The Intelligence from The Economist

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The bog of war: week five begins Mar 30, 2026

Show notes

The Iran conflict is escalating with little prospect of an end in sight. Our correspondent explains why a US ground invasion is likely. In an ongoing history series, we look at how America’s attitude to migrants changed as it got richer. And “Project Hail Mary” is a sci-fi film drawing wide audiences.

Guests and host:

Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent
Annie Crabill, a news editor in New York
Alexandra Suich Bass, Culture editor
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The intelligence”

Topics covered:

Iran, Houthis, geopolitics, oil
America, migration, colonialism
“Project Hail Mary”, sci-fi

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Hasta la victoria, quizás: Cuba’s broken economy Mar 27, 2026

Show notes

Even before America crimped Cuba’s oil, the country was teetering. We ask what is to blame for the Cuban people’s plight, and whether anything better is in prospect. The craze of injecting peptides is not only scientifically unsupported—it is potentially dangerous. Chuck Norris once got mad at dinosaurs. Just once. Our obituaries editor recounts his unlikely rise to international manly stardom.

Guests and host:

Sarah Birke, Central America and Caribbean bureau chief
Natasha Loder, health editor
Tim Cross, senior science writer
Ann Wroe, obituaries editor
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

Cuba, Trump administration
peptides, wellness, pseudoscience
Chuck Norris

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Algorithm and blues: a watershed social-media verdict Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

A jury in California agreed with a plaintiff who argued that Meta and Google, two social-media giants, designed their platforms to be addictive. That opens the floodgates to more litigation and perhaps to regulatory change. We examine the world’s maritime chokepoints and how they shape geopolitics—littorally, not figuratively. And how digitally animated films came to dominate the box office.

Guests and host:

Tom Wainwright, media editor
Anton La Guardia, diplomatic editor
Alex Selby-Boothroyd, head of data journalism
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

social-media sites, internet use, online addiction
geopolitics, chokepoints, Strait of Hormuz
animated films

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On goal difference: are America and Israel diverging on Iran? Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

In the daily tea leaves one might read that President Donald Trump would prefer a deal with Iran to a continuing military campaign. Where would that leave Israel and its goals? Cryptocurrencies have gained a particular foothold in Asian economies; will they become real financial infrastructure or just tools of fraud? And tracing the history of mafias through the ages.

Guests and host:

Anshel Pfeffer, Israel correspondent
Sue-Lin Wong, Asia correspondent
Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

Iran war, Israel, America
cryptocurrency, Asia
mafias, crime families, history

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(Another) all-out war: Afghanistan and Pakistan Mar 24, 2026

Show notes

Air strikes and border raids have turned cross-border tensions into hot conflict. We ask what raised the temperature, and whether the Iran war may act to lower it. Meanwhile that war’s oil shock brings with it fears of rising inflation; we examine how recent disruptions might inform policy decisions. And “listening parties”, once for music-industry insiders, are becoming the norm.

Guests and host:

Tom Sasse, south Asia bureau chief
Joshua Roberts, capital markets correspondent
Caitlin Talbot, digital culture correspondent
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

Afghanistan, Taliban, Pakistan, TTP
Iran war, oil shock, inflation
music, albums, listening parties

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From bad to awful: Trump’s four options in Iran Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

As the war in Iran progresses, none of the options available to Donald Trump looks good. We examine each of them. Thailand’s Buddhist monks are implicated in lots of lawless and dodgy behaviour—but clearing out the bad apples is more complicated than it seems. And gene-editing comes to the fruit bowl: we look at what science is serving up next.

Guests and host:

Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent
Alizée Jean-Baptiste, Asia senior podcasts producer
Maria Lisik, news editor
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

Iran war, Donald Trump
Thailand, Buddhist monks
gene-editing, fruit

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Who will deal the final blow? Israel, Lebanon and Hizbullah Mar 20, 2026

Show notes

As attention has focused on war in Iran, Israel sees an opportunity to crush a weakened Hizbullah in Lebanon. Our correspondent says it would be far better for the Lebanese state to do so. As south-east Asia is modernising, Islam is counterintuitively gaining greater primacy in civic life. And a tribute to Jürgen Habermas, Germany’s and perhaps Europe’s most prominent intellectual.

Guests and host:

Gareth Browne, Middle East correspondent
Sue-Lin Wong, Asia correspondent
Ann Wroe, obituaries editor
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

Lebanon, Hizbullah, Israel, Iran war
Islam, south-east Asia
Jürgen Habermas, obituaries

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An act of self-harm: Trump’s latest war might be his undoing Mar 19, 2026

Show notes

A rash entry into a war of choice exposes President Donald Trump in a number of ways—and he may prove more dangerous as he becomes weaker. Turkey’s foreign entanglements mask the democratic backsliding at home; that is bad news for an opposition figure whose trial just began. And Americans seem to be taking their anger out on food-delivery robots.

Guests and host:

Robert Guest, deputy editor
Piotr Zalewski, Turkey correspondent
Rebecca Jackson, Southern correspondent
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

Donald Trump, war in Iran
Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ekrem Imamoglu
America, delivery robots

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Flagging carriers: war shuffles the Gulf-airline flight deck Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

Cancelled flights, longer routes, higher prices: the war in Iran is taking its toll on the airline industry. The conflict may force lasting change on the big Gulf carriers. We ask why the once-frothy fake-meat industry is losing its bite. And why PDFs, one of technology’s most pervasive file types, may meet their end thanks to AI.

Guests and hosts:

Simon Wright, industry editor
Hollie Berman, news editor
Shera Avi-Yonah, business writer
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:

airline industry, Iran war
meat substitutes, plant-based meats
PDFs, AI

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Barrel vault: a Nigerian refining giant rises Mar 17, 2026

Show notes

Nigeria sorely needed the enormous oil refinery built by Aliko Dangote, who was already Africa’s richest man. We ask what that new capacity means for him, for Nigeria and for the continent. We speak to the surprisingly large and diverse Iranian diaspora in Los Angeles. And how a cancer diagnosis seems to drive some people to a life of crime.

Guests and host: