Podcasts | Checks and Balance

 How can America fix its housing shortage?

Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we ask what it would take for the country to build more homes

Suburban housing, Houston, United States

America doesn’t have enough homes. The “yes in my backyard”, or YIMBY, movement believes that making it easier to build is the best solution. To what extent would building more help solve America’s housing problem?


John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Daniel Knowles. They’re joined by YIMBY activist Sonja Trauss and law professor Michael Allan Wolf. The Economist’s Stevie Hertz reports from New York.

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People crossing a river.

Podcast Drum Tower

En route to America, Chinese migrants are targeted by criminals

Our weekly podcast on China. This week, in the second episode of a four-part series, we follow the journey of the migrants as they encounter smugglers and cartels in Mexico

In this photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian soldiers attend combat training for assault units at an undisclosed location in Ukraine.

Podcast Next Year in Moscow

Next Year in Moscow 10: A farewell to arms

In a bonus episode of our series, we bring you a Russian deserter’s story


Podcast The Intelligence

Sir Keir Starmer talks to The Economist about his plan to get Britain growing

Also on the daily podcast: why mapping fruit flies’ brains matters for human ones and chatbots take on conspiracists


Podcast Editor’s Picks

How likely is a serious oil shock?

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

Podcast The Intelligence

A flawless SpaceX launch marks the start of a new economics of space

Also on the daily podcast: the power Brazil’s ex-president still wields and the deep, anxious history of self-help books

Podcast The Weekend Intelligence

A farewell to arms

The story of a Russian deserter