The Economist Radio (All audio)

The birth rate of unicorns—firms with a valuation north of $1bn—has plummeted, and prior investors in them are eyeing what exits exist. We ask why the species is endangered. The struggle to finance and build homes is contributing to a profound housing crisis in sub-Saharan Africa (08:34). And the return of Parler, a darling social-media platform for America’s far right (17:56).Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a 20-point primary walloping in South Carolina, the state she governed for eight years, Nikki Haley vowed to fight on against Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. But why? Seasonal opportunities for natural-gas arbitrage have been juicier during the war in Ukraine—and one good place to store cheap gas between seasons is Ukraine (9:31). And examining America’s cousin-marriage laws (16:05).Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this roundtable discussion our editors examine how the past year has progressed, discuss how things may go over the next year and consider a few fundamentally positive truths about the whole conflict. Meanwhile our senior producer travels through Ukraine, getting a measure of both determination and despondency among soldiers and civilians.Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hardened war-zone doctors say the situation in Gaza is the worst they have witnessed—and that will cost lives long after the current conflict is resolved. Numbers from America’s tight labour market suggest that long-standing gaps between black and white workers are narrowing (09:57). And we speak with the maker of The Economist’s shiny new typeface (18:18).Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dark matter is thought to make up around a quarter of the universe, but so far it has eluded detection by all scientific instruments. Scientists know it must exist because of the ways galaxies move and it also explains the large-scale structure of the modern universe. But no-one knows what dark matter actually is.Scientists have been hunting for dark matter particles for decades, but have so far had no luck. At the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held recently in Denver, a new generation of researchers presented their latest tools, techniques and ideas to step up the search for this mysterious substance. Will they finally detect the undetectable? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Don Lincoln, senior scientist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Christopher Karwin, a fellow at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center; Josef Aschbacher, boss of the European Space Agency; Michael Murra of Columbia University; Jodi Cooley,

If it succeeds—and that is no sure thing—this week’s soft landing of Odysseus will be the first by a private firm. We examine the prospects and the business models of the Moon rush. Our producer visits Ukraine to mark the anniversary of a revolution that helped to shape today’s conflict (11:22). And the rise and coming fall in entertaining British obituaries (21:25).Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China’s firms are shedding value at pace and foreign investors are starting to look elsewhere. We ask why faith is fading in a market that once looked unstoppable. Slam poetry, an American invention of the 1980s, is now conquering Francophone Africa (08:54). And why there are ever fewer athletes who excel at more than one sport (17:32).Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At last President Vladimir Putin’s regime has succeeded in silencing the country’s most prominent opposition figure. What happens next? Demand for electric cars is weakening, particularly in Britain; we ask how to recharge the market (11:47). And what is remarkable about a stage production of “The Shawshank Redemption” in China (19:44).Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Alexei Navalny flew back to Russia in 2021 he never made it through passport control. In an excerpt from Next Year in Moscow, The Economist’s series on Russian opposition to the war, today’s episode chronicles this period of his life. It’s an account of what turned out to be the last three years of Navalny’s life - peppered with his own words, and told by people who knew him well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is not science fiction. Space is already a part of modern warfare and as technology advances, it will be an even more crucial sphere. What will extraterrestrial conflict look like? A look at the latest Democracy Index as conflict continues to dent freedoms across the globe (11:47). And, a tribute to Jack Jennings (23:35)   Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prabowo Subianto stormed to victory in the world’s largest single-day election. But critics say his presidency could jeopardise two decades of democratic progress. Nvidia has dominated the global market for AI accelerator chips for years. Could a company about a third of its size come for its crown (10:51)? And, more people are tuning in to watch people get slapped (19:20).Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Podcast transcripts are available upon request at podcasts@economist.com. We are committed to improving accessibility even further and are exploring new ways to expand our podcast-transcript offering. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After an all-nighter, a $95bn foreign aid bill for Ukraine and other allies passed the US Senate. But amid much division, it may not even make it to a House vote. Stray cows are a growing problem for India’s city dwellers. Could a new census help (09:25)? And, how people are spending less on Valentine’s Day (16:12)Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In some ways, Beijing now sounds like a lot of other mega cities. Yet, back in imperial times, sound was used in creative ways to display wealth, to conduct everyday business and, most importantly, to keep order. David Rennie, our Beijing bureau chief, takes us on a sonic journey through the places where Beijing’s ancient soundscape is being kept alive. He meets Colin Chinnery, a sound artist and archivist, to find out why sound has long been a vital part of Beijing’s spirit, and the ways in which it still is today.Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Tusk’s predecessors in the hard-right PiS party captured the state and compromised its checks and balances. The newly-elected centrist party is having a hard time correcting course. A new NASA satellite which can map the tiniest of the earth’s particles is set to transform climate science (09:54). And a look at how motherhood hurts careers (17:41). Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Squabbles over the seas and their tributary waterways are becoming more tense as rivalries deepen and the climate changes. How should the West prepare? An opinion poll with a twist suggests that Xi Jinping is not as popular as he thinks he is (11:29). And, a tribute to the queen of world rallying (17:42).Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America has launched strikes against Iranian-backed militias in the Middle East, in response to an attack on a base in Jordan where three US troops died. How close are America and Iran to war?John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. They’re joined by General Frank McKenzie, former commander of US Central Command, and The Economist’s Anton La Guardia. Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As had long been telegraphed, Ukraine’s top general Valery Zaluzhny is now out; Oleksandr Syrsky is in. That marks a new phase in the war, and an opportunity for President Volodymyr Zelensky to reframe its terms. American car-insurance costs are skyrocketing—but, perversely, they are probably still too low (9:43). And the bonkers conspiracy theories involving the Super Bowl and Taylor Swift (15:03).Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our correspondent is travelling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on yet another gruelling tour of the Middle East trying to broker peace. What are the chances of a lasting deal? We examine the problems arising from Latin America’s falling fertility rate (11:06). And TikTok has become a destination for news; we meet some of its self-appointed news anchors (17:16). Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In one of this year’s largest votes, Indonesia will elect a new president in one week’s time; this time the sanctity and future of its democracy are at stake. In Germany prominent people—even Jews—who question Israel’s war in Gaza are being cancelled (10:45). And how many books are you likely to read in what is left of your life (17:25)? Get a world of insights for 50% off—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Macky Sall, Senegal’s president, has said he would not stand again. So what to make of the move to delay the election until December? Our correspondent says that many artificial-intelligence researchers think fakes will soon become entirely undetectable (10:11). And as football manager Jürgen Klopp steps down at Liverpool, we ask why being a leader is so very tiring (18:03). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.