Dhaka matters: an election for Bangladesh
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.5 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 11 February 2026
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The toppling of authoritarian leader Sheikh Hassina in Bangladesh in 2024 was celebrated as a triumph for democracy. Tomorrow the country finally heads to the polls. Our correspondent weighs the choice. Can Mars and other bleak planets be made fit for human habitation? And why AI bots are applying for human jobs.
To find out how to have sex in space, listen to this episode of “The Weekend Intelligence”.
Guests and host:
- Rosie Blau and Jason Palmer, co-hosts of “The Intelligence”
- Mark Johnson, senior writer
- Oliver Morton, senior editor
- Shera Avi-Yonah, business writer
Topics covered:
- Bangladesh’s election
- Astrobiology
- How AI changes job recruitment
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.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The Economist. |
| 0:10.3 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:13.3 | I'm Jason Palmer. |
| 0:14.6 | And I'm Rosie Bloor. |
| 0:16.1 | Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:23.6 | Thank you. Today, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. Lots of the scientific work done by spacecraft out in the solar system has been about looking for life. |
| 0:30.6 | But a new idea is also brewing, taking species to those heavenly bodies in a bid to make them more amenable to human life. |
| 0:41.3 | And ever more of us use AI to help write cover letters, fill in application forms and even apply for new roles. |
| 0:48.9 | Our correspondent, who recently got her job at The Economist the Old-Fashioned Way, reports. |
| 1:10.0 | Thank you. who recently got her job at The Economist the Old-Fashioned way, reports. It's been 18 months since Bangladesh finally ousted Sheikh Hasina. |
| 1:15.6 | After 15 years during which Hasina's Awami League gutted the country's institutions and depleted its reserves, demonstrators burst onto the streets. |
| 1:31.5 | The Gen Z protesters used social media to galvanize support. |
| 1:34.5 | Campus rallies expanded into mass protests, |
| 1:37.6 | and they eventually stormed the Prime Minister's residence. |
| 1:44.0 | The image of Sheikh Hasina fleeing by helicopter was one of the iconic shots of that year. |
| 1:47.5 | Her downfall was celebrated in Bangladesh and beyond. |
| 1:54.3 | Tomorrow the country holds its general election. |
| 1:57.8 | Then comes the real test. |
| 2:00.5 | This is a seminal moment for Bangladesh. It's the first |
| 2:03.4 | competitive vote that the country has held since 2008. Mark Johnson is a senior editor at the |
| 2:10.6 | economist. So for a large number of voters, maybe 40% of the country's voters, they've never had a chance to cast a real ballot before. |
| 2:20.0 | So there's a huge amount of excitement on the streets of Dhaka, there are election banners all over town. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Economist, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Economist and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.