The Intelligence from The Economist

For decades governments have found minimum-wage rises a politically expedient means of redistribution. But the onward economic distortions have at last become clear. Of course AI can write a faster cover letter — perhaps even a better one. But there are knock-on costs when everyone is doing it. And a look at Florida’s bold experiment in the free choice of unbundled education.Get 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.

It is telling and troubling that the annual climate talking-shop’s outcome did not even mention fossil fuels. We ask whether the COP process is still fit for purpose. Cryptocurrencies could be heading for an almighty fall: what would they take down with them? And the revealing vowels and diphthongs of whale communications. (Hear much more on animal communication in our series on “Babbage”: part 1 asks whether animals truly have language, and part 2 whether AI could translate it.) Additional audio courtesy of Project CETI. Get 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.

Seventy years ago, a small Christian community in rural Georgia became an unlikely battleground in America’s fight over civil rights. Koinonia was founded on a radical idea: that black and white families should live, work and worship together as equals. For the people of nearby Americus, that belief was heresy. What followed was years of boycotts, gunfire, cross burnings and isolation.Lenny Jordan grew up in the middle of it. As a child he learned to distinguish the sound of a passing car from the sound of one slowing to shoot. His father, Clarence Jordan - farmer, preacher - refused to compromise his principles, even as the Klan targeted his family and the community was boycotted.This autumn, our Southern correspondent Rebecca Jackson travelled with Lenny back to the farm. There he confronts the scars of a childhood spent in the crosshairs - and asks what it means to cling to your convictions when your country feels like it is slipping backwards.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.

Britain’s home secretary Shabana Mahmood proposed a big shift in immigration policy this week. Our correspondent explains Labour’s reforms – and the reasoning behind them. Why military spy balloons are making a comeback. And celebrating historian Gillian Tindall, who illuminated ordinary lives to bring the past to life.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.

Pentagon officials are meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss a Russia-US peace proposal Ukraine had no part in writing. That merely adds pressure as a giant corruption crisis is already embroiling top officials. Fifty years on from the death of Franco, our correspondent assesses how much Spain has changed. And should you date your boss? 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. 

Muhammad bin Salman’s first visit to the White House in seven years earned the Saudi crown prince new weapons, giant tech deals and a burnished reputation. Our correspondent explains Trump’s warm welcome. Why gay rights in Hong Kong are going backwards. And how snail farms help Britons dodge tax.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.

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s former prime minister, has been sentenced to death for  crimes against humanity. The country is at a pivotal moment as it heads towards parliamentary elections next year. Donald Trump hopes tariffs will return furniture making to America. And why English speakers use their alphabet so oddly.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.

This weekend, thousands of people protested in Mexico City about violent crime. But our correspondent notes that the government has had some success in confronting drug gangs and cutting homicides. Three years ago Japan’s former prime minister Abe Shinzo was assassinated. Now his killer is on trial. And celebrating the life of the bomb-disposal mastermind Peter Gurney.For “The Weekend Intelligence”, our Mexico bureau chief Sarah Birke recently visited the Mexican city of Culiacán, capital of Sinaloa state, which is suffering a brutal “narco-pandemic”. Subscribers can listen here.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.

Nader Sadaqa was meant to spend the rest of his days in prison. He was released by Israel in October as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, one of 250 prisoners serving life sentences. But Sadaqa is no ordinary prisoner. He is a Samaritan—-a tiny ethnoreligious community who claim to descend from the ancient Israelites. Once numbering nearly 1m people, only 850 remain today. They move freely between Israel and the Palestinian territories to work, visit family and observe religious traditions. Being able to navigate both worlds is central to being a Samaritan. They tend not to pick sides. But Sadaqa made a different choice. Twenty years ago, he was imprisoned for murdering four Israeli soldiers and four citizens. In this episode, our Middle East correspondent Nick Pelham meets with Sadaqa in Cairo to learn why he took up the Palestinian cause when neutrality would have been far easier.For more episodes by Nick Pelham, click the links below. Listen to the story of Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian politician-turned-revolutionary who was convicted of acts of terrorism and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in an Israeli prison. Hear Maroua Abudhagga, a Palestinian from Gaza, and Samy Ibrahim, her Egyptian Jewish husband, discuss a marriage and shared heritage that bridges divides.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, epidemic, and Sofi Tsedaka.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.