Refine and dandy: Iran’s war bounty

An Economist investigation reveals that Iran is profiting from the war as it evades sanctions and oil prices surge. India’s government has promised to crush the country’s Maoist insurgency. Our correspondent visits a former rebel stronghold. And why understudies, a theatre’s insurance policy, are underestimated. Guests and host:Rachana Shanbhogue, business affairs editorKira Huju, Asia correspondentHamish Clayton, culture writerRosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: Oil, Iran, Kharg Island, sanctionsIndia, Modi, MaoistsCulture, theatre, understudiesListen 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 correspondentAnnie Crabill, a news editor in New YorkAlexandra Suich Bass, Culture editorRosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”Jason Palmer, co-host of “The intelligence”Topics covered: Iran, Houthis, geopolitics, oilAmerica, migration, colonialism“Project Hail Mary”, sci-fiListen 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 chiefNatasha Loder, health editorTim Cross, senior science writerAnn Wroe, obituaries editorJason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: Cuba, Trump administrationpeptides, wellness, pseudoscienceChuck NorrisGet 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 editorAnton La Guardia, diplomatic editorAlex Selby-Boothroyd, head of data journalismJason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: social-media sites, internet use, online addictiongeopolitics, chokepoints, Strait of Hormuzanimated filmsGet 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 correspondentSue-Lin Wong, Asia correspondentJon Fasman, senior culture correspondentRosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: Iran war, Israel, Americacryptocurrency, Asiamafias, crime families, historyGet 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 chiefJoshua Roberts, capital markets correspondentCaitlin Talbot, digital culture correspondentJason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: Afghanistan, Taliban, Pakistan, TTPIran war, oil shock, inflationmusic, albums, listening partiesGet 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 producerMaria Lisik, news editorRosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: Iran war, Donald TrumpThailand, Buddhist monksgene-editing, fruitGet 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 correspondentSue-Lin Wong, Asia correspondent Ann Wroe, obituaries editorRosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: Lebanon, Hizbullah, Israel, Iran warIslam, south-east AsiaJürgen Habermas, obituariesGet 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 editorPiotr Zalewski, Turkey correspondentRebecca Jackson, Southern correspondentJason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: Donald Trump, war in IranTurkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ekrem ImamogluAmerica, delivery robotsGet 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 editorHollie Berman, news editorShera Avi-Yonah, business writerRosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: airline industry, Iran warmeat substitutes, plant-based meatsPDFs, AIGet 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.