Economist Radio

Voters in the Philippines choose a new president on Monday. The likely winner is a scion of one of the country’s most controversial families. Exxon struck oil off the coast of Guyana a few years back.   More

In ten weeks of conflict Vladimir Putin has not been afraid to rattle the nuclear sabre. Western leaders have responded by tempering their own rhetoric – but the risk of nuclear war is greater than it has been for more than half a century.   More

Prices in America are rising faster than at any time in the past 40 years. In response, the Federal Reserve has made its steepest interest-rate hike in 20 years. Will it be enough to tame inflation while not tipping America into recession?   More

A record number of company shareholders have put forward resolutions at annual meetings this year, pressuring companies on everything from their environmental practices to political donations. Host Alice Fulwood asks our US business editor Charlotte Howard why the new frontline in corporate purpose has shifted to proxy battles.   More

Voters in the UK head to the polls for local elections tomorrow. In Northern Ireland, a party that does not want the country to exist appears poised to win the largest number of seats.   More

New diseases are inevitable, but pandemics are not. As the threat from covid-19 recedes, how can the world stop new pathogens from becoming health emergencies? Business leader and philanthropist Bill Gates has long warned of the risk that a novel virus would go global.   More

A leaked draft opinion shows America’s Supreme Court is ready to let states outlaw abortion. We explore the implications for American politics, and the rights of millions of American women.   More

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how rotten is Russia’s army? France’s re-elected president prepares for a tough second term (10:30) and a struggle over artistic freedom suggests a better way out of the culture wars (15:25).    More

Much like Ukraine, Taiwan has a well-armed neighbour that does not think it exists as a state: China. We ask what both sides are learning from Russia’s invasion. A heavy-handed string of arrests following a flare-up of gang violence in El Salvador is unlikely to change matters.   More

The race for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat is wild, and between now and the midterm elections we’ll be regularly checking in. The first major milestone, the primaries, is a few weeks away. What   More

Before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s armed forces were believed to be lean, modern and fighting fit. We ask why they have performed so poorly. A life sentence for a Turkish activist portends heightened repression as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heads for a tough election.   More

Evidence of Russian war crimes litters the landscape of Ukraine. But it’s a long trudge from the battlefields to the courtroom. Anne McElvoy asks Oona Hathaway, an expert on law and warfare and a professor at Yale University, whether the perpetrators will be held accountable.   More

By shutting off gas to Poland and Bulgaria, Russia has made an aggressive move that may draw yet more European sanctions. How might the escalation end? The popularity of Singapore’s ruling party has slipped, a bit, so it has selected a kinder, gentler leader ahead of elections in 2025.   More

By shutting off gas to Poland and Bulgaria, Russia has made an aggressive move that may draw yet more European sanctions. How might the escalation end? The popularity of Singapore’s ruling party has slipped, a bit, so it has selected a kinder, gentler leader ahead of elections in 2025.   More

Thirty years ago, rich-world central banks started winning the fight against inflation. More recently, they have begun to fight new battles, including against climate change or inequality. As the old enemy of inflation returns, in this two-part series, host Soumaya Keynes asks if central banks are fighting on too many fronts.    More

Activists are tired of waiting for governments and companies to act on climate change. So increasingly they’re taking the matter to court—with success. Egypt’s leaders claim the country is open for business, but the army has a growing stranglehold on the private sector.   More

In 2012, the discovery of the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 revolutionised scientists’ ability to modify DNA. Ten years on, host Alok Jha speaks to Jennifer Doudna, the Nobel laureate who pioneered the technology.   More

The world’s richest man now has the keys to one of the most influential social-media platforms. Can it be the free-speech wonderland he is aiming for? Should it? In America marriages involving those under the age of consent remain surprisingly common; we examine why reform remains distant.   More

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why the Federal Reserve has made a historic mistake on inflation. Also, what Taiwan can learn from Ukraine about resisting invasion (10:40) and, Elon Musk’s Twitter saga is capitalism gone rogue (17:15).   More

Emmanuel Macron’s re-election is historic and, for many, a relief. But, as we discuss in the final instalment of our French-election series, the campaign revealed divisions that will trouble his second term, and that he must now try to heal.   More