Ballot from the blue: will Ukraine hold a poll?

Divisions within the ruling party are on full display this week, and the provocative policies Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced are unlikely to help the Conservatives’ woeful polling numbers. Early results suggest that new drugs initially prescribed for weight loss may be a powerful treatment for alcohol-use disorder (13:06). And a data dive reveals which countries get the most sleep (20:05)Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.Visit http://www.economist.com/podcastsplus-intelligence to join.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Okt 202324min

Another shutdown standoff, funding worries for Ukraine, more leadership chaos: the booting of America’s speaker of the House of Representatives bodes ill for governance. “Jawan”, a new Indian film, is non-stop action with Bollywood flourishes—and reveals how divisions in the country are being bridged (9:26). And an investigation of places where centenarians are abundant suggests healthy lifestyles are not the cause (17:55).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.Visit http://www.economist.com/podcastsplus-intelligence to join.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Okt 202322min

The founder of FTX, a spectacularly failed cryptocurrency exchange, is a curious character. He denies the stack of charges he faces in a New York court, but unpicking the cryptographic paper trail will be tricky. Crime in Britain is broadly in decline, with the notable exception of increasingly brazen shoplifting (10:24). And how a sports-media entrepreneur became a pizza-review star (15:57).Additional audio courtesy South West News Service.Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.Visit http://www.economist.com/podcastsplus-intelligence to join.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Okt 202322min

The workplace keeps changing and managers have to keep up. The best bosses create systems for solving problems old and new—from navigating working-from-home demands to hiring the right people, from running good meetings to managing themselves. Andrew Palmer, author of the Bartleby column, looks for advice on how to be a better boss by talking to people who have actually done the job. Listen to The Economist's seven-episode guide for managers.Boss Class season one is free for a limited time. Season two will appear weekly starting May 12th. To hear new episodes, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plusIf you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you 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.

2 Okt 20232min

The literal 11th-hour deal to avert a government shutdown is only a stopgap—and the battle may end up costing Kevin McCarthy his post as leader of the House of Representatives. The uptake of electric scooters is significantly outpacing that of four-wheeled vehicles in Asia (10:30). And Britain’s curious “risk registers” put numbers to how the world might end (16:47).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Okt 202323min

During past economic downturns, officials have been both swift and bold. This time not so much—because their hands are tied by knotty internal politics. We ask why Latin America makes for such a useful playground for Russian spies (10:07). And remembering Fernando Botero, a Colombian artist who never deviated from his not-quite-comically plump figures (18:16).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.Visit http://www.economist.com/podcastsplus-intelligence to join.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Sep 202325min

Many of the pieces are in place to bring the disease entirely under control—but our correspondent finds it will take more than advances in medication. Japan’s government has at last begun to regulate the country’s notorious pornography; we examine a sector emerging from the shadows (11:07). And how China uses UNESCO world-heritage status to rewrite the history of its periphery (18:38).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.Visit http://www.economist.com/podcastsplus-intelligence to join.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28 Sep 202324min

Where the defensive lines really are, the state of Russia’s reserves, battlefield tactics: Kyrylo Budanov is a candid interviewee—but he claims to know nothing about all those drones. Gambling has been illegal in Brazil for decades, but pinched government coffers point to a lifting of the prohibition (10:42). And the passion and the profitability of “BookTok”, the literary end of TikTok (16:51).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.Visit http://www.economist.com/podcastsplus-intelligence to join.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Sep 202323min