One story, vividly told. Join The Economist’s correspondents from around the world as they step back from the news to report on the people, places and ideas that matter most to them and shape all our lives. Published every Saturday.
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Shire Folk is the story of how some of the most powerful people in America came to see Britain—and Islam—through the eyes of a fringe football hooligan.
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12 Sept 2026
Shire folk
For 15 years, the British media dismissed Tommy Robinson as a far-right extremist. We kept him off our televisions, and out of our newspapers.
Today his rallies attract tens of thousands of followers and he has the ear of the world’s richest man.
Shire Folk is the story of how some of the most powerful people in America came to see Britain—and Islam—through the eyes of a fringe football hooligan.
Topics covered:
Radical Islam
Gangs
English Defence League
Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist (https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus).
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 (mailto:podcasts@economist.com).
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10 Sept 2026
TRAILER: Shire folk
Shire Folk is the story of how some of the most powerful people in America came to see Britain—and Islam—through the eyes of a fringe football hooligan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
13 Jun 2026
PSA: Back soon
Instead of your usual episode of The Weekend Intelligence, we are bringing you a new narrative series from The Economist.
In Tocqueville Road Trip our US Editor John Prideaux retraces the steps of the French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville, as America turns 250. He wrote probably the best book on American politics by a foreigner, and he did it in 1831, when the country was barely 50 years old. How much of what he saw remains? And how worried should we be about what's changed?
You'll find it wherever you listen to The Intelligence.
The Weekend Intelligence team is on a short hiatus. We're using the time to report, gather and polish more stories for you. We'll be back in July.
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31 Jan 2026
PSA: Taking a short break
Instead of your usual episode of The Weekend Intelligence, we are bringing you season 3 of Boss Class. The series asks, how should employees and managers adapt to the world of AI? You'll find it wherever you listen to The Intelligence.
The Weekend Intelligence team is on a short hiatus. We're using the time to report, gather and polish more stories for you. We'll be back Saturday 21st February.
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29 Nov 2025
Mise en masse
Chef Gary Thomas has a lot on his plate. That’s because he’s in the business of feeding thousands of people a day on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Not just any ship – the Star of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world.
The Weekend Intelligence’s senior producer Barclay Bram braved a trip to the Bahamas to try to figure out the secret behind one of the most impressive food operations in the world.
Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ (https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus)
For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page (https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts) or watch our video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48TlDbL-4vU) explaining how to link your account.
Music by Blue dot 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. (https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/How-we-handle-AI-generated-content)
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29 Nov 2025
The Cotton Patch Gospel
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+ (https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus)
For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page (https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts) or watch our video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48TlDbL-4vU) 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.
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24 Nov 2025
The Weekend Intelligence: Welcome
The Weekend Intelligence has got it's own feed. That means no more scrolling back every week to find episodes you've missed, they're all in one handy place. All one hundred (and counting).
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8 Aug 2025
The Weekend Intelligence: The Memory Keepers
In Japan, the last witnesses to the horror of nuclear destruction are approaching the end of their lives. And as they die out, nuclear weapons no longer seem to induce the same degree of revulsion they once did. The arms control architecture built up during the Cold War is crumbling and existing nuclear powers are modernising their arsenals. More states are considering acquiring nuclear weapons. Now, more than ever, we need survivor stories to remind us of the consequences of their use.
In this episode of The Weekend Intelligence our East Asia Bureau Chief, Noah Sneider meets the hibakusha, the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and asks how do we keep their memories alive?
Show notes
Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ (https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus)
For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page (https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts) or watch our video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48TlDbL-4vU) explaining how to link your account.
Music by Blue dot 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. (https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/How-we-handle-AI-generated-content)
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