The Intelligence from The Economist

Latest Episodes:

The end of the world is AI? An existential threat Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

Is artificial intelligence becoming uncontrollably powerful? Our correspondent analyses whether a pause to breakneck development is possible or feasible. We have entered the new age of the orator. And why cheese is getting more popular in India.

Guests and host:

Alex Hern, AI writer
Tom Wainwright, culture correspondent
Tom Sasse, South Asia bureau chief
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

Human extinction, AI, Sam Altman, Dario Amodei
Oral culture, literacy, James Marriott, Walter Ong
Cheese, India, kalimpong

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Islamism in Britain: what is the threat? Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Though a growing share of the British population is anxious about Islam, they have no reason to be. Islamism, a fringe ideology that believes government and society should be guided by Islamic principles, is the real concern. America cracks down on multinationals’ efforts to shift profits overseas. And why corporate training videos are virtually useless.

Guests and host:

Sonny Loughran, Britain correspondent
Shera Avi-Yonah, US business correspondent
Andrew Palmer, “Boss Class” host and Bartleby columnist
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

Islamism, Britain, Islamophobia
IRS, corporate tax, Coca-Cola
Corporate training videos

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Strait and narrowing: the Houthis’ striking advance Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

After years of stalemate, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis are taking territory, including on a Red Sea strait. We ask what has changed, and how the shift fits into the wider regional conflict. As America’s midterm elections approach, we examine the fragmentation of the coalition that put Donald Trump back in office. And we ask how much nepotism matters in Hollywood today.

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The Weekend Intelligence: Shire folk - Episode 1: Tommy's Town Sep 12, 2026

Show notes

For 15 years, the British media dismissed Tommy Robinson as a far-right extremist. We kept him off our televisions, and out of our newspapers.

Today his rallies attract tens of thousands of followers and he has the ear of the world’s richest man.

Shire Folk is the story of how some of the most powerful people in America came to see Britain—and Islam—through the eyes of a fringe football hooligan.

Topics covered:

Radical Islam
Gangs
English Defence League

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Out-numbered: AI’s contentious maths milestone Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

OpenAI’s claim to have solved one of the great problems in mathematics has itself created problems. We ask why the breakthrough has shaken the field. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11 we examine the vast counterterrorism machinery that followed in America, and nascent efforts to pare those powers back. And remembering Guo Lanying, a Chinese singer who championed traditional opera.

Watch extended clips from Insider here.

Guests and host:

Sam Wikeley, science correspondent
Sam Beal, Washington correspondent
Ann Wroe, obituaries editor
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

mathematics, AI, Millennium Prize Problems
9/11 anniversary, counterterrorism law
Guo Lanying, Chinese opera

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Working through it: the AI jobs boom dawns Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

The labour data are in from America and a trend is becoming clearer: on balance AI is starting to create more jobs than it hoovers up. Despite advancements of just about every other kind, China cannot seem to escape its food-safety problems. We ask why not. And why Kenya’s ants have become the target of smugglers.

Guests and host:

Alex Domash, economics correspondent
Gabriel Crossley, China correspondent
Carla Subirana, news editor
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

AI, labour statistics, labour market
China, regulation, food safety
ants, smuggling, Kenya

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Chainsaw sputtering: Milei’s experiment falters Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

President Javier Milei has tamed inflation and improved the lot of many Argentines. But an election season approaches, and the promised economic and wage growth are not materialising. As LIV Golf files for bankruptcy, we ask where it went wrong in trying to disrupt the sport. And the growth that is good for India’s people is bad for its elephants.

Guests and host:

Kinley Salmon, Latin America correspondent
Henry Tricks, US technology editor
Abhishek Kumar, India writer
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

Argentina, Javier Milei
golf, LIV Golf, Saudi Arabia
India, elephants

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School of shock: teenagers get dimmer Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

International tests in maths and reading show that 15-year-olds today score what 14-year-olds would have done a decade ago. Our correspondent explains the long-term decline. Is Miami’s thriving economic growth sustainable? And why Jeremy Vine’s BBC Radio 2 show is a microcosm of Britain.

Guests and host:

Mark Johnson, senior editor
Cerian Richmond Jones, international economics correspondent
Sonny Loughran, Britain correspondent
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

PISA, education, test scores, exams, aptitude
Miami, Trump, Florida, hurricane
Jeremy Vine, Radio 2, BBC

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All right on the night: AfD’s victory Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

Alternative for Germany won an even larger share of the vote than expected in yesterday’s state election. What does the far-right nationalist party’s success mean for Germany and Europe? The climate case for limiting vapour trails from aeroplanes. And why South Korean youths are turning to Buddhism.

Guests and host:

Tom Nuttall, Berlin bureau chief
Oliver Morton, planetary affairs editor
Soobin Kim, Korea writer
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

AfD, Alternative for Germany, Alternative für Deutschland
contrails, aviation, climate science
South Korea, Buddhism

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Bargaining chips: Nvidia is the bank of AI Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, has shifted strategy to boost demand for its chips. Our correspondent assesses the opportunities and risks. Knife crime in Britain moves to rural pastures. And our obituaries editor recounts the life of Frank Smith, who died in prison aged 101.

Watch extended clips from Insider here, plus the full Elon Musk interview

Guests and host: