Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Ed McBride,

filling in for Jason Palmer. Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events

shaping your world. Rapid growth in inequality has become a rallying point for left-wing

politicians everywhere. But has inequality really grown as much as angry voters imagine?

And cows, sheep and other livestock burp up a lot of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

But scientists in America and Australia have found a way to soothe their stomachs.

First up though.

Heds of State are arriving in London this morning to commemorate the 70th anniversary of NATO

and ponder the future of the transatlantic military treaty. For many, the birthday celebrations seemed

well deserved. The average lifespan of a collective defense alliance is just 15 years. Others feel

the organization is showing its age. In October, French President Emmanuel Macron told the economist

that he sees the American commitment dwindling and believes NATO is suffering brain death.

This morning, President Donald Trump responded to those comments, calling them nasty and disrespectful.

It's a very tough statement to make when you have such difficulty in France. You look at what's

happened with the yellow vest, so you look at what's going on during certain parts of their

policies that they've had a very rough year. And you just can't go around making statements like

that about NATO. It's very disrespectful. But Mr. Trump himself has previously threatened to pull

the United States out of NATO if other states didn't contribute more. Since then, he's taken credit

for spending increases, although he still calls for more.

Tremendous progress has been made. Everyone's agreed to substantially up their commitment.

They're going to up at levels that they've never thought of before.

In an interview with our podcast, the economist asks, last month,

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