the nation remains a democracy or becomes a narco state before upcoming elections.
- The Economist24 min
Left, right and centre: Germany’s election
Jason Palmer, Tom Nottel, Anton LaGuardia
Friedrich Merz is poised to become Germany's next Chancellor following a decisive CDU-CSU victory that left the SPD in opposition after smaller parties failed to reach the parliamentary threshold. His administration faces the immediate challenge of forming a coalition to address six years of economic stagnation while navigating constitutional hurdles to relax debt limits and managing a potential diplomatic rift with the SPD over strict immigration proposals. Merz has signaled a shift toward European defense autonomy due to concerns over US reliability, aiming to finalize these coalition negotiations by April to address urgent security and economic imperatives.
- The Economist25 min
Friends (the one with estrangement): Europe without the US
Pableaux Johnson, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Christopher Lockwood, Alex Domas, John Fasman
Vice President J.D. Vance and President Trump have shifted US policy to prioritize European security autonomy, sparking fears of a NATO unraveling if the US withdraws its commitment to Ukraine in favor of a bilateral deal with Vladimir Putin. In response, European leaders from France, Germany, and the UK are urgently convening to bridge a massive defense spending gap and develop a collective security strategy capable of operating without American participation. Simultaneously, global labor markets face potential restructuring as economists propose a "work-from-home tax" model, though current employer mandates and worker leverage have so far stalled the implementation of salary reductions in exchange for remote flexibility.
- The Economist21 min
Young, gifted and black: Africa’s next generation
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Ore Ogunbiyi, Simon Rabinovich, Wendelin von Bredow
Economists dismiss the Department of Government Efficiency's projected $2 trillion savings as structurally impossible given that mandatory spending dominates the federal budget, leaving only discretionary funds for superficial cuts to agencies like USAID. Meanwhile, deep economic distress in Africa drives widespread youth dissatisfaction with democratic institutions and high emigration rates toward Western nations, while Germany's generous sick leave policies generate billions in annual costs for employers without addressing underlying health metrics. These three distinct analyses highlight the friction between ambitious fiscal targets, geopolitical labor shifts, and the unintended economic consequences of social welfare structures.
- The Economist23 min
Colour visions: a German-election lookahead
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Tom Nuttall, Moeka Iida, Jeff Goddard, Charlotte Kilpatrick
Germany's upcoming federal election features a fragmented parliament where Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz leads polling but faces complex coalition hurdles due to the AfD's exclusion and the precarious status of smaller parties like Die Linke and the BSW. Simultaneously, Japan is undergoing a cultural reckoning following the resignation of celebrity Nakai Masahiro for assault, sparking public outrage that exposes deep-rooted legal and societal barriers despite recent reforms raising the age of consent. In London, the traditional pie and mash shops that defined Cockney culture since the Victorian era are vanishing due to rising rents and demographic shifts, forcing surviving establishments to diversify menus with vegan options to adapt to changing customer bases.
- The Economist25 min
Munich insecurity conference: a re-ordering begins
Jason Palmer, Zannie Minton-Beddoes, Shashank Joshi, Anne Rowe
The 2025 Munich Security Conference marked a historic rupture in transatlantic relations as Vice President J.D. Vance framed internal European political fractures as the primary security threat, prompting a swift diplomatic backlash from Chancellor Olaf Scholz and an emergency summit convened by President Emmanuel Macron. Amidst contradictory US signals regarding Ukraine negotiations and potential troop withdrawals, European leaders like Zelenskyy and Starmer began rallying around the concept of a new European defense force while demanding direct inclusion in peace talks. These tensions have fundamentally shifted alliance expectations, forcing NATO members to prepare for defense spending exceeding 3% of GDP and accelerating the decoupling of European security strategy from unpredictable American policy.
- The Economist25 min
Love match: Modi-Trump’s tariffs tussle
Modi, Trump, Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Kira Khuyu, Leo Morani, John Fassman
At the White House, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi advanced a "mega-prosperity" partnership marked by the "MIGA" slogan, even as trade tensions over reciprocal tariffs and immigration enforcement disputes threaten the $200 billion bilateral relationship. Concurrently, global aviation faces a decade-long crisis of eroding safety and shrinking airspace due to geopolitical conflicts, granting non-Western carriers a competitive edge while forcing Western airlines to cancel routes. In the entertainment sector, *Saturday Night Live* celebrates its 50th anniversary by maintaining structural consistency under Lorne Michaels' leadership, successfully adapting its political satire for the digital age to sustain high ratings during election cycles.
- The Economist23 min
War hoarse: is Zelensky being heard?
Zelensky, Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Ore Ogunbiyi, Vicente Maldonado, Caitlin Talbot, Halen Michael Seaman, Gabe Poirot
President Zelensky warns of grim front-line realities and insists Ukraine will only negotiate with binding U.S. security guarantees, while simultaneously facing funding hurdles for a contingency plan to double the national army. In West Africa, aquaculture startups like Troppo Farms struggle to meet surging local fish demand due to high capital intensity and bureaucratic barriers, despite 60% of global consumption shifting to farming. Meanwhile, TikTok has become a primary driver of religious engagement for Gen Z, where viral influencers bypass traditional institutions to build communities, albeit with risks of spreading misinformation and fragmenting belief systems.