Latest Interviews
Showing 16–30 of 188 transcripts.
Clear all filters- The Economist25 min
Wall of duties: Trump’s towering tariffs
Trump, Shonda Rhimes, Rosie Bloor, Rachna Shambhog, Tom Gardner, Rachel Lloyd
On April 2, 2025, Donald Trump enacted sweeping global tariffs designed to rebuild American manufacturing while economists warn of an elevated recession risk and infrastructure challenges regarding enforcement. Concurrently, the Sudanese National Army recaptured Khartoum with international military backing, though a fragmented coalition and the Rapid Support Forces' continued resistance suggest a prolonged conflict rather than a decisive peace. In the entertainment sector, Shondaland solidified its dominance by generating $2.4 billion in revenue through distinct pacing strategies and expansive universe-building, despite a market increasingly risk-averse to new creative talent.
- The Economist23 min
Ballot from the blue: will Ukraine hold a poll?
Rosie Bloor, Oliver Carroll, Andrew Knox, Natasha
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have recently challenged Volodymyr Zelensky's legitimacy, sparking a domestic political shift where Zelensky's approval rating of 45% now surpasses his military rival's 30% despite constitutional barriers preventing elections during martial law. Simultaneously, President Trump plans to announce "Liberation Day" tariffs that could mirror the destructive economic fallout of the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act by triggering a global trade war and reducing American growth. While international and domestic political maneuvering continues, public health experts warn that the recent Daylight Savings Time shift disrupts circadian rhythms, linking the change to increased risks of heart attacks, depression, and sleep deprivation among vulnerable populations.
- 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 Economist23 min
Shock and war: Myanmar junta exploits quake
Donald Trump, Rosie Bloor, Su Lin Wong, Anton LaGuardia, Lizzie Pete
Amidst a devastating earthquake in Myanmar, the ruling junta has intensified airstrikes and blocked humanitarian aid to populations outside its control, resulting in a confirmed death toll of 1,700 that officials fear will rise significantly due to restricted information access. Simultaneously, the US administration has ended over eighty years of global broadcasting by shutting down Voice of America and related networks, a move praised by authoritarian regimes like China and Russia as it eliminates platforms exposing human rights abuses in regions such as Xinjiang. In a separate development, the 2025 Economist Glass Ceiling Index revealed that while Sweden has reclaimed the top spot for gender equality, the United States continues to lag due to a lack of federally mandated parental leave and high childcare costs, despite record highs in women's parliamentary representation in nations like Britain and Japan.
- The Economist19 min
Canuck of the draw: Canada’s election campaigns
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Rob Russo, Aaron Connelly, Alexandra Sewich-Bass
Following Justin Trudeau's resignation, Mark Carney led the Liberal Party to victory in the April 28th snap election by pivoting to economic pragmatism while leveraging a two-horse race against Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives that focused on managing the geopolitical threat of Donald Trump. Simultaneously, China maintained a hardline diplomatic stance in the South China Sea, utilizing strategic pressure on regional partners like India and Australia while avoiding conciliatory negotiations due to President Xi Jinping's centralized control over foreign policy. These political shifts occurred alongside a surge in dystopian fiction sales and cultural analysis, as works like Leila Lalami's *The Dream Hotel* reflected society's increasing acceptance of mass surveillance and risk-based governance in response to domestic instability.
- The Economist23 min
Bibi driver: battles led by and within Israel
Claudia Sheinbaum, Richard Fortey, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Greg Karlstrom, Sarah Burke, Anne Rowe
Israel has ended a fragile ceasefire in Gaza by redeploying troops to encircle Rafah while simultaneously purging domestic security and judicial officials to consolidate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition ahead of an election-triggering budget vote. In parallel, US-Mexico relations have stabilized under President Claudia Sheinbaum, who leveraged tariff threats to secure a two-month reprieve while implementing stricter border security and targeting corrupt allies within her party. The summary also marks the death of paleontologist Richard Fortey, whose research on trilobites fundamentally reshaped understanding of ancient continental drift and pre-Pangaea geography.
- The Economist23 min
Spy-fall: Trump imperils intelligence pact
Trump, Rosie Bloor, Shashank Joshi, Shalas Chitnis, Alexandra Suech-Bass
Amidst a restructuring of US intelligence leadership under Donald Trump and potential disruptions to the Five Eyes alliance, China has surged to become the world's second-largest drug developer, offering Western pharmaceutical companies critical intellectual property to navigate an upcoming patent cliff. Concurrently, The Economist has launched a curated weekly film and television guide designed to highlight globally diverse, notable titles while explicitly advising against unworthy viewing, complementing its subscriber-only coverage of unique international social experiments. These developments collectively reshape intelligence security, biotech market dynamics, and cultural consumption within a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape.
- The Economist26 min
Not so delightful: Erdogan arrests rival
Erdogan, Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Piotr Zalewski, Matt Yuki, Annie Crable, Kevin Torregrossa
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the arrest of opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu and over 100 allies on politically motivated charges, a move that triggered a 12% collapse in the Turkish lira and a 9% drop in the BIST 100 index. Simultaneously, the Trump administration pressured Panama into accepting US immigration demands and infrastructure projects to safeguard the Panama Canal, while the US government faces a critical gap in exotic snake antivenom supplies that has turned the Bronx Zoo into a vital emergency medical hub for bite victims. These distinct geopolitical and domestic crises highlight the immediate economic fallout in Turkey, the strained sovereignty dynamics in Central America, and the systemic regulatory failures regarding exotic animal imports in the United States.
- 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 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 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.