Latest Interviews
Showing 1–15 of 59 transcripts.
Clear all filters- The Economist24 min
Gene genies: CRISPR’s critical moment
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Emily Steinmark, Leo Marani, Eleanor Whitehead
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognized Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for CRISPR, a precision gene-editing tool now enabling curative treatments like Kisjevi for sickle cell disease while facing regulatory hurdles distinct from traditional genetic modification. Simultaneously, Asian markets drove nearly two-thirds of global gold demand to hedge against currency instability and capital controls, with India and China leading consumption despite the trade deficits this high import volume creates. In New Zealand, an accelerated net brain drain of nearly 129,000 emigrants was fueled by economic recession and housing costs, as professionals migrated to Australia seeking higher wages under the Trans-Tasman Agreement.
- The Economist22 min
Cash and checks: Argentina’s next IMF loan
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Charlie Salmon, Aaron Braun, Stanley Pignol
The IMF approved a $20 billion loan package for Argentina to implement flexible exchange rates and lift capital controls, a move President Javier Milei claims strengthens foundations while risking renewed inflation and political instability ahead of midterms. Concurrently, Texas has seen a sevenfold increase in high-speed police chases under Operation Lone Star, resulting in over 100 deaths despite reduced illegal border crossings and prompting local calls for safer pursuit guidelines. Across Europe, governments like Sweden's are mandating civil preparedness kits and considering mandatory training to counter evolving security threats from Russia and natural disasters.
- The Economist21 min
Doomed traders: Trump’s tariff fallout
Trump, Rosie Bloor, Rachna Shambhog, Tom Sass, Emily Steinmark
Following the US announcement of global tariffs on April 2, major economies including China and Canada implemented retaliatory measures that triggered a $12 trillion drop in global market value and elevated recession probabilities to 60%. Despite diplomatic outreach from approximately 50 nations, the US administration maintains its stance, with officials describing the policy as a permanent restructuring of trade that has forced corporations to delay capital investments. Analysts warn that these developments will likely result in two decades of protectionism and reduced global economic integration.
- The Economist20 min
Right down: Le Pen barred
Le Pen, Rosie Bloor, Sophie Pedder, Callum Williams, Anne Rowe
A Paris criminal court banned Marine Le Pen from future elections for five years due to embezzlement, effectively removing her from the 2027 presidential race and plunging the National Rally into strategic uncertainty. Concurrently, a separate report highlights sustained rental inflation across wealthy nations driven by migration and supply shortages, while acknowledging that these costs have likely peaked despite remaining high. Finally, the obituary section honors Oleg Gordievsky, the high-ranking KGB officer who successfully defected to MI6 in 1985 after covertly gathering intelligence for decades.
- The Economist22 min
Cold call: Putin thwarts Trump
Putin, Trump, Rosie Bloor, Chris Lockwood, Simon Wright, Katherine Nixie
President Trump and Vladimir Putin failed to secure a comprehensive ceasefire during a two-hour call, with Putin rejecting blanket terms in favor of a limited energy infrastructure halt that Russia violated hours later. This diplomatic setback, compounded by unaddressed US demands regarding Ukrainian recruitment and military aid, has alarmed European leaders who are responding by suspending debt brakes and withdrawing from landmine treaties. Meanwhile, the broader geopolitical outlook suggests a potential US pivot toward Russia in the Middle East that risks sidelining Ukraine, leaving Europe to accelerate its own defense preparations amid fears of diminished American reliability.
- The Economist24 min
Peace broken: war returns to Gaza
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Angel Pfeffer, Oliver Morton, Sarah Wu
Israel initiated extensive airstrikes in Gaza following the collapse of a fragile ceasefire, a move confirmed by the United States and coordinated with simultaneous operations against Houthis to pressure Iran. This military escalation, justified by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a response to rejected negotiation offers, also serves domestic political aims to stabilize his coalition ahead of a critical budget vote. Concurrently, Israel is preparing a larger ground offensive intended to fully dismantle Hamas's military capabilities, while international mediators explore potential pathways for a new interim agreement.
- 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 Economist25 min
Conversation peace: can Europe bargain with Russia?
Rosie Bloor, Ed Carr, Mia Dahl, Anne Rowe
Convened at London's Lancaster House, European leaders signaled solidarity with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while pledging a European-led coalition for Ukraine peace, though the initiative remains critically dependent on uncertain US support and binding financial commitments. Simultaneously, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's limited deployment of National Guard troops to the US border failed to address the structural causes of the fentanyl crisis, prompting experts to emphasize that reduced overdose deaths stem from US health policy shifts rather than increased border enforcement. In a separate tragic development, Mohsen Hendrix, the world's first openly gay imam, was killed in South Africa after decades of reinterpreting Islamic scripture to defend LGBTQ+ rights and fostering inclusive communities.
- The Economist24 min
Ode to dread: Europe after Trump
Rosie Bloor, Shashank Joshi, Tom Gardner, Vishnu Padmanabhan
European leaders express deep anxiety over the reliability of the US security umbrella, highlighting critical deficits in defense spending, recruitment, and essential capabilities that would make a European deployment to Ukraine impossible without heavy American support. Concurrently, France is dismantling its military presence in Africa, a move that has triggered a security vacuum filled by the Russian Wagner Group and fueled by rising extremism across the Sahel region. In a separate geopolitical shift, India's Maha Kumbh Mela drew 700 million attendees, serving as a powerful platform for the ruling BJP to fuse Hindu nationalist ideology with aspirations of national identity despite a fatal stampede.
- 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
Get your Strait facts: China’s quiet Taiwan push
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Jeremy Page, Georgia Banjo, Amelia Wood
U.S.-China-Taiwan diplomatic tensions have escalated following the State Department's removal of anti-independence language and a surge in Global South endorsements of Beijing's unification claims amid warnings of a 2027 PLA invasion capability. Simultaneously, the Lucy Letby murder conviction faces scrutiny from international medical experts and statisticians who argue that circumstantial evidence supports natural causes, prompting a potential referral to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. In the sports sector, top European football clubs generated record revenues exceeding €11 billion while star player salaries remained stagnant relative to earnings a decade ago, shifting investment focus toward non-sporting revenue streams and future Middle Eastern deals.
- The Economist38 min
Scam Inc 3: The bottom line
Sammy Chen, Jackie Burns, Zannie Minton-Beddoes, Sulin Wong, Rita, Jay Beckhamer, Shane Haynes, Edgar, Bella, Jalil, Sarah, Gavesh, Sam Colbert, Alize Jean-Baptiste, Weidong Lin, Darren, Clare Reid, Rosie Bloor, Heidi Pett, John Shields
This exposé details the transformation of Myanmar's border fraud compounds into sophisticated, self-contained cities like KK Park, where centralized operations generate hundreds of millions in illicit revenue through a franchise model that treats crime as a legitimate business. The narrative highlights a specific rescue mission where 12 victims were freed from an execution threat by leveraging rebel intermediaries, underscoring the lethal pressure placed on both trafficked individuals and "voluntary" scammers within a global ecosystem estimated to employ 500,000 people. Ultimately, the analysis reveals that dismantling this $100 billion industry requires addressing deep systemic issues, including severe psychological trauma among survivors and the economic rationality that drives some victims to return to the compounds despite the dangers.
- The Economist24 min
It could happen to you: introducing “Scam Inc”
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Su Lin Wong, Simon Rabinovich, Tim Cross
Podcast series *Scam Inc.* reveals a multi-billion dollar online fraud industry utilizing violent coercion, AI-driven voice cloning, and psychological exploitation across the globe. Concurrently, the US administration has aggressively implemented sweeping tariff threats on major trading partners, creating significant market volatility while seeking to revitalize domestic manufacturing through protectionist policies. In the sports sector, Magnus Carlsen and Tim Cross are launching a rebranded Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour that employs randomized starting positions and F1-style broadcasting to transform chess into a mass-market entertainment product.
- The Economist26 min
As a next resort: Trump’s vision for Gaza
Trump, Binyamin Netanyahu, Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Anshul Pfeffer, Avantika Chilkoti
Donald Trump's proposal to economically redevelop the Gaza Strip by relocating its two million Palestinians has drawn immediate rejection from Arab foreign ministers and the governments of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, while garnering ecstatic support from Israeli far-right figures. Analysts widely characterize the plan as practically unfeasible and morally indefensible, suggesting it may serve as a political distraction for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rather than a viable diplomatic strategy. Simultaneously, rising tensions over the 1943–1944 Volhynia massacres threaten to strain Poland-Ukraine relations, while global baby industry spending surges despite demographic shifts and economic constraints.