Now boarding: America seizes an Iranian ship
Economist Podcasts
The Economist
4.3 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 20 April 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week’s peace talks are endangered after American forces fired on and boarded a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. We visit Chernobyl’s ruined reactor to assess the damage done by a Russian drone to its enormous safety structure. The likes of McDonald’s and KFC have long been in China’s cities; now they are expanding at pace in the countryside.
Guests and host:
- Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent
- Sarah Lawrynuik, deputy editor of “The Intelligence”
- Don Weinland, China business and finance editor
- Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
- Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- Iran war, Strait of Hormuz
- Chernobyl, Ukraine war
- China, fast food
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist. |
| 0:10.2 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:13.2 | I'm Jason Palmer. |
| 0:14.4 | And I'm Rosie Bloor. |
| 0:15.9 | Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:25.1 | Thank you. we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. Ten years ago, an enormous hangar was slid into place over the site of the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine, |
| 0:31.5 | intended to isolate it for a century. Last February, a Russian drone blew a hole in it. |
| 0:37.4 | We paid a visit asking just how much damage was done. |
| 0:41.3 | And McDonald's and other Western fast food joints have been in China for decades and spurred local competitors. |
| 0:48.3 | But our correspondent reports of foreign chains are now gaining ground again. |
| 0:53.3 | Rural China is the final Berger frontier. |
| 1:01.8 | But first... |
| 1:07.0 | The shaky ceasefire between America and Iran got even shakier overnight. |
| 1:13.6 | Motor vessel Toska, Motovessathe, vacate your engine room. |
| 1:23.6 | We're prepared to subject you to the sable and fire. |
| 1:28.3 | American forces fired at an Iranian-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz |
| 1:32.3 | before Marines boarded and seized the vessel. |
| 1:39.3 | Exactly what's going on in the strait has been a subject of some confusion, |
| 1:43.3 | with markets reacting |
| 1:44.3 | on Friday as if a full opening were just around the corner. Peace talks scheduled for this |
| 1:49.4 | week are now up in the air. The existing ceasefire expires on Wednesday. And after this American |
| 1:55.4 | flex in the Strait, a return to full-on war is looking worryingly possible. This is the first time the Americans have actually had to enforce their blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. |
... |
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