Economist Podcasts

One giant, cheap for mankind: SpaceX’s Starship

The fifth test flight of the absolutely enormous Starship went <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/10/13/elon-musks-spacex-has-achieved-something-extraordinary?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">entirely to plan</a>, returning everything to Earth for reuse and heralding a new era of big space missions with small price tags. Two years after Brazilians ejected Jair Bolsonaro, their inept and dangerous former president, he <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2024/10/02/jair-bolsonaro-still-shapes-brazils-political-right?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">still shapes</a> right-wing politics (11:30). And the anxiety-lined past and present of <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2024/09/23/the-self-help-book-began-in-the-land-of-the-stiff-upper-lip?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">self-help books</a> (19:22).  Get a world of insights by <a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">subscribing to Economist Podcasts+</a>. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our <a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQs page</a> or watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">our video</a> explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Every weekday our global network of correspondents makes sense of the stories beneath the headlines. We bring you surprising trends and tales from around the world, current affairs, business and finance — as well as science and technology.  Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.