Culture | A sound grasp

These are The Economist’s favourite podcasts of 2023

They covered subjects including empire, medical scandals and war

An illustration of a person seated leaning against giant headpgones that are plugged into a phone. There are wires and other smartphones around.
Image: Bianca Bagnarelli

“The Big Flop”

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “A sound grasp”

From the December 2nd 2023 edition

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Angela Merkel in Frankfurt, Germany in December 1991

Angela Merkel sets out to restore her reputation

But her new memoir is unlikely to change her critics’ minds

Blue books forming a winner rosette on a red background

The best books of 2024, as chosen by The Economist

Readers will never think the same way again about games, horses and spies


Elon Musk speaks at the Milken Institute's Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

What to read to understand Elon Musk

The world’s richest man was shaped by science fiction


Tech and religion are very much alike

They both have gods, rich institutions and secretive cultures

Woodrow Wilson’s reputation continues to decline

A dispassionate new biography chronicles the former president’s hostility to suffrage

The cult of Jordan Peterson

What the Canadian intellectual gets right about young men