{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/d556eb54-6160-4c85-95f4-47d9f5216c49/64d60854cbaac50011d7aea5?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"In the big leagues now: Saudi Arabia’s push into sport","description":"<p>Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman says a presence in <a href=\"https://www.economist.com/briefing/2023/08/10/saudi-arabia-is-spending-a-fortune-on-sport?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">top-level global sport</a> is one route to modernising; critics call the effort a distraction from the country’s appalling human-rights record. Brazil’s government is pushing reforms that are clearly <a href=\"https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/08/02/investors-are-increasingly-optimistic-about-brazils-economy?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">calming investors</a>, who had fretted about a return to ruinously spendthrift policies (9:20). And how speedy “first-person-view” drones are <a href=\"https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2023/08/04/how-could-fpv-drones-change-warfare?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">changing the fight</a> in Ukraine (16:25).</p><p><br></p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to <a href=\"https://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></p>","author_name":"The Economist"}