From The Economist.

Donald Trump hoped Vladimir Putin would agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Instead he made marginal concessions (https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/03/18/putin-woos-trump-with-a-partial-ceasefire-and-big-geopolitical-deal?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners), then launched a missile attack. Our correspondent assesses the implications. Tesla’s falling sales (https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/02/27/erotic-writing-is-becoming-more-explicit?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) are not just down to Elon Musk’s politics (9:42). And a flowering of literary erotica (https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/02/27/erotic-writing-is-becoming-more-explicit?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) (15:40).

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