Latest Interviews
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Clear all filters- The Economist8 min
Why does Elon Musk want to put data centres in space? | The Economist
Elon Musk, Tom Standage, Alex Hern
Elon Musk has merged XAI into SpaceX and filed an FCC application to deploy one million satellites, aiming to establish orbital data centers powered by sun-synchronous orbits to achieve terawatt-scale annual capacity. While Musk targets lunar manufacturing and mass drivers to lower launch costs, OpenAI's Sam Altman and industry analysts currently dismiss the concept as technically infeasible due to prohibitive expenses and unrepairable hardware failure rates. Despite this skepticism, competitors including StarCloud, Google, Jeff Bezos, and Eric Schmidt are advancing their own pilot projects or securing launch capacity to test the viability of space-based computing.
- The Economist10 min
How did the Democrats learn to win again?
Zohran Mamdani, Charlotte Howard, James Bennett, John Priddo
Following victories in Virginia and New Jersey, Democratic governors Jennifer Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill established a pragmatic, affordability-focused governing model that contrasts sharply with the radical left-wing platform of New York's Zoran Mamdani. These elections intensified the Democratic Party's internal strategic tension between moderate problem-solvers and progressive ideologues, a division exemplified by Jared Golden's retirement and the absence of a unified national platform for the 2028 cycle. As Republicans seek to weaponize Mamdani's candidacy to paint the entire party as radical, Democratic strategists now face the imperative of balancing diverse local successes with a coherent national message.
- The Economist9 min
How Donald Trump made the Gaza talks happen
Donald Trump, Jason Palmer, Anshel Pfeffer
Amid unprecedented war fatigue, the Trump administration has deployed a high-level delegation led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Sharm El Sheikh to drive an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The proposed Phase 1 plan mandates a full halt to hostilities, a partial Israeli withdrawal, and a reciprocal exchange of 48 Israeli hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners to prevent famine and release military reservists. While long-term governance details regarding disarmament and international security forces remain deferred, the U.S. is aggressively enforcing this framework to bypass previous diplomatic failures and secure a permanent end to the conflict.
- The Economist7 min
Is McKinsey losing its crown to AI?
McKinsey is grappling with stalled revenue growth and a 20% shrinkage in its market lead over Boston Consulting Group following significant workforce reductions and a strategic pivot toward digital capabilities. This erosion of dominance coincides with encroachment from technology firms like Palantir and OpenAI, which are bypassing traditional advisory models by directly deploying engineers to implement AI solutions. The industry now faces a structural transformation where AI threatens to commoditize junior-level analytical work, forcing firms to redefine their value proposition against emerging self-service client capabilities.
- The Economist7 min
Covid-19: Can vaccines keep up with variants?
Driven by the Delta variant and potential mutations within immune-suppressed hosts, the pandemic persists as unchecked global transmission threatens to create vaccine-evading "omega" variants. Experts warn that while current vaccines remain effective against severe outcomes, the primary risk lies in uncontrolled spread leading to higher absolute death tolls and future immune evasion. To prevent this nightmare scenario, scientists advocate for proactive surveillance at human-animal interfaces and the development of rapid variant-specific vaccines alongside stricter laboratory and environmental security protocols.