I’ll be jammed: electronic warfare in Ukraine

We sit down with Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s youngest-ever spymaster. He is intense, resolute—and oddly charismatic. A world of electrified transport is going to need lots of nickel for batteries. We argue that, environmentally speaking, gathering it from the seafloor clearly beats mining it on land (11:12). And remembering Donald Triplett, the first person ever to be diagnosed with autism (19:25).Additional audio courtesy of “In A Different Key”, inadifferentkeythemovie.comFor full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Heinä 202327min

If there is one thing Facebook’s parent company does well, it is aping other social-media features and platforms—and it is a propitious time to steal Twitter’s thunder. Deeply indebted Arab countries desperately need loans from the IMF, but have good reasons to balk at the fund’s terms (10:00). And New Yorkers love their invasive parakeets; the birds’ enormous nests, less so (18:41).For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Heinä 202323min

Its leader is in exile and its future is uncertain. But the Wagner Group will be loth to abandon the influence and the cashflow that its murky African operations bring. The striking down of affirmative-action university-admissions policies in America may counterintuitively spur more-progressive and more-efficient alternatives (9:56). And the reinvention (again) of a beloved Chinese sweet treat (17:08).For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Heinä 202323min

The so-called refugee camp in the city of Jenin has been subject to raids for months—and a hotspot for militants for decades. We ask what set things off so violently this week. Now that Jair Bolsonaro is barred from Brazilian office for eight years, what happens to his brand of politics (11:17)? And how America got a new king of beers (19:17).For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Heinä 202325min

The killing of a teenager in a Paris suburb has ignited national unrest. We ask what is driving the disquiet, and what it means for a president squeezed on both political sides. In high-inflation times, rising wages worry economists—“wage-price spirals” are a textbook bogeyman. But perhaps the risk is overblown (10:34). And the researchers making burgers from extinct animals (18:22). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Heinä 202323min

Mass movements of people expected as climate change progresses are often depicted as catastrophes-in-waiting. We visit Niger, where that shift has begun, finding there is good news amid the bad. We examine the spate of video games depicting Ukraine’s live theatre of war (11:32). And the end of Indiana Jones’s run prompts a reflection on what made his adventures so compelling (17:12).For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceofferRuntime: 24 min Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Kesä 202324min

This week’s court battle involving Microsoft and Activision, giants of tech and gaming, reflects a sea change under way in America’s trustbusting machinery; it may not go as far as the top competition cop might like. A boom in China’s post-pandemic economy now seems to be sputtering (11:29). And a paean to the Tayto crisp—cheese-and-onion flavour, naturally (18:29).For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Kesä 202324min

For decades, leftist policies first espoused by Juan Perón have dominated the country’s politics. But as electioneering begins it is clear that rampant inflation is driving voters away from Peronism and toward the populist right. We examine why big American retailers see opportunity in providing primary health care (9:33). And our annual list of the world’s most liveable cities (15:38).For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28 Kesä 202320min