Boss Class from The Economist

Shire Folk is the story of how some of the most powerful people in America came to see Britain—and Islam—through the eyes of a fringe football hooligan. <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>When Alexis de Tocqueville visited America from France in 1831 he saw a new kind of society. Not just a country, but an idea that would change the world. His book “Democracy in America” was a big influence on later generations of writers and thinkers, including <em>The Economist</em>’s US Editor John Prideaux. Now, 250 years after its birth, the vitality of that democracy is under question. In this series, John retraces the route Tocqueville took to find out how much of what inspired Tocqueville about America remains—and how worried we should be about what’s changed.</p><br><p>Out now</p><br><p>Find the show on <a href="https://www.economist.com/audio/podcasts/tocqueville-road-trip " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Economist app</a> | On <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/033sAPzye5yNrP6vNTPrvB" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a> | On <a href="https://econ.st/4esGGXw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">other apps</a></p><p>On Apple Podcasts:<a href=" https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/tocqueville-road-trip-from-the-economist/id1896918330 " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/tocqueville-road-trip-from-the-economist/id1896918330</a></p><p><br></p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>A conversation about the potential and limits of AI agents with the co-founder of Sierra, an agentic customer-service company. Bret Taylor, who is also the chairman of OpenAI, tells Andrew Palmer about the imperfections of the technology, the competition between model-makers and vendors, and how he uses AI to manage.</p><br><p>To listen to the full series, subscribe to <a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Economist Podcasts+</a>.</p><br><p>If you’re already a subscriber to <em>The Economist</em>, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our <a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQs</a> page or watch our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> explaining how to link your account.</p><br><p>This episode is also available to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ui7cg7Ar28" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">watch on <em>The Economist</em>’s YouTube channel</a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>How should employees and bosses be using the technology right now? And how should all of us prepare for the future?</p><br><p>Andrew Palmer returns for a third season of Boss Class. This time it’s all about AI. In the first episode, he starts introducing AI into his daily work routines, and receives a nasty shock.</p><br><p>Guests</p><p>Tom Blomfield, Partner at Y Combinator</p><p>Ethan Mollick, Professor at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania</p><p>Ludwig Siegele, AI Editorial Lead, The Economist</p><p>Ruth Berry, AI engineer, The Economist</p><br><p>Topics</p><p>Generative AI at work</p><br><p><br></p><p>To listen to the full series, subscribe to <a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Economist Podcasts+</a>.</p><br><p>If you’re already a subscriber to <em>The Economist</em>, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our <a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQs</a> page or watch our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> explaining how to link your account.</p><br><p>In this episode, Andrew asks Claude, a generative AI programme, to write his management column for him. You can find <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2025/08/21/the-last-days-of-brainstorming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Andrew’s column here</a> and <a href="https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/257d4f11-d2f2-4631-9562-9a0380c395fd" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Claude’s version here</a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>AI is changing how we work. It's turning us all into managers. Be a good one.</p><br><p><em>The Economist</em>’s management columnist, Andrew Palmer, takes on the bots in the third season of Boss Class. From cloning to coding, agents to entry-level jobs, he tackles the threat head on and figures out how to turn anxiety into opportunity. Along the way he meets bulls and bears and the people who can help you to master management in the age of AI.</p><br><p>Full Season 3 out 29th January 2026.</p><br><p>To listen, subscribe to <a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Economist Podcasts+</a>.</p><br><p>If you’re already a subscriber to <em>The Economist</em>, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our <a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQs</a> page or watch our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> explaining how to link your account.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The picturesque town of Corning in upstate New York doesn’t look like the site of bleeding-edge innovation. But inventions by a 174-year-old glass company there have changed the modern world, thanks in part to some blunt advice from Steve Jobs.&nbsp;</p><br><p>To listen to the full series, subscribe to <a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Economist Podcasts+</a>. </p><p><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus</a></p><br><p>If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our <a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQs</a> page or watch our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> explaining how to link your account.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>For Season 2, we’re releasing an extended interview alongside each episode. This week: Who needs search engines when chatbots can answer every query for you? That’s the question confronting the head of Search at the world’s most popular website.</p><br><p>To listen to the full series, subscribe to <a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Economist Podcasts+</a>. </p><p><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus</a></p><br><p>If you’re already a subscriber to <em>The Economist</em>, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our <a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQs</a> page or watch our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> explaining how to link your account.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Forget the hammocks and ping-pong tables. Creativity takes work. Managers at Google, Lego and a pair of AI startups share advice on breaking through.</p><br><p>To listen to the full series, subscribe to <a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Economist Podcasts+</a>. </p><p><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus</a></p><br><p>If you’re already a subscriber to <em>The Economist</em>, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our <a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQs</a> page or watch our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> explaining how to link your account.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Good bosses are rare. They don’t have to be. The skills of management can be learned.</p><br><p><em>The Economist</em>’s management columnist, Andrew Palmer, is here to help. The second season of Boss Class features leaders at some of the world’s best performing companies, from Levi’s to Novo Nordisk to Google.&nbsp;</p><br><p>New episodes are out weekly starting May 12th.&nbsp;</p><br><p>To listen to the full series, subscribe to <a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Economist Podcasts+</a>.</p><p><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus</a></p><br><p>If you’re already a subscriber to <em>The Economist</em>, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our <a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQs</a> page or watch our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> explaining how to link your account.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>To manage a workforce divided between the home and office, bosses should ask the five basic questions of journalism: who, what, where, when and why. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jane Sun, the CEO of Trip.com Group, and Lidiane Jones, the CEO of Slack, give their divergent views.&nbsp;</p><br><p>To hear the full series, subscribe to <a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Economist Podcasts+</a>.</p><p><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus</a></p><br><p>If you’re already a subscriber to <em>The Economist</em>, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our <a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQs</a> page or watch our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> explaining how to link your account.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Andrew Palmer, <em>The Economist</em>'s Bartleby columnist, <a href="https://www.economist.com/bartleby/2023/10/23/is-being-a-leader-really-sexier-than-being-a-manager" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">learns lessons in management</a> on a Norwegian mountainside. He hears from Emma Walmsley, the CEO of GSK; Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel prize-winning psychologist; and Claire Hughes-Johnson, the one-time COO of Stripe.&nbsp;</p><br><p>To hear the full series, subscribe to <a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Economist Podcasts+</a>.</p><p><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus</a></p><br><p>If you’re already a subscriber to <em>The Economist</em>, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our <a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQs</a> page or watch our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> explaining how to link your account.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>The workplace keeps changing and managers have to keep up. The best bosses create systems for solving problems old and new—from navigating working-from-home demands to hiring the right people, from running good meetings to managing themselves.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Andrew Palmer, author of the Bartleby column, looks for advice on how to be a better boss by talking to people who have actually done the job. Listen to <em>The Economist</em>'s seven-episode guide for managers.</p><br><p>Boss Class season one is free for a limited time. Season two will appear weekly starting May 12th. To hear new episodes, subscribe to <a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Economist Podcasts+</a>. </p><p><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus</a></p><br><p>If you’re already a subscriber to <em>The Economist</em>, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our <a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQs</a> page or watch our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> explaining how to link your account.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>