The Intelligence from The Economist

The International Criminal Court has arrested Rodrigo Duterte, a former president of the Philippines. The case highlights both the strengths and the weaknesses of international justice. We examine the spate of bombings plaguing Sweden—carried out by young people who are in it for the money (8:18). And remembering Athol Fugard, a playwright who spoke truth to power in South Africa’s apartheid era (17:04). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

The Trump administration’s dedication to tariffs now seems more fervent than the first time around. Markets are noticing. We ask what might temper the trade war. Europe’s once-fringe hard-right parties are now leading polls, even if not yet leading governments; we look at where things are headed (11:07). And tackling the mythology behind people’s very first and very last words (16:47). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

The ceasefire proposal hatched by American negotiators and agreed by Ukraine is now a matter for Russia to consider. We ask how the not-yet-a-breakthrough will land in both countries. Our correspondents ask one of NATO’s very-top brass about Europe’s defence stance and how it should shift (10:44). And the shockingly life-shortening effects of loneliness (18:55). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Horrifying attacks on Alawites, the sect of deposed leader Bashar al-Assad, throw into question the power—or the will—of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the country’s leader, to maintain peace. For the first time in decades it now makes more sense to pay off a mortgage early (10:36). And high-end satellite data, once the preserve only of spies, could soon be available to all (16:19). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

The governing Liberal party is enjoying a stunning turnaround in the polls, and now it has a new leader. We ask how Mark Carney will tussle with Donald Trump’s tariffs and taunts. China has a vibrant new wintertime economic sector: skiing and snowy tourism (10:45). And a tribute to Rose Girone, knitter extraordinaire and the oldest known Holocaust survivor (17:22). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

After a turbulent seven days, how will President Volodymyr Zelensky tackle the domestic and international challenges ahead? Our correspondent attends “Ode to Resistance”, a concert of defiance in Ukraine (9:55). And how “The Economist” reported on the Allies’ advance across Europe in the second world war: a sample from our interactive archive (18:22). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

The leader of Turkey’s Kurdish rebels has called on the group to disband. That could end one of the world’s longest running conflicts. How tariffs and political volatility may affect the American economy (10:16). And the craze for eating caviar… with chicken nuggets (18:33). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

American presidents often use their first meeting with Congress as a chance to lay out their agenda for the next four years. Donald Trump, by contrast, treated last night’s address like a campaign rally. Meet Ecuador’s tenacious anti-corruption champion (12:18). And co-host Jason Palmer plays an AI bot of Magnus Carlsen at chess (21:39). Jason Palmer v AI Magnus Carlsen: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. c3 Qe7 5. Nxd4 d5 6. Bb5 Qxe4+ 7. Ne2 Qxg2 8. Rg1 Qe4 9. Nd2 Qe7 10. b3 Nf6 11. Ba3 Qxa3 12. Nb1 Qe7 13. Qd4 Bf5 14. Rg5 g6 15. Rg3 Bh6 16. Re3 Bxe3 17. Fxe3 18. Qf4 Ng4 19. h3 Nxe3 20. a4 Ng2+ 21. Kf2. Nxf4 22. Nxf4 Qh4+ 23. Kg2 Qxf4 24. Na3 Be4+ 25. Kg1 Qg3+ 26. Kf1 Qf3+ 27. Ke1 Qxc3+ 28. Kd1 Qxa1+ 29. Kd2 Qxa3 30. Ke3 Qxb3+ 31. Kf4 Qf3+ 32.Kg5 f6+ 33. Kh6 Qxh3#

In an effort to bring Ukraine to the negotiating table, America has paused military help to the war-torn country. What will this mean on the ground? Our correspondent explores a new cryptocurrency craze, visiting Turkey’s bazaars to meet people trading goods using stablecoins (9:43). And why the Louvre is staging its first fashion gala (16:00). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Runtime: 22 min

European leaders met in London this weekend after Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s public row shattered hopes for a US-led truce in Ukraine. What did the summit achieve? Our correspondent visits Mexico’s border to find out if strengthened force will stem the flow of fentanyl to America (9:46). And remembering Muhsin Hendricks, the world’s first openly gay imam (17:37). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

This week European leaders have lined up to charm Donald Trump. But the broad smiles belie a bigger fear: what would it mean for the continent’s security if America forsakes its security guarantees? What the pull-out of French forces will mean for Africa (10:56). And the Maha Kumbh Mela shows how piety became political in India (18:55). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

As the baby-boom generation starts to die and economic growth slows many more people are getting rich from family wealth. Are we returning to the age of Jane Austen? The latest EIU Democracy Index reveals what a bumper election year did to country rankings (9:36). And our correspondent takes an ice bath (16:40). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

The first phase of Gaza’s ceasefire is near its end, but planning for the even more fraught second phase has hardly begun. What chance for near-term peace? We examine the harmful outcomes from the Trump administration’s slashing funding for America’s science institutions (9:45). And “I’m Still Here”, an Oscar-tipped film, confronts Brazilians with a dark past many had chosen to forget (18:35). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

The meeting between France’s and America’s presidents had a familiarly chummy feel. We ask whether Emmanuel Macron’s charm offensive might have changed Donald Trump’s mind on security matters. Norway’s stocks of wild salmon are in trouble—owing in part to their farmed brethren (9:42). And how the Michelin Guide is trying to maintain its tastemaking primacy (17:20). Additional audio courtesy of @eatingwithtod. Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Instead of needing three parties to cobble together a majority, the country’s two traditional main ones have the numbers. What to expect once the talks are done? Donald Trump claims America has supported Ukraine far more than Europe has; we comb through the data that prove him wrong (10:38). And a job opening for fans of pomp, circumstance and wearing tights (19:06). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Europe must move boldly as the American-led world order shatters beneath it; we explain how. Many people view the freedom to work from home as a perk. Some academics reckon there should be, in effect, a tax on it (10:41). And we pay tribute to Pableaux Johnson, a New Orleans fixture who understood that supper was more about company than food (18:02). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Africa’s young are educated, ambitious side-hustlers. But they are hampered by their economies and dispirited by their politicians. How to harness their vast potential? America’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency is, in a real-world accounting, not actually budging the budget much (8:25). And why Germans take more days off sick than other Europeans do (15:48). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

The possibilities for an inevitable coalition government are a head-spinning colour wheel of party logos. We look at the most likely outcomes, and the smaller parties that may well play kingmakers. A series of scandals in Japan has propelled the country to a belated #MeToo crisis (10:35). And London’s once-abundant pie shops struggle with changing tastes and relocating clientele (16:53). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

We investigate China’s under-the-radar push to get other countries to change their official language on Taiwan’s independence. Would it make a difference in a bid to reunify by force? The case of a nurse jailed for killing babies exposes deep problems with British justice (10:10). And how top footballers get a smaller slice of their clubs’ take than they once did (17:35). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Backing away from European security guarantees and seeking mineral rights in Ukraine as recompense for military aid: at the Munich Security Conference the Trump administration made its convention-trashing, transactional nature clear. What Europe will or even can do is not so obvious. And a tribute to Donald Shoup, whose studies on keeping cars moving focused on where they parked (17:45). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.