Division multiplication: the UAE’s foreign meddling
Economist Podcasts
The Economist
4.4 • 4.9K Ratings
🗓️ 23 April 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
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Summary
The United Arab Emirates projects an image of level-headed calm in the Gulf. Its actions abroad, however, betray a far more divisive and ideological agenda. Japan’s recent rice crisis is in part about market reforms—but solving it is mostly about making farmers happier (10:29). And a romp through the linguistics (and culture-war triggers) of personal pronouns (17:08).
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist. |
| 0:10.3 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:13.3 | I'm your host, Jason Palmer. |
| 0:15.2 | Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:23.6 | Japan. a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. Japan is undergoing a rice crisis. |
| 0:26.6 | Crises have shot up and officials have had to tap into the National Strategic Rice Reserve. |
| 0:32.6 | One of the problems is simply about labor. |
| 0:35.6 | It's a hard job with bad pay and farmers are taking to the streets to shout about it. |
| 0:42.3 | And a little exploration of I, |
| 0:44.3 | and you, and we, and he, she, it, and they. |
| 0:49.3 | Pronouns have taken on an outsized role in the culture wars. |
| 0:53.3 | A new book, and our correspondent, take a dispassionate, linguistic look at them. |
| 0:58.0 | But first... |
| 1:02.0 | The United Arab Emirates has for years framed itself as a global power broker and all-around good guy, |
| 1:16.6 | a calm intermediary in an increasingly tempestuous world. |
| 1:21.6 | 115 Ukrainian prisoners swapped for an equal number of Russians. |
| 1:25.6 | Behind the scenes, Ukrainian officials work with |
| 1:28.6 | Russian authorities, along with negotiators from the UAE to finalize the prisoner swap. |
| 1:33.6 | The UAE plays host to tricky talks, most recently between representatives of Russia and Ukraine, |
| 1:39.8 | trying to put a stop to that war. And just this week, it was all smiles between Ursula von der Leyen, |
| 1:46.1 | the European Commission boss, and the Emirates president, Mohamed bin Zayat, who have started work on a trade deal. |
| 1:53.2 | Yet there's another side to how the UAE uses its regional power and influence, one that's decidedly |
... |
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