The Intelligence from The Economist

It’s a simple idea on the surface; host a rival to the olympics in which people can take performance enhancing drugs. But as The Economist’s Natasha Loder has found out over the past year, the games are just a shop window for a much bigger and more controversial idea – that we can all live better, happier lives by taking performance enhancing drugs. And Enhanced is here to sell them to you. Topics covered:DopingOlympics OptimisationBiohacking Links to articles:https://www.economist.com/interactive/1843/2026/05/21/dope-and-glory-inside-the-enhanced-games 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.

Big birthdays are often a time for reflection. Our editors and correspondents chat through the state of American democracy as seen from inside and outside the country, the country’s perennial paroxysms of immigration policy, and its undimmed power to export its culture to the world. Watch extended clips from Insider here.Guests and host:Robert Guest, deputy editorRebecca Jackson, Southern correspondentDaniel Knowles, Midwest correspondentAryn Braun, West Coast correspondentJon Fasman, senior culture correspondentJason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: American history, American democracyimmigration policyAmerican cultural exportsGet a world of insights by subscribing 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.

Big oil firms keep one part of their business hush-hush: trading. Amid an almighty oil shock, the majors’ trading arms are raking it in. But competition is mounting. We look at the Trump administration’s messy attempts to regulate frontier AI models, and how that may cost America its AI edge. And why the biggest music tours are going to fewer places. Guests and host:Matthieu Favas, commodities editorShashank Joshi, incoming Washington bureau chiefVicky Jessop, culture writerJason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: oil majors, oil tradingAI,  frontier models, American regulationmusic business, concert toursGet a world of insights by subscribing 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.

Government help was thin on the ground just after the country’s worst quakes in a century. The America-backed regime is thus on literal and figurative shaky ground. A food-delivery robot trial in England represents the future of the service. And why Harlan Coben’s proliferating thrillers are cheesy but gripping.Guests and host:Kinley Salmon, Latin America correspondentAlex Hern, AI writerCatherine Nixey, culture correspondentJason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: Venezuela earthquakes, disaster responsedelivery robotsHarlan CobenGet a world of insights by subscribing 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.

With Iran emboldened and America an ever more capricious security partner, Gulf countries face several post-war challenges. They should put their divides aside to tackle them. We dig one last time into our archive to chronicle American history, bringing our series up to the present day. And the mounting evidence that plants can “hear”. Guests and host:Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondentAnnie Crabill, senior digital editorMatt Kaplan, science correspondentRosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: Iran war, Middle East geopoliticsAmerican history, semiquincentennialsplants, biology, scienceGet a world of insights by subscribing 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 all the Trumpian chaos in Latin America, no other developing-world regional economy has done so well in the past year. We examine the Donroe dividend. The cost to make jollof rice, a staple dish in Nigeria and Ghana, is a window into the countries’ economies. And the BBC waves goodbye to its long-wave radio service.Guests and host:Cerian Richmond-Jones, international economics correspondentỌrẹ Ogunbiyi, Africa correspondentBo Franklin, senior editorRosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: Latin America, Donroe doctrine, miningNigeria, Ghana, cost of living, jollof riceBBC, long-wave radioGet a world of insights by subscribing 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.

Washington DC is changing fast. But while buildings are knocked down and rebuilt, power is shifting away from the institutions of the city. As the roadtrip concludes, where does this leave “Democracy in America”?Guests and HostsJohn Prideaux, The Economist’s US editor and host of “Tocqueville Road Trip”Steven Cash, Executive Director of The Steady State and former CIA employee Alex Bruesewitz, political consultant TopicsTocqueville’s views on Andrew Jackson and the presidencyHow close could America come to dictatorship?Social media in the Trump eraLet us know what you think. Email podcasts@economist.com You can share this episode with non-subscribers by gifting it from The Economist appTo listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Tocqueville predicted that the question of who gets to call themselves an American would have a long and troubled future. Donna Hughes-Brown never thought that question would apply to her. Until ICE showed up.Guests and HostsJohn Prideaux, The Economist’s US editor and host of “Tocqueville Road Trip”Donna Hughes-Brown, immigrant and Green-card holderJim Brown, Donna’s husband Richard K. Jones, Sheriff of Butler County, Ohio TopicsTocqueville’s “Democracy in America” and his views on slaveryVictims of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) The federal government’s powerLet us know what you think. Email podcasts@economist.comYou can share this episode with non-subscribers by gifting it from The Economist app.To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Ukraine is intensifying cross-border attacks in a strategic and psychological effort to make ordinary Russians take notice of the war. We have been collecting reports from the ground on shifting attitudes as occupied Crimea comes under fire. Why the valuation of Elon Musk’s SpaceX affects us all. And celebrating the life of former Fed chair Alan Greenspan.Guests and host:Matt Steinglass, Europe editorJosh Roberts, capital markets correspondentAnn Wroe, obituaries editorRosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”Topics covered: Ukraine, Crimea, Zelensky, PutinSpaceX, Elon Musk, trillionaire, valuationAlan Greenspan, Federal Reserve, monetary policyListen 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.