The Intelligence from The Economist

We examine what our forecast model predicts so far—and consider what might change its confident prediction for one house of Congress and toss-up call for the other. Our correspondent sits down with Steve Reich, a pioneering classical composer who is nearing his 90th birthday. And the surprising reason why firstborns tend to have more-successful lives.

Additional music courtesy of Steve Reich (Nonesuch Records), Erik Hall (Western Vinyl)

Guests and host:
Dan Rosenheck, data editor
Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
Ainslie Johnstone, data journalist
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:
American elections, Congress, polling, gerrymandering
Steve Reich, contemporary classical music
birth order, statistics

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The decision of Anthropic, an AI giant, to keep its Mythos model sequestered surely makes for good press. But there seems to be more to it than that—and it might change the whole industry’s approach. Indian politicians are chasing female voters more than ever; we question the means and the outcomes. And next in our World Cup contender-country profiles: Senegal.

Guests and host:
Alex Hern, AI writer
Kira Huju, Asia correspondent
Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:
AI, Anthropic, Mythos
India, women, politics
World Cup, Senegal

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Tim Cook is stepping down after overseeing 15 years of spectacular growth. We take a look at his successor. Japan’s rural women are disproportionately heading to cities, and their home towns are working hard to lure them back. And a historical examination of boredom, and why Britons have perhaps less of it than they should.

Guests and host:
Tom Lee-Devlin, business editor
Moeka Iida, Japan reporter
Catherine Nixey, culture correspondent
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:
Apple, technology, CEO, John Ternus
Japan, demographics
Britain, boredom

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This week’s peace talks are endangered after American forces fired on and boarded a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. We visit Chernobyl’s ruined reactor to assess the damage done by a Russian drone to its enormous safety structure. The likes of McDonald’s and KFC have long been in China’s cities; now they are expanding at pace in the countryside.

Guests and host:
Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent
Sarah Lawrynuik, deputy editor of “The Intelligence”
Don Weinland, China business and finance editor
Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:
Iran war, Strait of Hormuz
Chernobyl, Ukraine war
China, fast food

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When America seized Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro in January, it left the rest of his regime intact. Three months on, our correspondent finds optimism and some loosening of repression. Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado fled to America, now she explains her ambitions for the country. And celebrating the life of Nick Pope, who spent decades investigating UFOs.

Guests and host:
Kinley Salmon, Latin America correspondent
Ann Wroe, obituaries editor
Rosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered:
Venezuela, oil, Maduro, Trump
María Corina Machado, elections
Nick Pope, UFOs, aliens, NASA

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