The Economist: The week ahead

The ominous disappearance of Russia’s opposition leader led many to fear the worst. But he has turned up in an Arctic penal colony—his message of resistance unchanged. From Batman-themed restaurants to playing a (non-lethal) version of “Squid Game”, movie studios are trying anything to squeeze more from their intellectual property (9:47). And a new film examines what lies behind losing streaks (17:16).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

Many of America’s business leaders reckon a second Trump term would be worse for them and for the economy than the first was—not that they’re speaking up about it. We examine just how much of Ukraine’s art and cultural heritage has been moved or looted in the course of the war (9:35). And why the price of olive oil is skyrocketing (17:17).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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 tentative aid deal in Gaza is just a sliver of what is needed; hunger and disease may well claim more Palestinian lives this year than the military campaign will. New research suggests American places worst-hit by the opioid epidemic are undergoing a rightward political shift (11:45). And why Britain, renowned for its facility with statistics, might end its decadal census (17:19).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

China’s flip-flopping on video-game regulation reveals a messy message: leaders want to encourage “hard tech” such as chips and AI over the consumer kind—without sparking another costly crackdown. We ask Mark Carney, a former central-bank governor, whether he has ambitions to lead Canada (09:16). And why so many social-media types want to share their diaries online (18:19). Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

Taiwan’s election of William Lai Ching-te of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party is sure to annoy leaders in Beijing; we ask what to expect next. Britain’s post-office scandal simmered for two decades before a television series made it boil over (10:14). And what happens when climate change makes it too hot to work (17:44). Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

America and its allies delivered on a threat to retaliate against Houthi rebels in Yemen who have been targeting Red Sea ships. How far will the escalation go? We visit Iowa ahead of the first event of America’s presidential-primary season and ask if any surprises await (10.16). And remembering Mike Sadler, one of the first recruits to Britain’s SAS special forces (19.17).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

America seems to be in a best-of-worlds scenario: growth is outpacing expectations even as inflation keeps falling—how will the party end? This week’s loss of the Peregrine One Moon lander was disappointing, but our correspondent sees the good news from the launch (9:19). And how Japan’s geishas are modernising their trade in order to keep it alive (17:35).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

Gabriel Attal, France’s youthful new prime minister, represents President Emmanuel Macron’s renewed push to pass policy reforms and to counter a resurgent far-right. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a landslide re-election of President Félix Tshisekedi has raised eyebrows—and tempers (7:41). And a look at how “The Wicker Man” may be the force behind a rise in paganism (15:30).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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 with many technologies that preceded it, generative artificial intelligence is increasingly viewed as a means to geopolitical advantage: welcome to the era of AI nationalism. Creole language and culture were long suppressed in Louisiana; we meet the young folk trying to revive it (10:21). And the scientific results that prove Taylor Swift can cause earthquakes (19:45).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

Our correspondents travel through the rainforest, seeing the pollution and clear-cutting firsthand. Establishing the rule of law first requires a decent property register. We examine why a proposed deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland has unsettled the whole of the Horn of Africa (11:17). And Britain’s army mulls permitting its servicemen to grow beards (18:07).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

From Brexit to covid-19, nothing has yet stymied London’s successes. The city has its problems, but it remains a paragon of policymaking. In the last of our series on democracy around the world, we examine what is at stake in India’s coming election (9:16). And a tribute to Gao Yaojie, whose findings about the spread of AIDS shocked and shamed China (16:53).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

Labour markets are changing in all kinds of ways, thanks to ageing societies, hot-running economies and technological boosts. It all adds up to a golden age for workers. As part of our series on democracy around the world, we examine the coming election in Britain (09:35). And India steps into the single-malt-whisky game with success (17:17).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

Saleh al-Arouri has long been a high-priority target for Israel and his death could weaken the Palestinian militant group. However, it could also draw neighbouring Lebanon into the war in Gaza. As South Africa heads to the polls, the lack of alternatives to the ruling party are jeopardising the health of its democracy (09:32). And why French women are walking away from the high heel (17:16).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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 Vladimir Putin promises to intensify Russia’s attacks, Mr Zelensky is frustrated at the wavering support from the West. Speaking to The Economist from his situation room, Ukraine’s wartime leader is defiantly optimistic, urging partners to remember that the country faces a terroristic, existential threat.  Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

Citizens across more than 70 countries will be heading to the polls over the next twelve months. It’s a record year for voting, but how democratic will the processes be? One of the year’s most significant elections will take place in Mexico, where the incumbent president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, will loom large. (10:35). And, how ambient music can help you block out the noise. (17:44).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Podcast transcripts are available upon request at podcasts@economist.com. We are committed to improving accessibility even further and are exploring new ways to expand our podcast-transcript offering. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Only at the end of the year can a full appraisal be made of the figures—and landmarks—that the world has lost. From Harry Belafonte to Henry Kissinger, from Silvio Berlusconi to the Sycamore Gap tree, we review the lives and legacies laid bare in our obituaries. Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

What can A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke tell us about AI? Does Shakespeare's Othello contain a warning for the 2024 US presidential election? Our journalists (and our listeners, too) recommend books that might help us better understand our times.Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

On our website and in our app, “The Economist explains” is one of the best-read features. Today we invite a few of their authors to keep explaining. What is tranq dope? Why did France get so het up about bedbugs (06:48)? Can superstars’ stadium shows actually affect inflation (11:50)? And, having at last seen Donald Trump’s, what is the back story of the mugshot (17:39)?Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

Which country improved the most this year? Nominations poured in from across the editorial department, and the competition was tough, but who came out on top? And our correspondent takes us on a train ride through EuropeSign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.

Scientists are making considerable progress in the race to slow the ageing process of our cells, and in turn, our bodies. But what would living for longer actually mean for the world? How government legislation and impatient consumers are forcing the advertising industry to adapt (13:19). And, the story behind a famous, 200-year-old Christmas poem (21:29). For a limited time, visit economist.com/gift to redeem 30% off gift subscriptions to our print and digital editionsSign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. 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.