• Why the global elite are collecting citizenships
    Jun 25 2026

    The world’s wealthy are increasingly on the move, and a booming number of advisors is available to help them. The investment-migration businesses turned over an estimated $40bn last year, twice as much as before the pandemic. So where are they advising the footloose ultra-rich to go?


    Guests and hosts:

    • Dominic Volek of Henley & Partners
    • Ron Klasko, co-founder of Exodus Migration
    • Anjani Trivedi, The Economist's global business correspondent
    • Mike Bird, co-host of “Money Talks”
    • Alice Fulwood, co-host of “Money Talks”


    Topics covered:

    • Citizenship by investment
    • Expat advisors
    • Dubai


    Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

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    39 mins
  • How quickly could you burn through $2.4trn?
    Jun 18 2026

    For America's social security trust fund, the answer is around six years. A growing elderly population and falling birth rate mean the pot, accumulated over decades will run dry some time towards the end of the next presidential term, in late 2032. When that happens, the country's retirees will take a battering. So can anything be done to stop it before time runs out?


    Hosts:

    • Mike Bird, co-host of “Money Talks”
    • Alice Fulwood, co-host of “Money Talks”
    • Ethan Wu, co-host of “Money Talks”


    Topics covered:

    • America’s Social Security Trust Fund
    • Retirement
    • US politics


    Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

    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.

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    33 mins
  • Why America’s Treasury market needs a fix
    Jun 11 2026

    The world’s most important asset is under threat. Government debt, inflation and unpredictable policymaking are all putting the Treasury market in peril. What can be done to save it?


    Guests and hosts:


    • Jay Barry, head of global rates strategy at JPMorgan
    • Nellie Liang, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution
    • Mike Bird, co-host of “Money Talks”
    • Alice Fulwood, co-host of “Money Talks”
    • Ethan Wu, co-host of “Money Talks”


    Topics covered:


    • America’s treasury market
    • Safe assets
    • Federal Reserve


    Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.


    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.

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    45 mins
  • How franchising made Americans rich
    Jun 4 2026

    How do you get rich in today’s America? With many careers threatened by AI, running a franchise looks like a good bet. McDonald’s has plausibly created more millionaires than any firm in history. Now the franchising model can be found everywhere from hotels to Pilates studios. Is franchising the future?


    Guests and hosts:

    • Greg Flynn, CEO of Flynn Group
    • Mike Bird, co-host of “Money Talks”
    • Alice Fulwood, co-host of “Money Talks”


    Topics covered:

    • Franchising
    • Fast food
    • High street


    Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

    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.

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    37 mins
  • Elon Musk’s astronomical SpaceX bet
    May 28 2026

    Nearly everything about SpaceX seems otherworldly–even its forthcoming IPO. Not only will it be the largest in history (by some margin) but, to make good on its promises, the company will need to put data centres in space and build a 1m-person city on Mars. Both of those ambitions depend on SpaceX’s next-generation rocket, Starship. So will Elon Musk's latest test-flight IPO be meteoric or explosive?


    Guests and hosts:

    • Henry Tricks, The Economist’s US technology editor
    • Tim Cross, The Economist’s senior science writer
    • Mike Bird, co-host of “Money Talks”
    • Alice Fulwood, co-host of “Money Talks”


    Topics covered:

    • SpaceX IPO
    • Starship
    • Orbital data centres


    Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

    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.

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    42 mins
  • Can anything stop South Korea’s bull run?
    May 21 2026

    South Korea’s KOSPI stock index has nearly doubled this year alone. The wild bull run has been driven by two companies: Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. This has prompted big questions about how to spread the benefits of the boom and led to threats of strikes. So how long can the rally last?


    Guests and hosts:

    • Timothy Moe, chief regional equity strategist for Asia Pacific at Goldman Sachs
    • Hyok Jung Kim, associate research fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
    • Alice Fulwood, co-host of “Money Talks”
    • Ethan Wu, co-host of “Money Talks”


    Topics covered:

    • South Korea
    • AI
    • Memory chips


    Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

    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.

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    36 mins
  • Kevin Warsh’s revolution at the Fed
    May 14 2026

    Donald Trump’s ongoing fight with the Federal Reserve could be over. Kevin Warsh, the president’s pick for the new Fed chair, has now been confirmed and is promising “regime change”. What does that mean for the world’s most important central bank?


    Guests and hosts:

    • Skanda Amarnath, co-founder and executive director of Employ America
    • John H. Cochrane, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
    • Mike Bird, co-host of “Money Talks”
    • Alice Fulwood, co-host of “Money Talks”
    • Ethan Wu, co-host of “Money Talks”


    Topics covered:

    • Kevin Warsh
    • US Federal Reserve
    • Interest rates


    Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

    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.

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    41 mins
  • Is the AI genie stuck in a bottleneck?
    May 7 2026

    The AI boom is running into an unexpected problem: physical bottlenecks. Demand is soaring, but chips, data centres, transformers and power grids cannot be scaled at the same speed as software. As hyperscalers like Amazon and Google pledge hundreds of billions of dollars in spending, companies further up the supply chain are struggling to keep up. So is the real world about to put a brake on artificial intelligence?


    Guests and hosts:

    • Jigar Shah, co-managing partner at Multiplier
    • Shailesh Chitnis, The Economist's global business writer
    • Alice Fulwood, co-host of “Money Talks”
    • Mike Bird, co-host of “Money Talks”


    Topics covered:

    • AI boom
    • Chip manufacturing
    • US data centres


    Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.


    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.

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    38 mins