Mohamed Guhaad's podcast

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...

 In the weeks since Hamas carried out its devastating terrorist attack in southern Israel, Times journalists have been trying to work out why the Israeli security services failed to prevent such a huge and deadly assault. Ronen Bergman, a correspondent for The New York Times, tells the story of one of the warnings that Israel ignored. Guest: Ronen Bergman , a staff writer for The New York Times Ma...

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has come to define innovation, but he can also be a lightning rod for controversy; he recently endorsed antisemitic remarks on X, formerly known as Twitter, which prompted companies to pull their advertising. In an interview recorded live at the DealBook Summit in New York with Times business reporter and columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, Musk discusses his emotional state a...

The Economist's editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, and our Russia and Eastern Europe editor, Arkady Ostrovsky, return to Kyiv to to find out if cracks are beginning to emerge in the iron shield of Ukrainian unity and to ask how the war with Russia is reshaping a nation living on a knife’s edge. The Weekend Intelligence is a subscriber-only episode. For the next month you can sign up for a fre...

Olena Zelenska foresees a time when her family can regain a quiet life. Our editor-in-chief sits down with her to discuss her mental-health campaign and life in an unexpected spotlight. President Xi Jinping wants to improve China’s toilets; we ask why that is proving so difficult (12:20). And why the superyacht industry is just sailing along (19:50). Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+...

For many millennials, buying a home has become almost entirely out of reach. Average 30-year mortgage rates are hovering around 7 percent — the highest they’ve been since 2007 — largely because of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tame inflation. David Leonhardt, a senior writer for The New York Times, discusses whether it is time to change how we think about buying vs. renting. Guest: David Leonha...

The doyen of diplomacy has died, leaving a complex legacy . Following extensive interviews with him earlier this year, our deputy editor examines what Dr Kissinger stood for and whether his ideas will outlast him. As the COP28 climate summit begins, we look at an approach that deserves more attention: carbon dioxide removal (13:16). And our annual cost-of-living survey ranks the world’s priciest c...

The American economy, by many measures, is doing better than it has done in years. But for many Americans, that is not how it feels. Their feelings point to an enduring mystery: Why do Americans feel so bad when the economy is so good? Jeanna Smialek, who covers the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for The Times, discusses a new way to understand the disconnect. Guest: Jeanna Smialek , a repor...

Drug-related shootings and bombings are on the rise. Policies are changing and law-enforcement budgets rising, but stemming the violence is proving politically tricky . Our columnist considers how China is using the war in Gaza to burnish its diplomatic credentials (9:36). And the teams vying to smash a long-standing sailing-speed record (18:27). Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If...

From the moment that Roe v. Wade was overturned, the question was just how much the change would reduce abortions across the United States. Now, more than a year later, the numbers are in. Margot Sanger-Katz, who writes about health care for The Upshot, explains why the results are not what anyone had expected. Guest: Margot Sanger-Katz , a domestic correspondent for The New York Times. Background...

Hostages are at the heart of the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, now in its fifth day. As of Monday night, 50 Israeli hostages had been released, as had 150 Palestinian prisoners. More releases were expected on Tuesday, under what Qatari mediators said was a deal to extend the cease-fire by two days. Isabel Kershner, a Jerusalem-based reporter for The New York Times, explains how a gr...

The singular focus on the metaverse of Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s boss, fretted investors. But in the past year he has pulled off a spectacularly timely turnaround . We look at what is driving an illegal-gold rush in Venezuela as a lens on a wider, regional concern (9:48). And why North Korea’s women’s football team provides such good propaganda (16:48). Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts...

Our correspondent speaks with the Africa head of the Red Cross who has borne witness to the war, famine and genocide that continue—unrelenting and largely ignored —in Sudan. As Ukraine’s men are sent off to war, the country’s women are upending its labour market ; we meet some newly minted miners (10:07). And how the age at which careers peak is changing (18:34). Today is the last day of our Black...

Only five members of the U.S. House of Representatives have ever been expelled from the institution. This week, Representative George Santos, Republican of New York, could become the sixth. In a damning ethics report, House investigators found that the congressman spent tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions on Botox, Ferragamo goods and vacations. Grace Ashford, who covers New Yo...

Look past short-term stumbles: there are plenty of reasons to think Japan may spin out of its decades-long deflationary spiral. But how to avoid another false dawn? A visit to a mine in Zimbabwe reveals how valuable lithium is becoming to the continent—and China’s role in securing it (13:09). And remembering a “Rosie the Riveter” who kept riveting until age 95 (21:38). Until Monday November 27th y...