Mohamed Guhaad's podcast

In response to the war in Gaza, Iran-backed Houthi militants are attacking vessels along the key shipping route . If it continues, the consequences could upend global trade. Why do so many young Americans think that the Holocaust is a myth (09:51)? And, how museums are finding some value in NFTs (14:40).  Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Econom...

Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence In 2023, the unrelenting epidemic of gun violence in the United States has claimed the lives of more than 41,000 people. Throughout the year, each and every one of those shootings was chronicled by a website that has become the most authoritative and widely-cited source of data about gun deaths in the country: the Gun Violence Archive. Mark B...

Last fall, Alexandra Duarte, who is now 16, went to see her endocrinologist at Texas Children’s Hospital, outside Houston. From age 10, she had been living with polycystic ovary syndrome and, more recently, prediabetes. After Alexandra described her recent quinceañera, the doctor brought up an operation that might benefit her, one that might help her lose weight and, as a result, improve these obe...

For almost a decade The Economist’s Noah Sneider has been following the story of MH17, the passenger plane shot down over Eastern Ukraine on July 17th 2014. All 298 people on board died. No group, or country, has ever admitted responsibility, leaving the victim's families searching for answers. In this episode Noah, who was at the scene of the crash that day, reports on the ten year battle for jus...

Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping to secure more aid from Washington. But the decision rests with a divided Congress. What does this mean for the next phase of war? India’s aviation industry is really taking off and this boom looks much more promising than the last (10:59). And, the riotous origins of eggnog (18:42). Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The...

Taylor Swift grabbed many headlines in 2023. Her widely popular Eras Tour, which proved too much for Ticketmaster to handle, has been both a business and a cultural juggernaut. And Time magazine named her as its person of the year. Taffy Brodesser-Akner, a staff writer for The New York Times, explains why, for her, 2023 was the year of Taylor Swift. Guest: Taffy Brodesser-Akner , a staff writer fo...

News outlets are often hounded by the right for being too left-leaning . Our data show there might be something to that, but the reasons why are more complicated than you think. As a NATO frontline state, the war in Ukraine is prompting Poland to ramp up its military spending – and double the size of its armed forces (08:42). And, what a hit property show reveals about the British dream (15:25). S...

A major case in Texas this week drew attention to the question of who can get exempted from an abortion ban. Most states that have banned the procedure allow for rare exceptions, but while that might seem clear on paper, in practice, it’s far more ambiguous. Kate Cox, the woman at the center of the case in Texas; and Kate Zernike, a national correspondent for The New York Times, talk about the leg...

In a landmark agreement, nearly 200 nations have agreed to transition away from fossil fuels. However, that is not the same as phasing them out. Has the deal done enough? For the young trying to invest, the markets look bleak. But they could make better choices (10:42). And, the allure of cookery books (17:18). Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The...

Warning: this episode contains strong language. Universities across the country strained under pressure to take a public position on the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. Nicholas Confessore, a political and investigative reporter for The Times, explains the story behind a congressional hearing that ended the career of one university president, jeopardized the jobs of two others, and kicked off an...

Since the Hamas attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza, debate at America’s top academic institutions has turned sour. Now, the issue has reignited an age-old argument about freedom of speech on campuses. Today Britain’s parliament will vote on whether to send asylum seekers to Rwanda – they aren’t the only ones thinking about outsourcing responsibility (07:54). And books about the twilight of the au...

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is making a rare trip to Washington this week, pleading his case for American military aid, something which has long been a lifeline for his country but is now increasingly in doubt. Julian Barnes, who covers international security for The Times, explains what has brought Ukraine to the most perilous point since the war began nearly two years ago. Guest: Ju...

Our correspondent joins the French air force on a mission in the Baltics, seeing increasing support for NATO just as the country draws down in Africa. Drones have by now become a standard feature of warfare, but in Gaza the demands are different —and Israel has much expertise to draw upon (09:36). And artificial intelligence predicts the structures of 2m brand-new materials (16:38). Sign up for a...

Warning: this episode contains strong language. With Argentina again in the midst of an economic crisis, Argentine voters turned to Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian who has drawn comparisons to Donald J. Trump. Jack Nicas, who covers South America for The New York Times, discusses Argentina’s incoming president, and his radical plan to remake the country’s economy. Guest: Jack Nicas , the Bra...

As an incubator of life, Earth has a lot going for it, something we often fail to appreciate fully from within its nurturing bounds. Merely sending probes and rovers to the moon and Mars won’t do. For various reasons — adventure! apocalypse! commerce! — we insist upon taking our corporeal selves off-world too. Multiple private companies have announced plans to put hotels in space soon. NASA is aim...

In the American West, grizzly bears are spreading—and fights over protecting them under the Endangered Species Act test the frontiers between science and politics. Vaping is tremendous business in Britain, but the largely unregulated industry is now, curiously, asking for more oversight (10:57). And our language columnist explains our word of the year for 2023 (17:47). Sign up for a free trial of...

As the cease-fire in Gaza has ended and the fierce fighting there has resumed, the United States has issued sharper warnings to Israel’s leaders that they have a responsibility to avoid civilian casualties. Peter Baker, The Times’s chief White House correspondent, discusses the public and private ways in which President Biden is trying to influence Israel’s conduct. Guest: Peter Baker , chief Whit...

Even before America’s tussle over funding Ukraine’s war effort, it seemed as if Russia was gaining the upper hand —by exploiting Ukraine’s widening political cracks. A drought-induced traffic jam in the Panama Canal will only get worse in the coming dry season, and consumer-price rises look inevitable (10:42). And to save Britain’s heritage pig breeds, consumers should eat more of them (17:48). Si...

Over the last few months, Nikki Haley has gained enough in the polls to suggest she is on the verge of surpassing Ron DeSantis as the main threat to Donald J. Trump in the race to become the Republican candidate for 2024.Jazmine Ulloa, a national politics reporter for The Times; and Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, discuss her building momentum and examine how far she might go. Gues...

By the numbers, the outcome seems clear: Venezuelans voted to annex much of newly minted petrostate Guyana. But our correspondent says the referendum was mere electioneering by President Nicolás Maduro, with unimpressive results. Our obituaries editor remembers Saleemul Huq , who campaigned relentlessly on behalf of the most vulnerable countries (9:52). And just how much lighter the paycheques are...

The opioid epidemic has been one of the biggest public health disasters in generations. The drug company at the heart of the crisis, Purdue Pharma, maker of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, agreed to a multibillion-dollar deal to settle thousands of claims against it — but that agreement would also grant the family behind the company, the Sacklers, immunity from additional civil lawsuits. Ju...

Tickets for “Nvzizhuyi”—a monthly stand-up comedy show in New York City— often sell out in less than a minute. The show invites Chinese citizens, mostly women, to tell jokes, perform skits and recount the absurd challenges they’ve encountered as feminist activists in China—things they could never utter in public back home.  This week, Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, reports from the dark...

The cradle of American technology was once known for its libertarian values—but as law-enforcement agencies seek more means of surveillance, Silicon Valley companies are piling in . Mounting cases in America’s courts reveal a trend of progressives arguing for their religious right to abortion (9:09). And how tourism gone wrong is killing the Dark Hedges that appeared in “Game of Thrones” (16:28)....

As a racketeering trial begins in Atlanta, much of the focus is on the high-profile defendant, the best-selling rapper Young Thug. Joe Coscarelli, a culture reporter for The New York Times, explains why, in a sense, hip-hop itself is on trial. Guest: Joe Coscarelli , a culture reporter for The New York Times. Background reading:  A judge ruled in November that at least 17 specific sets of lines fr...

As its ground offensive appears to be expanding, Israel is acutely aware that time and international support will run out; we examine its impossible set of aims to achieve before then. Europe has not yet faced the kind of fentanyl crisis that has plagued America—but there are risks that it may soon (10:53). And the power-napping prowess of penguins (18:26). Sign up for a free trial of Economist Po...