Latest Interviews
Showing 91–105 of 456 transcripts.
Clear all filters- 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.
- a16z41 min
Why AI Voice Feels More Human Than Ever
The rapid advancement of AI voice technology has enabled near real-time, emotionally nuanced interactions that are replacing human agents in high-volume sectors such as customer service, recruiting, and logistics. Market dynamics are shifting toward specialized vertical SaaS products that leverage proprietary data moats to offer opinionated, culturally adapted conversational experiences while moving beyond simple per-minute pricing models. As latency drops and capabilities expand, voice is predicted to become the primary consumer AI interface within the next year, driving a transition from labor substitution to augmented efficiency across financial, healthcare, and operational domains.
- 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 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.
- Y Combinator8 min
GPT-4.5 = Big Model Energy | YC Decoded
OpenAI has released GPT-4.5, a significantly larger and more human-like model that surpasses its predecessor in emotional intelligence and creative fluency while facing higher costs and specific limitations in complex STEM reasoning. Market reception remains measured as benchmarks show incremental rather than revolutionary improvements, leading researchers to predict a future convergence of general and reasoning capabilities in the upcoming GPT-5 architecture. Simultaneously, YC is hosting a free AI Startup School in San Francisco featuring industry leaders such as Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Satya Nadella to support emerging AI talent.
- 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 Economist23 min
Emmanuel dexterity: Trump and Macron chat
Emmanuel, Trump, Macron, Jason Palmer, Sophie Petter, John Joe Devlin, Eva Torstad, Dr. Kelrong Utne, Henrik Weiss, Dolly Sesson
French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump concluded a three-hour Washington meeting where Macron corrected Trump's Russia narrative and framed a potential European-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine as a strategic turning point. This diplomatic exchange highlighted a broader shift toward European strategic autonomy as leaders address NATO defense spending gaps and questions regarding American reliability. Simultaneously, Norway's wild salmon collapse, driven by aquaculture parasites and shifting oceanic conditions, has prompted immediate fishing bans and calls for escape-free farming technologies. Finally, the Michelin Guide is adapting to the digital age by expanding into new markets like India and prioritizing sustainable, informal dining over traditional luxury to maintain authority against social media critics.
- 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 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 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 Economist36 min
Scam Inc 2: Opportunity of a lifetime
Zannie Minton-Beddoes, Sulin Wong
Recruited through deceptive job postings, victims from the Philippines, Uganda, South Africa, and South Asia are smuggled into remote Myanmar compounds where they are held captive and forced to execute "Pig Butchering" cryptocurrency scams. These workers endure 16-hour shifts and brutal physical punishment while impersonating wealthy professionals to defraud White Americans aged 40 to 65 of tens of thousands of dollars. Controlled by Chinese-led hierarchies and increasingly industrialized by satellite-confirmed infrastructure, these self-contained operations utilize deepfake technology and strict racial targeting to sustain a vast, transnational fraud network.