Cold call: Putin thwarts Trump

<p>Donald Trump hoped Vladimir Putin would agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Instead he made <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/03/18/putin-woos-trump-with-a-partial-ceasefire-and-big-geopolitical-deal?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">marginal concessions</a>, then launched a missile attack. Our correspondent assesses the implications. <a href="https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/02/27/erotic-writing-is-becoming-more-explicit?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tesla’s falling sales</a> are not just down to Elon Musk’s politics (9:42). And a flowering of <a href="https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/02/27/erotic-writing-is-becoming-more-explicit?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">literary erotica</a> (15:40).</p><br><p><em>Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—</em><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+</em></a></p><br><p><em>For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our </em><a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>FAQs page</em></a><em> or watch </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>our video</em></a><em> explaining how to link your account. </em></p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>