Economist Podcasts

For decades governments have found minimum-wage rises a politically expedient means of redistribution. But the onward economic distortions have at last become clear. Of course AI can write a faster co...

It is telling and troubling that the annual climate talking-shop’s outcome did not even mention fossil fuels. We ask whether the COP process is still fit for purpose. Cryptocurrencies could be heading...

Britain’s home secretary Shabana Mahmood proposed a big shift in immigration policy this week. Our correspondent explains Labour’s reforms – and the reasoning behind them. Why military spy balloons ar...

Pentagon officials are meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss a Russia-US peace proposal Ukraine had no part in writing. That merely adds pressure as a giant corruption crisis is alre...

Muhammad bin Salman’s first visit to the White House in seven years earned the Saudi crown prince new weapons, giant tech deals and a burnished reputation. Our correspondent explains Trump’s warm welc...

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s former prime minister, has been sentenced to death for  crimes against humanity. The country is at a pivotal moment as it heads towards parliamentary elections next year. D...

This weekend, thousands of people protested in Mexico City about violent crime. But our correspondent notes that the government has had some success in confronting drug gangs and cutting homicides. Th...

After two years of war, over 80% of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed. Our correspondent assesses various plans for reconstruction. Do large lay-offs in American firms mean AI is coming for wh...

Last night Donald Trump finally managed to end the longest federal government shutdown in history. But, amid a new release of emails relating to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the political sto...

America has boycotted this week’s COP climate talks, but China has sent a giant delegation. The world’s biggest polluter is increasingly pivotal to tackling global warming. Why young protesters around...