Latest Interviews
Showing 16–30 of 62 transcripts.
Clear all filters- 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.
- The Economist29 min
Rebel with a new cause: meeting Syria’s president
Ahmed al-Sharaa, Mamoon Alhidayat, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Zeni Minton-Bettos, Nicholas Pelham, Ethan Wu, James Francham
Ahmed al-Shara has consolidated power as Syria's transitional president following Bashar al-Assad's removal, though his refusal to explicitly reject Sharia law and vague commitments to democratic elections have raised concerns about potential authoritarian consolidation. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan concluded its era of deflation by raising interest rates to 0.5%, driven by a virtuous wage-price cycle that has boosted bond yields despite lingering pressures on household spending. In the UK, a fifteen-year financial review disclosed that Members of Parliament earned £60 million from second jobs, with media appearances and speeches accounting for the majority of income and sparking public debate over potential regulatory caps.
- The Economist23 min
Putty people: can Trump get his picks?
Trump, Rosie Bloor, Adam O'Neill, Avantika Chirkotty, Luke Lithgow
The Trump administration is advancing controversial cabinet confirmations, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, while facing judicial and legislative resistance to executive overreach and potential pardons. Simultaneously, the global luxury market is contracting as aspirational brands struggle with economic headwinds, prompting a strategic pivot toward exclusivity and ultra-high-end clientele. In Australia, scientists are deploying genetic modifications and tadpole trapping to control the invasive cane toad population, which currently threatens native predators with lethal toxins.
- The Economist22 min
Remote control: Rwandan proxies occupy Congo
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Emmett Livingston, Robert Guest, Slaweja Čankova, Vishnu Padmarabhan
Following a collapse of government defenses, the M23 rebel group and alleged Rwandan troops captured Goma, displacing millions while exploiting the region's resources amid accusations of a proxy war strategy. Concurrently, medical research published in the *New England Journal of Medicine* identifies microplastics in half of a patient sample with arterial plaque, linking their presence to a quadrupled risk of heart attacks and stroke. Simultaneously, the global astrology market is surging to $23 billion by 2031 as Gen Z users increasingly turn to AI-driven platforms for guidance amidst declining religious adherence and rising societal stress.
- The Economist25 min
Bot against America: a Chinese AI jolts markets
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Guy Scriven, Sarah Larniuk, Tim Cross
DeepSeek's cost-efficient AI model triggered a global market sell-off by challenging the expense narrative of American tech giants, while US officials like Donald Trump framed the event as a competitive wake-up call for domestic industry. Simultaneously, Canada's Liberal Party faces scrutiny over unachievable 2030 goals to replace diesel in remote Indigenous communities due to climate-altered logistics and historical trust deficits with local First Nations. In the health sector, major fitness operators are pivoting from cardio to strength training to address metabolic health and counteract muscle loss linked to age and weight-loss pharmaceuticals.
- The Economist27 min
Right turn at a broken traffic light: Germany’s AfD
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Tom Nuttall, Gareth Brown, Ann Rowe
With a federal election imminent, the German far-right Alternative for Germany party has surged to second place in polling by broadening its platform to address economic anxiety while facing a cross-party firewall that excludes it from governing coalitions. Concurrently, the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria has triggered a significant return of displaced citizens driven by a desire to rebuild, despite ongoing infrastructure destruction and political tensions between secular and Islamist factions. Additionally, the film world mourns the death of auteur David Lynch, whose career was defined by juxtaposing suburban normality with cosmic dread in masterpieces like *Eraserhead* and *Twin Peaks*.
- The Economist23 min
A tax or attacks: how the Houthis fund themselves
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Corbyn Duncan, Stephen Askins, Alex Hearn, Ore Ogunbiyi, Amma Mensah, Sylvanus Ashan
In the Bab el-Mandab Strait, Houthi attacks have collapsed 70% of shipping volume and spiked freight rates fivefold, while major powers like the US and China remain constrained by regional diplomatic frictions that limit naval intervention. Simultaneously, China has rapidly narrowed its artificial intelligence gap with the US through cost-efficient frontier models like DeepSeek V3, challenging American infrastructure dominance despite sanctions on top-tier chips. In Ghana, founder Amma Mensah transformed a loss-making rainforest operation into a luxury spirits brand, boosting farmer salaries by 50% and targeting the global market with high-value rums derived from local botanicals.
- The Economist23 min
View to a killing: bond yields rise and rise
Rosie Bloor, Josh Roberts, Henry Kerr, Edward McBride
Rising global bond yields driven by sticky inflation and anticipated US fiscal expansion under Donald Trump are forcing higher borrowing costs for governments and consumers alike, while threatening to slow economic growth. Parallel strategic tensions involve the US exploring coercive or transactional methods to secure Greenland's critical mineral resources and naval significance, despite local sovereignty concerns. Meanwhile, Singapore faces a severe crisis in its UNESCO-recognized hawker culture as high recruitment costs and low profits deter younger generations, prompting a struggling government to rethink its intervention strategies.
- The Economist25 min
Adaptitude: India and climate change
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Robert Guest, Sukanya Ashin, CK Vishnudas, Arumar Rivi, Ganesh Shankar, John Prudhoe, Alex Hearn
Recent developments highlight a triad of global challenges and responses, where India's intensifying climate crisis drives urgent adaptation strategies ranging from community-led flood warnings to high-tech water conservation, while a forecast of Donald Trump's second term predicts aggressive regulatory rollbacks and tax cuts alongside low-probability foreign policy breakthroughs. Simultaneously, the English wine sector is pivoting toward robotic automation to counter labor shortages and rising temperatures, utilizing spectral analysis to harvest grapes with precision before their sugar levels compromise quality. These interconnected narratives underscore a broader shift where economic inequality, political constraints, and environmental pressures force rapid technological and policy adaptations across diverse industries.
- The Economist22 min
Don’t mention the war: Russia’s internal tensions
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Arkady Ostrovsky, Matthew Holhouse
Analysts predict Vladimir Putin's regime faces potential unraveling due to a fragmented society where a pacifist majority fears total collapse yet creates fertile ground for crisis-driven change, a dynamic paralleling the late Soviet era. Simultaneously, the UK's Labour government confronts severe electoral volatility after securing a parliamentary majority with only 34% of the popular vote, necessitating tangible economic improvements to counter insurgent challenges from Reform UK and the Greens. Finally, corporate research demonstrates that while third-party nicknames enhance brand authenticity, hierarchical workplace nicknaming erodes psychological safety when initiated by management.
- The Economist28 min
Of peanuts and principles: Jimmy Carter dies
Jimmy Carter, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, John Prudhoe, Tom Standage, Tim Cross
This episode analyzes the complex legacy of Jimmy Carter by contrasting his troubled presidency with his transformative post-White House humanitarian work, while forecasting a volatile 2025 shaped by Donald Trump's potential return and disruptive forces like solar storms and AI adoption. The discussion further dissects Elon Musk's ideologically driven leadership through recommendations of science fiction and biographies that reveal his fixation on existential threats and multi-planetary colonization. Collectively, these segments offer a multidimensional view of historical reflection, future geopolitical unpredictability, and the personal philosophies driving modern technological power.
- The Economist28 min
Country of the year: The Economist picks
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Patrick Fowles, Josie DeLapp, Lena Shipper, Alexander Sewage Bus, Sharon Loman, Angie Keeling-Garcia
The Economist awarded Bangladesh the title of Country of the Year 2024 for its significant governance and economic stabilization under interim leader Muhammad Yunus following a student-led revolution that ousted Sheikh Hasina. This selection superseded Syria, which editors rejected due to the uncertainty of its post-Assad transition and the potential rule by the extremist HTS group. Concurrently, the report highlights a severe post-pandemic crisis of pet abandonment in the US, where rescue organizations are struggling to manage record surrender rates driven by impulsive consumer behavior and a surplus of now-unwanted animals.
- The Economist24 min
Between Estonia and a hard place: NATO meets
Rosie Bloor, Adam Roberts, Ava Renee, Anne Hanna, Dr Alex Christensen, Daryl van Tongeren, Erin Braun, Bob Van Wagenen
At a summit in Tallinn hosted by Estonia, NATO leaders coordinated defense strategies against Russian aggression, agreeing to intensify sanctions on Russia's shadow fleet while pushing member states to exceed the 2% GDP spending benchmark. Concurrently, a separate global analysis reveals the rapid capitalization of digital spirituality, a sector projected to grow 15% annually as influencers and corporations monetize the declining trust in traditional religious institutions among Western youth. Amidst these geopolitical and economic shifts, conservationists face a critical crisis in recovering the California condor population from lead poisoning and wildfire threats, despite a significant increase in numbers from 22 birds in 1982.
- The Economist29 min
Mass graves: revealing Syria’s horror
Jason Palmer, Rosie Bloor, Gareth Brown, Sophie Petter, Andy Miller, Rachel Lloyd, Nicholas Barber
Ten days after Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow, journalist Gareth Brown confirmed the existence of a massive mass grave in Al-Qutayfa where locals allege regime forces buried up to 100,000 political prisoners from Sadnaya prison. Meanwhile, France faces a deepening political crisis as President Emmanuel Macron appointed François Bayrou to lead a caretaker government following the dismissal of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, leaving the nation without a 2025 budget amidst threats of immediate no-confidence votes from all parliamentary factions. In cultural news, critics highlight three distinct 2024 releases: Sean Baker's *Anora* subverts marriage tropes, *All of Us Strangers* explores grief through supernatural drama, and *The Substance* delivers a satirical body-horror critique of Hollywood's ageism.
- The Economist27 min
Off-side: Georgians reject new president
Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Sarah Larniuk, Tim Cross, Maria Vilcek
In Tbilisi, escalating protests driven by democratic demands and opposition to oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili have forced the Georgian government to shift from violent crackdowns to legal intimidation following a contested presidential election and EU accession delays. Meanwhile, the incoming US administration faces complex political inertia in potentially slashing the $93 billion NASA Artemis program, as cost inefficiencies clash with entrenched congressional support for the Space Launch System across multiple states. Concurrently, the classic martini cocktail is experiencing a cultural resurgence due to its historical resilience and adaptability, with modern consumers favoring high-quality, home-mixable versions over declining general alcohol consumption trends.