From bad to awful: Trump’s four options in Iran

About this episode

<p>As the war in Iran progresses, none of the <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/03/22/donald-trump-has-four-bad-options-for-the-war-in-iran?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">options available</a> to Donald Trump looks good. We examine each of them. Thailand’s Buddhist monks are implicated in lots of lawless and dodgy behaviour—but clearing out the bad apples is <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/01/08/can-thailand-rein-in-its-mafia-monks?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">more complicated</a> than it seems. And gene-editing comes to the <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/03/04/a-basket-of-new-fruit-varieties-is-coming-your-way?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fruit bowl</a>: we look at what science is serving up next.</p><br><p>Guests and host:</p><ul><li>Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent </li><li>Alizée Jean-Baptiste, Asia senior podcasts producer</li><li>Maria Lisik, news editor</li><li>Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”</li><li>Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Topics covered: </p><ul><li>Iran war, Donald Trump</li><li>Thailand, Buddhist monks</li><li>gene-editing, fruit</li></ul><p><br></p><p><em>Get a world of insights by </em><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>subscribing to Economist Podcasts+</em></a><em>. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our </em><a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>FAQs page</em></a><em> or watch </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>our video</em></a><em> explaining how to link your account.</em></p><br><p><br></p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>