The Intelligence: Air strikes on Houthi rebels

<p>America and its allies delivered on a threat to retaliate against Houthi rebels in Yemen who have been <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/12/04/why-yemens-houthis-are-attacking-ships-in-the-red-sea?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">targeting Red Sea ships</a>. How far will the escalation go? We visit Iowa ahead of the <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2024/01/10/how-the-iowa-caucuses-are-changing-in-2024?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first event</a> of America’s presidential-primary season and ask if any surprises await (10.16). And remembering <a href="https://www.economist.com/obituary/2024/01/10/mike-sadler-guided-the-first-sas-raiders-through-the-north-african-desert?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mike Sadler</a>, one of the first recruits to Britain’s SAS special forces (19.17).</p><br /><p><em>Sign up for a </em><a href="http://www.economist.com/podcastsplus-intelligence" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>free trial</em></a><em> of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our </em><a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>FAQs page</em></a><em> or watch </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48TlDbL-4vU" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>our video</em></a><em> explaining how to link your account.</em></p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>