The Weekend Intelligence from The Economist

In February The Weekend Intelligence reported from Lithuania where civilian society is gearing up to defend itself from attacks across the border; The Economist’s Tim Judah, who has recently come back from a reporting trip in Ukraine, has seen first hand what happens to a nation at war. Returning to London he went in search of what plans the UK government has for Britain’s civil defence, if and when the time comes. What he found was hardly reassuring. Topics covered:Civil DefenceBritainDisaster reliefLithuania ep: https://shows.acast.com/theintelligencepodcast/episodes/the-weekend-intelligence-how-to-prepare-for-an-invasion Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Music by bluedot Sessions and Epidemic Sound.This podcast transcript is generated by third-party AI. It has not been reviewed prior to publication. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the transcript, its accuracy or its completeness, and we disclaim all liability regarding its receipt, content and use. If you have any concerns about the transcript, please email us at podcasts@economist.com.Read more about how we are using AI.

The last two years have been turbulent ones in Georgia. After mass protests against the government began in November 2024, hundreds were detained and reporting torture in custody. The authorities unleashed a first world war chemical weapon against their own people. And then they got to work dismantling democracy.Criminal penalties for foreign-funded organisations, opposition parties banned, universities gutted, journalists imprisoned. Robin Forestier-Walker, a journalist based in Tbilisi, has been charting this rapid descent into authoritarianism from the inside. As friends and colleagues are targeted, he’s wondering whether it’s time to pack up his family and say goodbye.Topics covered:GeorgiaRussiaAuthoritarianismListen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Music by Blue Dot and Epidemic.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts

The passport bros share a simple message: dating in the West is broken — so go somewhere your money stretches further and your chances improve. Seeking partners abroad is nothing new. But online, the passport bros have repackaged it as the “ultimate life hack” — and their message can sound like the angrier corners of the manosphere.Carla Subirana travels to a passport bro hotspot, Da Nang in Vietnam, to find out what these men really stand for and what they reveal about why men and women in the West are drifting apart.Topics covered:Dating The manosphere Social media Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Music by bluedot and epidemic.This podcast transcript is generated by third-party AI. It has not been reviewed prior to publication. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the transcript, its accuracy or its completeness, and we disclaim all liability regarding its receipt, content and use. If you have any concerns about the transcript, please email us at podcasts@economist.com.Read more about how we are using AI.

Reporter David Weinberg takes us to the desert of Southern California, where geologists have discovered half a trillion dollars worth of lithium trapped in a toxic brine deep beneath the state’s largest lake. The system to extract it has never been tried before. Will profits trickle down to fix the broken infrastructure, provide much needed new jobs and save the Salton Sea? Or will property values skyrocket, drive the locals out of town and environmental hazards emerge from this unprecedented experiment? Topics covered:Geothermal power Lithium extractionPoverty in the USListen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Music by bluedot Sessions and Epidemic Sound.This podcast transcript is generated by third-party AI. It has not been reviewed prior to publication. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the transcript, its accuracy or its completeness, and we disclaim all liability regarding its receipt, content and use. If you have any concerns about the transcript, please email us at podcasts@economist.com.Read more about how we are using AI.

Talking to space architects and scientists, real astronauts, and secret wannabes, Jessica Camille Aguirre set out to discover the blueprint for a possible moon base—and what she found was a vision for the evolution of humanity.Topics covered:SpaceLiving on the moonArtemis programListen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic SoundTranscripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts

Ibogaine, a potent psychedelic, is coming to red-state America. Tamara Gilkes Borr meets one of the movement’s most determined advocates, an evangelist on a mission to spread ibogaine across America, to understand why this illegal and potentially dangerous psychedelic is gaining popularity among conservatives.Topics covered:ibogainepsychedelicsconservativesopioid crisisBryan HubbardLinks to articles:Kentucky eyes ibogaineA psychedelic medicine performs well against depressionAmanda Feilding fought to rescue the reputation of psychedelicsListen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Music by bluedot Sessions and Epidemic Sound.This podcast transcript is generated by third-party AI. It has not been reviewed prior to publication. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the transcript, its accuracy or its completeness, and we disclaim all liability regarding its receipt, content and use. If you have any concerns about the transcript, please email us at podcasts@economist.com.Read more about how we are using AI.

At one of the stands displaying AI-powered sex dolls at the Adult Video Network expo, there is a robot holding a handwritten sign saying, “You can do anything to me.” For generations, criticism of the porn industry has focused on the treatment of performers. But in the age of AI, the users of porn are more vulnerable than ever. The Economist’s Avantika Chilkoti travels to the Oscars of porn to find out how AI is changing the industry—and what it might mean for all of us.  Topics covered:AI Adult sex industryIntimacy and relationshipsHumanoid robotsListen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Music by bluedot Sessions and Epidemic Sound.This podcast transcript is generated by third-party AI. It has not been reviewed prior to publication. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the transcript, its accuracy or its completeness, and we disclaim all liability regarding its receipt, content and use. If you have any concerns about the transcript, please email us at podcasts@economist.com.Read more about how we are using AI.Links to articles:Chinese humanoid robotshttps://www.economist.com/business/2026/02/18/chinas-humanoids-are-dazzling-the-world-who-will-buy-them Avantika's reporting https://www.economist.com/international/2025/11/27/ai-is-upending-the-porn-industry and https://economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/03/19/the-new-economics-of-sex-workDavid Foster Wallace https://www.scribd.com/doc/297476001/David-Foster-Wallace-Big-Red-Son

The toy industry has a problem: there aren’t enough children. Its solution? Adults.Rosie Blau reports on the rise of the "kidult". Is there anything wrong with big kids collecting toys? And what does it say about her that —secretly— she might want one.Topics covered:Toy industryDemographic changeKidultsLinks to articles: Adults are propping up the toy industryListen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.Music provided by Domestic Background Music and Blue Dot SessionsTranscripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts