A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the economic consequences of the global collapse in fertility, Scotland’s holiday from reality (10:10) and the business of the rapper, Bad Bunny (18:10). Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:www.economist.com/podcastoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At a meeting of defence ministers from the Asia-Pacific region, heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington were all too apparent. A naval spat in the Taiwan Strait looms large over relations. What will it take for both sides to talk? In Brazil, Lula faces an uphill battle to undo his predecessor’s policies. And are British boarding schools worth it?For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The deal to raise America’s debt ceiling is finally done. The government will now be able to resume borrowing money to pay its bills, and avoid a default. The last-minute agreement will suspend the debt ceiling and flatten some categories of spending for two years, until after the next election. Why does America has this pointless, exhausting ritual? And how can Congress get rid of it?The Economist’s Simon Rabinovitch assesses the impact of the agreement. We go back to a previous wrangling over the debt ceiling. And The Economist’s James Bennet surmises the political implications of the deal. John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. You can now find every episode of Checks and Balance in one place and sign up to our weekly newsletter. For a 30-day digital subscription go to economist.com/podcastoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over two decades in office, the prime minister and her Awami League party have overseen impressive growth and reforms in a notoriously corrupt country—but that same firm hand may now be limiting Bangladesh’s progress. Our correspondent visits the frontier of a potentially transformative technology for reducing atmospheric carbon: direct air capture. And a listen to the astonishing boom in Spanish-language music.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Decades of cheap money has left businesses in America and Europe addicted to debt. Some companies have been borrowing cash just to dole it out to shareholders. But with interest rates now reaching levels not seen in 15 years, those debt-drunk firms are waking up to the threat of a mighty hangover.On this week’s podcast, hosts Tom Lee-Devlin and Alice Fulwood ask if those firms can kick their debt habit. Goldman Sachs’ chief credit strategist, Lotfi Karoui, explains how companies became hooked in the first place—and what will happen when they start cutting back. And Torsten Slok from Apollo, one of the world’s largest private capital managers, tells them why the cost of borrowing isn’t likely to fall any time soon.Sign up for our new weekly newsletter dissecting the big themes in markets, business and the economy at www.economist.com/moneytalks For full access to print, digital and audio editions, subscribe to The Economist at www.economist.com/podcastoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.