Well-Informed & Open-Minded

In the Gulf’s vast family empires, succession is becoming the most dangerous moment of all. As founding tycoons age, businesses worth billions are sliding into paralysis, undone not by markets but by inheritance disputes that echo the drama of Succession. In this episode, we explore why traditional laws struggle to manage modern conglomerates, how sprawling family trees intensify rivalries, and what high-profile feuds reveal about the cost of getting succession wrong. As governments like the UAE step in with new legal frameworks for family firms, the story asks whether law can succeed where family harmony has failed—and whether these reforms can secure the future of some of the region’s most powerful companies.https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/06/01/business-families-in-the-gulf-need-modern-laws-of-inheritance

Each summer, Japan’s Obon festival brings the living and the dead together, as families return home to welcome ancestral spirits, clean graves, and dance in communal remembrance. But the pandemic broke that rhythm, severing travel and turning a deeply physical ritual into a source of anxiety and guilt. In this episode, we explore how Obon adapted under lockdowns, from virtual-reality grave visits to proxy mourners who clean tombs on behalf of absent families, sometimes livestreaming the act itself. Set against Obon’s Buddhist roots and enduring traditions, the story asks how rituals of remembrance survive when presence is impossible—and what it means when technology steps in to mediate our duties to the dead.https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/20/covid-19-has-made-it-hard-for-the-japanese-to-visit-family-graves

The world is becoming a place with more grandparents than ever before. Longer lives and smaller families have quietly reshaped the family tree, giving grandparents—especially grandmothers—a growing role in raising children and sustaining working parents. In this episode, we explore how this demographic shift affects women’s participation in the workforce, why grandparental care looks so different in countries from Senegal to Mexico, and what happens when older generations are stretched thin by competing demands. As some societies rely heavily on family support while others lean on the welfare state, the story reveals how grandparents have become an invisible pillar of modern economies—and why that support is both invaluable and increasingly strained.https://www.economist.com/international/2023/01/12/the-age-of-the-grandparent-has-arrived

Britain’s love affair with dogs has collided with a sudden turn toward prohibition. After a series of high-profile attacks, the government moved quickly to ban the Bully XL breed, turning a little-known pandemic-era pet into a national political issue almost overnight. In this episode, we explore why the data on dangerous dogs remains contested, how an already-criticized Dangerous Dogs Act became the tool of choice, and why campaigners and animal charities argue the problem lies with owners rather than breeds. As a social media campaign helped propel a niche concern into sweeping legislation, the story asks what this episode reveals about risk, emotion, and how rapidly policy can harden in response to public fear.https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/09/15/a-fight-over-dangerous-dogs-in-britain

Two visions are competing to define the cities of the future. One imagines vast “Robot Cities,” governed by data, sensors, and centralized systems designed to optimize traffic, energy, and efficiency across sprawling megaregions. The other looks smaller and more human, drawing on Jane Jacobs and New Urbanism to prioritize walkable neighborhoods, public life, and the everyday vitality of streets and “third places.” In this episode, we explore why each approach falls short on its own, what real-world experiments like Songdo reveal about the limits of top-down smart cities, and how fictional worlds—from Black Panther to Blade Runner—hint at a better synthesis. The story argues that the most successful cities will not choose between humans and machines, but learn how to design for both.Abbott, Carl, 'Epilogue Imagining future cities', City Planning: A Very Short Introduction, Very Short Introductions (New York, 2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 22 Oct. 2020), https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780190944346.003.0009

On the streets of San Francisco, the future of transport is already taking fares. Driverless taxis from Waymo and Cruise glide through traffic, offering a glimpse of artificial intelligence finally escaping the screen and entering the physical world. In this episode, we explore how robotaxis are being rolled out far more cautiously than past tech revolutions, why sensor-heavy systems have outpaced camera-only approaches, and what it would take for autonomous taxis to become truly affordable at scale. As regulators hesitate, the public remains wary, and an entire profession faces disruption, the story asks whether robotaxis represent a quiet inevitability—or a technological promise still struggling to earn society’s trust.https://www.economist.com/business/2023/08/31/cherish-your-uber-drivers-soon-they-will-be-robots

A new arms race is taking shape in the skies, as the world’s major powers design fighter jets for an era of drones, data, and long-range war. America’s F-47, China’s J-36, and Europe’s Tempest are being conceived not just as aircraft, but as flying command centers—larger, stealthier platforms built to control swarms of autonomous drones while surviving increasingly lethal air defenses. In this episode, we explore why sixth-generation fighters are becoming airborne supercomputers, what recent conflicts have taught militaries about range and survivability, and why the staggering cost of these machines is reviving an old question: as autonomy advances, will the future of air combat still need a human in the cockpit?https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/05/14/the-race-to-build-the-fighter-planes-of-the-future

The promise of personalized nutrition is seductive: eat what your body needs, guided by data rather than guesswork. What began with biohackers tracking blood sugar has evolved into a booming industry of glucose monitors, microbiome tests, and AI-driven advice that claims to tailor diets to each individual. In this episode, we explore how these technologies work, why early studies suggest real benefits for weight loss and energy, and why most health apps still fail at the hardest part—keeping people engaged. As companies race to turn streams of personal data into simple, sustainable habits, the story asks whether personalized health tech can truly change behavior, or whether knowing more about our bodies still isn’t enough to make us act differently.https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2022/05/02/apps-interpreting-data-from-wearable-devices-are-helping-people-to-live-better

The sleek touchscreen has become a symbol of the modern car—but it may also be one of its most dangerous features. What began with Tesla’s minimalist dashboard has spread across the industry, putting everything from climate control to navigation behind glass and menus. In this episode, we explore why researchers say touchscreens demand too much attention, how studies show they can slow reactions even more than alcohol, and why safety bodies like Euro NCAP are now pushing automakers back toward physical buttons. As drivers grow frustrated and manufacturers quietly reverse course, the story asks whether the future of car design has been looking in the wrong direction all along.https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/09/19/are-touchscreens-in-cars-dangerous

A growing techno-utopian movement believes the next frontier of innovation is not machines, but the human body itself. Backed by billionaires and venture capital, researchers and entrepreneurs are chasing ways to extend life, boost strength, and sharpen intelligence through supplements, gene therapies, and brain-computer interfaces—often racing ahead of regulation and solid clinical evidence. In this episode, we explore who is funding these enhancement projects, why figures like Elon Musk and Christian Angermayer see them as inevitable, and how experiments are increasingly moving to regulatory gray zones. As enthusiasm collides with ethical concern and public skepticism, the story asks whether human enhancement represents the future of progress—or a risky experiment driven more by ambition than proof.https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/03/20/dreams-of-improving-the-human-race-are-no-longer-science-fiction

From ancient city walls to modern flood barriers, urban resilience has always been shaped by fear, risk, and adaptation. Cities today face a widening spectrum of threats—from terrorism and internal conflict to rising seas and unpredictable natural disasters—often responding with hardened infrastructure and defensive design. In this episode, we explore how these strategies can deepen division and overlook the social vulnerabilities that make disasters deadlier for the poor, and why planners are rethinking resilience beyond concrete and steel. By turning to local knowledge, community power, and small-scale solutions, the story argues that the most durable cities are not those that wall themselves off, but those that learn to adapt together.Abbott, Carl, 'Unnatural disasters and resilient cities', City Planning: A Very Short Introduction, Very Short Introductions (New York, 2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 22 Oct. 2020), https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780190944346.003.0008

Football once offered instant release—the eruption of a goal followed by unfiltered celebration. Today, that joy is often paused, as fans wait for a remote official to decide whether it really counts. Introduced to correct clear mistakes, VAR has gradually expanded into a system chasing microscopic perfection, replaying subjective calls and marginal offsides that drain momentum from the game. In this episode, we explore how video review has reshaped the fan experience, why support for VAR has soured since its introduction, and whether the pursuit of absolute accuracy has come at too high a cost. The story asks a simple question with complicated consequences: is football better served by flawless decisions—or by the freedom to celebrate without hesitation?https://www.economist.com/culture/2024/01/19/var-makes-fans-pine-for-the-days-of-wayne-rooney

Once a symbol of excess reserved for aristocrats, fruit is becoming luxury again—this time carefully branded, meticulously grown, and astonishingly expensive. From Japanese grapes that sell for thousands at auction to neatly packaged boxes of Omakase berries trending on social media, premium produce is being recast as a status gift rather than a staple. In this episode, we explore how food culture, Instagram aesthetics, and Japanese traditions of gift-giving have helped elevate fruit into a high-end commodity, and how companies are racing to meet demand through vertical farming and tight climate control. As growers navigate tariffs, climate risk, and branding, the story asks how something so ordinary came to rival wine and watches as a marker of taste—and what that says about luxury in an age of abundance.https://www.economist.com/business/2025/07/03/would-you-pay-19-for-a-strawberry

Protein has moved from the gym bag to the grocery aisle. Once the preserve of bodybuilders and fitness obsessives, high-protein eating has gone mainstream, amplified by social media, celebrity endorsements, and a booming market of fortified yogurts, drinks, and snacks. In this episode, we explore why protein now commands more attention than fiber or whole grains, how weight-loss drugs and fears of muscle loss are reshaping appetites, and why food companies are racing to load protein into everything they sell. As sales surge and supermarket shelves fill, the story asks whether this fixation reflects genuine nutritional need—or the latest cycle in our search for a dietary silver bullet.https://www.economist.com/business/2025/03/06/catering-to-protein-rich-diets-is-a-tasty-business

Seen from Hollywood, Crazy Rich Asians was a breakthrough; seen from Singapore, it looks far more complicated. Shot against the gleaming excess of Marina Bay Sands, the film was hailed for its all-Asian cast and box-office success, telling a glamorous story of love, wealth, and identity. In this episode, we explore how that triumph plays differently on the ground, where critics argue the film embraces conservative ideas about family, hierarchy, and dynastic power while sidelining Singapore’s Malay and Indian communities. The result is a sharp tension between representation and reality—raising the question of whether a victory for Asian-Americans in Hollywood can still feel like a loss for Southeast Asians watching from home.https://www.economist.com/asia/2018/09/01/for-a-different-take-on-crazy-rich-asians-cross-the-pacific

A new kind of workout is promising results not in the gym, but on the face. As facial exercise studios and apps gain popularity, clients are paying premium prices for hands-on massages and guided routines that claim to sculpt jawlines, reduce puffiness, and offer a needle-free alternative to cosmetic procedures. In this episode, we explore why facial workouts have found an eager audience—including a growing number of men—how the trend fits into broader ideas of wellness and self-optimization, and why dermatologists remain cautious despite calling the practice largely harmless. The story asks whether face fitness is a genuine beauty breakthrough, a placebo powered by touch and ritual, or simply the latest expression of our desire to train every part of the body.https://www.economist.com/business/2024/10/03/workouts-for-the-face-are-a-growing-business

The dates stamped on food packages look authoritative, but they are quietly driving mountains of unnecessary waste. In the United States, most “sell by” and “best before” labels were created to signal peak freshness—not safety—yet consumers often treat them as expiration warnings, tossing food that is still perfectly edible. In this episode, we explore how a confusing dating system born in the 1970s came to shape modern habits, why manufacturers tend to play it safe with early dates, and how our own senses are usually better guides to spoilage than the calendar. As experts push for clearer, standardized labels and policies that encourage food donation, the story reveals how a small change in language could keep millions of meals out of the trash.https://youtu.be/jDg8DQl7ZeQ?list=TLGGduU_D8HF95UxNzEyMjAyNQ

As Ukraine looks beyond the battlefield toward rebuilding, some of its most important lessons are coming from a country long shaped by catastrophe. Japan’s experience recovering from earthquakes, tsunamis, and wartime destruction has become a model for Ukrainian officials planning for a future that must be resilient by design. In this episode, we explore what Ukraine is learning from Japan’s disasters—from rebuilding communities quickly and planning reconstruction early, to treating destruction as a chance to build smarter and stronger. Through study tours, infrastructure know-how, and a shared acceptance of permanent risk, the story reveals how a nation can prepare for recovery even while crisis continues—and why resilience may be Ukraine’s most vital form of defense.https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/06/08/japan-offers-ukraine-a-lesson-in-reconstruction

Across Asia, disasters are striking more often and with greater force, yet responses still tend to arrive only after lives and livelihoods have been shattered. A growing movement argues that waiting is the costliest mistake of all. In this episode, we explore the rise of “anticipatory action”—policies that use early warnings to deliver cash and support before floods, droughts, or storms hit—and why evidence from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Mongolia suggests it can sharply reduce hunger, debt, and long-term damage. As climate change raises the stakes and governments hesitate to act on forecasts rather than facts, the story asks whether helping people before disaster strikes could become Asia’s most effective tool for saving lives and limiting loss.https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/11/20/where-being-antediluvian-pays

For generations, the American firefighter has been defined by flames and heroism—but the job is quietly being reinvented. As improved building codes and smoke alarms have driven structural fires sharply down, fire departments now spend much of their time responding to medical emergencies, rescues, and crises far removed from burning buildings. In this episode, we explore how this shift is reshaping training, morale, and budgets, from dissatisfaction among firefighters who joined to fight fires to questions about whether current physical standards and dispatch practices still make sense. As medical calls dominate daily work even while wildfires and complex modern blazes loom larger, the story asks what the future of firefighting should look like—and what it means when an iconic profession changes faster than its image.https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/08/03/americas-firefighters-mostly-do-not-fight-fires

Life in the Bangladesh Delta is shaped by water that never stays still. Along the Jamuna, Padma, and Meghna rivers, entire communities live with the constant threat of floods and erosion, as land appears and disappears with the seasons. In this episode, we explore how people adapt to a landscape defined by movement, from teardrop-shaped earthen plinths designed to let floodwaters flow past, to hospital ships and simple boats that keep communities connected. Focusing on the work of architect Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury and the nonprofit Friendship, the story reveals how resilience in the delta is built not through grand defenses, but through designs that accept change—and learn to live with it.https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/04/12/bangladeshs-riverine-villages-are-benefiting-from-clever-design

When powerful earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria, the scale of destruction exposed more than a natural disaster—it revealed the deadly cost of human decisions made long before the ground shook. Tens of thousands were killed as buildings collapsed, particularly in Turkey, where corruption, weak enforcement, and decades of construction amnesties had normalized unsafe practices. In this episode, we explore how ignored building codes, substandard materials, and a system of political patronage turned seismic risk into mass tragedy. Drawing on expert testimony and eyewitness accounts, the story shows why earthquakes do not have to be this lethal—and how governance failures can be as devastating as the forces of nature themselves.https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/02/12/turkeys-earthquakes-show-the-deadly-extent-of-construction-scams

Cities often feel like the opposite of nature—but in reality, they are ecosystems of their own. From coyotes roaming urban streets to rivers buried and revived beneath concrete, the “natural city” reveals how deeply urban life is entwined with the environment around it. In this episode, we explore how planners and thinkers—from Frederick Law Olmsted’s park systems to today’s sustainability advocates—have tried to reconcile city growth with ecological limits. By tracing the hidden metabolism of cities, from energy and water to waste and inequality, the story shows why urban sustainability is not just about planting trees, but about rethinking how cities consume, connect, and coexist with the natural systems that sustain them.Abbott, Carl, 'Nature in the city', City Planning: A Very Short Introduction, Very Short Introductions (New York, 2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 22 Oct. 2020), https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780190944346.003.0007

A single tree species now sits at the center of a global cultural and environmental standoff. Brazilwood—also known as pernambuco—has long been prized for making the world’s finest violin bows, yet rampant logging and habitat loss have pushed it to the brink of extinction in Brazil’s Atlantic forest. In this episode, we explore why proposals to tighten international protections have alarmed musicians and bow makers, who fear onerous rules could make it nearly impossible to travel with historic instruments, and why conservationists insist such measures are essential to stop illegal trade. As record-setting bows collide with vanishing forests, the story asks whether music and nature must compete—or whether a sustainable future can preserve both the sound and the tree that makes it possible.https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/11/19/the-use-of-a-rare-wood-pits-violinists-against-environmentalists

The software job market is splitting in two. At the very top, a small cadre of AI specialists is being courted with extraordinary salaries and fierce competition, as companies treat elite talent as a strategic asset worth hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. For everyone else, hiring has slowed sharply, with layoffs and shrinking job listings reflecting the productivity gains promised by generative AI. In this episode, we explore how this widening gap is reshaping what it means to be a programmer, why most developers are increasingly viewed as a cost rather than a necessity, and how the future of the profession may lie less in writing code than in building—and guiding—the machines that do.https://www.economist.com/business/2025/07/01/superstar-coders-are-raking-it-in-others-not-so-much

The word “genius” carries a seductive power—but it may explain far less than we think. Drawing on Helen Lewis’s critique, this episode unpicks the idea of genius not as an innate quality, but as a status granted by society, shaped by fashion, power, and storytelling. In this episode, we explore how the myth evolved from Romantic suffering to pseudo-scientific rankings that once underpinned eugenics, and why familiar tropes still persist today: excusing bad behavior, fetishizing rebellion, and assuming brilliance transfers effortlessly from one domain to another. By shifting attention from people to the work itself, the story challenges how we assign authority—and why mistaking success for wisdom can be both misleading and dangerous.https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/06/17/donald-trump-elon-musk-and-the-age-of-the-genius

When 18-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh returned to Chennai as the youngest world chess champion in history, the celebration felt like more than a sporting triumph. His victory over China’s Ding Liren—the first all-Asian world championship final—marked a generational shift in a game long dominated by Europe and Russia. In this episode, we explore how Gukesh’s rapid rise, powered by relentless training and family sacrifice, reflects India’s growing confidence on the global stage. As grandmasters multiply, political leaders cheer from the sidelines, and sponsors take notice, the story asks whether this breakthrough could help turn chess into a mass aspiration in India—one where intellectual excellence carries the same prestige as athletic stardom.https://www.economist.com/asia/2024/12/19/dommaraju-gukeshs-win-will-accelerate-indias-chess-ambitions

Never before have two leading presidential candidates been so old—and so closely scrutinized for it. With Joe Biden and Donald Trump both well beyond the age of past presidents and most global leaders, concerns about health, stamina, and mental sharpness have moved from the margins to the center of political debate. In this episode, we explore what biology and social science actually say about aging, from the risks of stroke and cognitive decline to research suggesting that power, privilege, and even “super-ager” genetics can extend both lifespan and function. Drawing on expert insight and public moments that fuel anxiety on both sides, the story asks a sobering question: how much do we really understand about aging at the very top—and how much of the fear is scientific, political, or cultural?https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/01/09/heart-attacks-strokes-dementia-can-biden-and-trump-beat-the-odds

More than a century ago, Daniel Burnham’s Plan of Chicago offered a bold idea: that cities should be planned not just block by block, but as regions, weaving beauty, infrastructure, and growth into a single vision. That ambition spread quickly, as planners grappled with sprawl, coined new ways to measure metropolitan scale, and experimented with governance models that could coordinate transport, housing, and services across fragmented jurisdictions. In this episode, we explore why regional planning has always been so hard to govern, from two-tier systems to single-purpose agencies, and how tools like greenbelts and urban growth boundaries aim to contain expansion. As cities fuse into conurbations, megalopolises, and today’s megaregions, the story asks whether planning at ever-larger scales can finally bring coherence to the urban landscapes we’ve created.Abbott, Carl, 'Metropolis and megaregion', City Planning: A Very Short Introduction, Very Short Introductions (New York, 2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 22 Oct. 2020), https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780190944346.003.0006

Rising from the desert with mathematical precision, the Great Pyramid of Giza remains one of humanity’s most astonishing feats of organization and belief. Built for Pharaoh Khufu under the direction of his architect Hemiunu, the monument demanded twenty years of relentless coordination—quarrying stone, hauling blocks across the Nile, and placing one massive block every few minutes. In this episode, we explore how a workforce of ordinary Egyptians, well fed and housed rather than enslaved, transformed limestone and granite into a perfectly aligned tomb, using ingenious engineering solutions that still provoke debate today. From the choice of bedrock on the Nile’s west bank to the hidden chambers and gleaming capstone that once crowned it, the story reveals not just how the pyramid was built, but what it tells us about power, labor, and ambition in the ancient world.https://youtu.be/fJBlEPOj4Fk?list=TLGGHTD3xLc-NCAxNjEyMjAyNQ

For more than a century, big cities have been celebrated as engines of growth, magnets for talent, and crucibles of innovation. Economists have long argued that crowding people together boosts productivity through “agglomeration,” making everything from public services to new ideas more efficient. In this episode, we explore a provocative challenge to that logic, examining research that suggests America’s largest cities may have contributed far less to economic output than commonly assumed. As critics debate whether innovation really depends on megacities, the story asks a deeper question: if the economic case is weaker than advertised, why do people keep flocking to dense, expensive, and often maddening urban centers? The answer, it turns out, may lie as much in human desire and culture as in growth statistics.https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/01/16/are-big-cities-overrated

When the pandemic shut the world down, it also stripped away the illusions of celebrity. As millions struggled with illness, isolation, and lost income, famous figures posting from vast homes and urging solidarity exposed the widening gap between wealth and reality—and sparked a furious backlash. In this episode, we explore how COVID-19 accelerated the unraveling of celebrity culture, from tone-deaf messages and viral hashtags calling out inequality to a broader questioning of meritocracy itself. Yet the story also asks what, if anything, remains valuable about fame, pointing to moments of genuine self-awareness and entertainment that still resonate. In a crisis that made inequality impossible to ignore, celebrity was forced to reckon with its own limits—and its meaning.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/arts/virus-celebrities.html

Not long ago, New York Harbor was treated as an open sewer, written off as biologically dead—but today, whales surface beneath the skyline. After decades of environmental regulation and conservation, sharks, dolphins, and even humpback and fin whales have returned, alongside the slow revival of oyster reefs that once defined the city’s waters. In this episode, we explore how laws like the Clean Water Act, limits on overfishing, and grassroots projects such as the Billion Oyster Project helped transform a polluted estuary into a living ecosystem once again. While sewage overflows and climate pressures still threaten that progress, the story offers a rare note of urban optimism: proof that long-term patience, policy, and persistence can bring nature back, even in the heart of a megacity.https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/09/01/new-yorks-waters-are-being-reborn

China’s consumer slowdown is not unfolding the way many expected. While wealthier urbanites tighten their belts, spending is rising among lower-income households and residents of smaller cities, reshaping where—and how—money is being spent. Budget destinations like Dali are booming, even as visitors spend less per trip, reflecting what economists call “consumer downgrading.” In this episode, we explore why domestic travel is surging despite caution at the top, how falling savings rates and modest gains among poorer households may be driving new demand, and why interior cities are now outpacing Beijing and other megacities in retail growth. The story suggests that China’s economic future may hinge less on luxury consumption—and more on millions of price-conscious consumers redefining what growth looks like.https://www.economist.com/china/2025/09/07/dalifornication-grips-china

In South Korea, a quiet countercurrent is pulling young people away from the city and back to the land. Known as kwichon, the movement reflects post-pandemic disillusionment with precarious urban work and the grind of corporate life, especially within the country’s powerful chaebol. In this episode, we explore why the government is encouraging this return to rural life, how new farmers are being trained to grow food and sell it online, and what happens when digital natives meet long-established village traditions. As hundreds of thousands test the promise of the countryside, the story reveals both the hope and the friction involved in trying to rebuild rural communities—and redefine success—far from the city.https://www.economist.com/asia/2022/09/01/young-koreans-are-moving-to-the-countryside-to-farm

A rare coyote attack on a child in Chicago briefly pulled an overlooked urban resident into the spotlight. Though such incidents are uncommon, coyotes have quietly colonized cities across America, adapting with remarkable success to parks, railways, and suburban edges. In this episode, we explore why thousands now live in Chicago alone, how the loss of wolves and changes in human land use pushed them into urban spaces, and why their presence is not simply a threat but also a benefit. As coyotes keep rats and rabbits in check while occasionally preying on pets, the story challenges instinctive fears—and asks what coexistence with a wild predator really looks like in the modern city.https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/01/16/unpacking-the-rise-of-urban-coyotes

At the highest levels of leadership, success often depends on a resource that is rarely discussed and easily depleted: personal energy. When football manager Jürgen Klopp stunned fans by stepping down from Liverpool, citing exhaustion, he voiced a truth few elite figures admit—that stamina, not just talent or strategy, can set the limits of achievement. In this episode, we explore why roles like CEO or head coach demand relentless physical and mental reserves, how this burden falls unevenly on different personalities, and why leaders from Jacinda Ardern to corporate executives have chosen to step back rather than burn out. The story reframes leadership not as an endless test of willpower, but as a discipline of knowing when energy runs out—and why rest, recovery, and restraint may be marks of strength, not weakness.https://www.economist.com/business/2024/01/29/jurgen-klopp-and-the-importance-of-energy

In China’s bookstores, self-help manuals tower over fiction and history, reflecting a society under intense pressure to adapt, compete, and succeed. Translations of American guides on management and personal growth sell briskly, even as the Communist Party urges readers toward homegrown models of “positive energy,” including the writings of Xi Jinping himself. In this episode, we explore why advice literature has such deep roots in Chinese culture, how classical texts are being reread as manuals for self-improvement, and what this hunger for guidance reveals about life in a fast-changing, high-stakes economy. The story suggests that China’s self-help boom is less about optimism than necessity—a search for tools to navigate a system where formal education rarely feels sufficient.https://www.economist.com/china/2020/11/12/why-self-help-books-are-so-popular-in-china

Sport is obsessed with streaks—with dynasties that seem unstoppable and teams so cursed they appear incapable of winning. From the record-breaking dominance of the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers to the years-long misery of the Cleveland Browns or the American Samoa football team, winning and losing runs are woven into how fans explain success and failure. In this episode, we explore what really lies behind these streaks: whether they are driven by leadership changes, psychology, money, and momentum, or whether—as statisticians argue—they are often little more than chance misread as meaning. By comparing real-life turnarounds with the stories we tell about them on screen, the episode asks why humans crave explanations for runs of fortune and misfortune—and why, for many fans, there is a strange comfort in backing a team whose day will surely come.https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/12/22/how-to-break-a-losing-streak

Chinese cuisine is often reduced in the West to takeaway staples, but a new book invites readers to taste something far deeper. Fuchsia Dunlop’s Invitation to a Banquet uses thirty carefully chosen dishes—not recipes, but stories—to reveal how food expresses Chinese history, philosophy, and everyday life, from the quiet elegance of a final cup of broth to the prized textures of slippery, crunchy kougan. In this episode, we explore how Dunlop reframes “unusual” ingredients not as symbols of scarcity, but of aesthetic choice and culinary sophistication. The result is a portrait of a cuisine that values mouth-feel as much as flavor, and a reminder that to understand China, one must first learn how—and why—it eats.https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/08/30/chinese-food-is-more-diverse-than-western-eaters-might-think

For more than a century, tennis has ruled the world of racket sports, crowned by global stars, billion-dollar tournaments, and a reputation for athletic and cultural prestige. Yet on courts from Miami to Madrid, quieter challengers are gaining ground. In this episode, we explore how padel and pickleball—easier to learn, more social, and especially appealing to older players—have surged in popularity, accelerated by the pandemic and changing leisure habits. As tennis loyalists bristle at the rise of these simpler games, the story echoes an old sporting cycle: today’s establishment once displaced its own predecessors. The question now is whether tennis can adapt to a shifting audience—or whether the future of racket sports belongs to its fast-growing rivals.https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/05/26/pickleball-and-padel-are-challenging-tenniss-supremacy

Urban planning is often presented as a technical exercise, but at its core it is a political act—one that decides who benefits from city life and who bears its costs. From exclusionary zoning and racially restrictive covenants to modern debates over gentrification, planning has long reflected the interests and power of those able to shape it. In this episode, we explore how planning evolved from informal private controls to formal zoning systems, why reformers pushed for advocacy and equity planning, and how today’s cities are grappling with demands for inclusion and participation. The story reveals that streets, neighborhoods, and skylines are never neutral—and that understanding whose voices count is essential to understanding how cities are made.Abbott, Carl, 'Contested communities', City Planning: A Very Short Introduction, Very Short Introductions (New York, 2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 22 Oct. 2020), https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780190944346.003.0005

Ever since the Concorde’s final landing in 2003, commercial air travel has been getting slower, not faster—despite decades of technological progress. The reason lies less in engineering limits than in economics and physics: supersonic flight creates disruptive sonic booms, guzzles fuel, and forces airlines onto narrow, unprofitable routes. In this episode, we explore why modern jets cruise below 900 kilometers per hour, how fuel efficiency and environmental costs now outweigh the lure of speed, and why passengers have quietly accepted longer journeys in exchange for cheaper tickets. Even as new designs promise quieter booms and cleaner fuels, the story asks whether the age of faster-than-sound travel will ever truly return—or whether convenience, not velocity, now defines the future of flight.https://youtu.be/hd8tYiLSmn0?si=1NorDJLSjWzKI738

In one of the world’s most tightly managed cities, an unlikely form of freedom splashes into view. Along Beijing’s rivers and canals, residents—once mostly retirees, now joined by younger swimmers—slip past fences and warning signs to plunge into forbidden waters, building informal swimming holes complete with chairs and makeshift diving boards. In this episode, we explore how “wild swimming” has endured decades of official bans and safety concerns, and why it took on new meaning during the pandemic, when regulated leisure spaces fell silent. The story captures a quiet standoff between authority and habit, revealing how ordinary people carve out joy, community, and autonomy—even in a city defined by rules.https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/world/asia/beijing-china-swimming-holes.html

Born from the shockwaves of the atomic age, Godzilla first stomped onto Japanese screens as a creature of terror and trauma—a living metaphor for nuclear destruction in a country still reeling from war. Inspired by the 1954 exposure of a Japanese fishing boat to an American hydrogen-bomb test, producer Tanaka Tomoyuki imagined the monster as nature’s revenge, awakened by human hubris. In this episode, we explore how Godzilla evolved from a singular expression of postwar fear into a global cinematic icon, endlessly reshaped to reflect changing anxieties about pollution, politics, and power. More than just a monster, Godzilla’s long reign reveals how popular culture absorbs collective dread—and keeps finding new ways to give it form.https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2024/12/19/what-a-70-year-old-firebreathing-lizard-reveals-about-humanity

Once a quiet inhabitant of Mexico’s ancient canals, the axolotl has become one of the internet’s most recognizable creatures—smiling, pink, and endlessly reproduced in games, memes, and toys. Revered by the Aztecs and later rediscovered by scientists for its uncanny ability to regenerate limbs and remain forever youthful, the salamander’s leap to global fame came through Japanese kawaii culture and blockbuster games like Pokémon and Minecraft. In this episode, we explore how digital culture turned an obscure amphibian into a worldwide icon—and why that fame masks a grim reality. As pollution and development push the axolotl to the brink of extinction in its only natural home, the story reveals a modern paradox: how celebrity can both endanger and, perhaps, help save a species and the fragile ecosystem that sustains a megacity.https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2024/12/19/how-the-axolotl-rose-from-obscurity-to-global-stardom

Each spring in parts of Oklahoma and Texas, rattlesnake roundups draw crowds eager to watch hunters flush snakes from their dens, parade them through town, and turn them into spectacle, food, and local income. What began as a practical response to fear and ranching life has evolved into a ritual that now sits uneasily with modern ideas about conservation and animal welfare. In this episode, we explore how these events sustain small-town economies while provoking fierce opposition from herpetologists who warn of cruelty, ecological damage, and indiscriminate practices like gassing dens. As some states reinvent their roundups as wildlife festivals and others double down on tradition, the story exposes a deeper clash between heritage and science—and asks who gets to decide how humans coexist with the wild.https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/05/04/the-fun-and-the-fury-of-a-rattlesnake-derby

Half a century on, Jaws is still hailed as the first great summer blockbuster, remembered for its thrills, its iconic score, and the stoic heroism of Police Chief Brody. But a closer look reveals a stranger, darker film beneath the legend. Plagued by technical failures and nearly undone by the decision to shoot at sea, Steven Spielberg was forced to hide the shark—turning absence into suspense and malfunction into myth. In this episode, we explore how those constraints reshaped the film, and why the shark itself may be the story’s true moral force: a creature that punishes corruption, exposes human pettiness, and echoes deeper anxieties about nature, power, and the atomic age. What emerges is not just a monster movie, but a parable about hubris—and the terror of what we can no longer control.https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/06/09/as-jaws-turns-50-who-is-the-blockbusters-real-hero

From bustling marketplaces to gleaming waterfronts, the modern city center is the product of repeated reinvention. Once forged by the convergence of railways, ports, and commerce in the late nineteenth century, downtowns later became targets of mid-twentieth-century urban renewal schemes that sought to erase “blight” through large-scale redevelopment—often at the cost of local communities. In this episode, we explore how critics like Jane Jacobs challenged those visions, reshaping planning around street life, density, and diversity, and how today’s city centers are being redesigned once again as festival marketplaces, cultural districts, and global nodes in a postindustrial economy. The story traces a long arc of ideas about what the heart of a city is for—and why it keeps changing with every new era of movement, money, and power.Abbott, Carl, 'Saving the center', City Planning: A Very Short Introduction, Very Short Introductions (New York, 2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 22 Oct. 2020), https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780190944346.003.0004

Often reviled as symbols of death, vultures are in fact among nature’s most effective public-health workers. Armed with stomach acid strong enough to neutralize pathogens like rabies, cholera, and tuberculosis, they strip carcasses clean before decay can poison water and soil, quietly stopping outbreaks before they begin. In this episode, we explore how these “plague-busting heroes” evolved to turn death into ecological renewal—and why they are now vanishing at alarming rates, devastated by toxic veterinary drugs, habitat loss, and poisoning. As vulture populations collapse and human disease rises in their wake, the story reveals what happens when a crucial link in the ecosystem breaks, and how conservationists are racing to bring these indispensable birds back from the brink.https://youtu.be/1WIUuGCIfcc?si=2dk7QlsGQVSQlul5