Money Talks from The Economist

De Beers built an empire by convincing the world that “a diamond is forever”. But the supply chain it once dominated is under pressure from cheap lab-grown diamonds that are chemically identical to the mined stones De Beers has been peddling for 140 years. Threats ranging from tariffs to the weakened Chinese economy stalk the diamond industry too, and the iconic De Beers business is now up for sale. So, is there still room for natural diamonds and the companies that sell them, in a world awash with man-made gems?Hosts: Mike Bird and Alice Fulwood. Guests: diamond-industry analyst Paul Zimnisky; and Alexander Lacik, CEO of Pandora.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

One man has profited more than almost anyone else from the war in Ukraine: Armin Papperger. He is the boss of Rheinmetall, one of Europe’s largest defence firms, which has seen its share price increase more than 2,500% in the past five years. This week, we speak to him about the business of war.Hosts: Alice Fulwood, Ethan Wu and Mike Bird. Guests: Armin Papperger and The Economist’s Vendeline von Bredow.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

All is not well in private-equity land. Funds are struggling to flip businesses profitably. Deal volumes have slumped. And new capital has become harder to raise. Does that mean the corporate raiders have had their day?Hosts: Ethan Wu and Josh Roberts. Guests: Daniel Rasmussen of Verdad Advisers and Hugh MacArthur of Bain & Company.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Tyler Cowen is a professor of economics who has been described as “the man who wants to know everything”. He is Silicon Valley’s favourite economist—but his interests extend far beyond AI into the realms of art, literature and food. Alice visited him at his home in Virginia to find out whether he thinks LLMs will live up to their hype.Hosts: Alice Fulwood and Ethan Wu. Guest: Tyler CowenTranscripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

It started over a century ago with instalment loans for big ticket items. But today, buy now, pay later can be used for almost anything, from Coachella tickets to your lunchtime burrito. This new form of consumer finance has attracted criticism for enticing younger borrowers with limited credit histories into debt. But despite critics' reservations, the market is booming. BNPL accounted for $342bn in spending around the world last year, up from $2bn a decade earlier—and major investment funds are getting in on the action. Is BNPL the future of consumer finance?Hosts: Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Ethan Wu. Guests: Max Levchin, co-founder and CEO of Affirm, and Vaibhav Piplapure, managing director at KKR’s asset-based finance team.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

The annual gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole is usually spent poring over speeches for clues on interest rates, and in high-minded scholarly discussion. But this year there was a twist. On the eve of the conference, President Trump threatened to sack one of the Fed’s governors. Fortunately, our economics editor Henry Curr was there with a microphone to capture the action as it unfolded. Hosts: Alice Fulwood, Ethan Wu and Mike Bird. Guests: The Economist’s Henry Curr.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

Lights, camera, economics! This week, we bring you something different: the premier of the Money Talks film club. So get yourself a large soda (no ice), some popcorn and find out what economic lessons Alice, Mike and Ethan have learnt from their favourite films.Hosts: Alice Fulwood, Mike Bird and Ethan Wu.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

President Trump's sweeping tariffs took effect last week, imposing seemingly arbitrary levies on goods arriving to America from much of the world. They range from 10% on UK-made products to 50% on shipments from Brazil. But one region has been hit particularly hard: South-East Asia. A growing share of US imports are made in the region, which has benefitted from a push by manufacturers to diversify their supply chains away from China. But do Trump’s tariffs, and his ill-defined crackdown on “transshipment”, threaten the factory model that has propelled the region’s growth?Hosts: Ethan Wu, Alice Fulwood and Mike Bird. Guests: Louise Loo of Oxford Economics; former White House supply-chain expert Peter Harrell; and Malaysia’s deputy trade minister Liew Chin Tong.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.

For years, Wall Street has been stuffed with crypto sceptics, who couldn't see the point in digital assets. But now, even the most straight-laced parts of traditional finance are starting to see new use cases. Last month, President Trump signed into law the GENIUS Act, which signals a new era for one type of cryptocurrency in particular: stablecoins. It’s easy to see how these tokens backed by other assets, usually the dollar, could make transactions simpler. But it’s also easy to see how they could pose a threat to the stability of the financial system as we know it.Hosts: Mike Bird, Ethan Wu and Alice Fulwood. Guests: Sandy Kaul, head of innovation at Franklin Templeton; and Johann Kerbrat of Robinhood.Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.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.