Oil rise: Trump gets the jitters

<p>After oil prices climbed to nearly $120 a barrel yesterday, <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/03/08/why-maga-backs-donald-trumps-war-for-now?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">Donald Trump</a> signalled a possible abrupt end to the conflict in Iran. Markets calmed, but the course of the war remains unclear. Why <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2026/03/02/chinas-ice-cold-calculus-over-iran?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">China’s government</a> has said little about Iran. And how a hippy grocery store became America’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2026/02/12/americas-hottest-grocery-store-is-also-its-priciest?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">swankiest supermarket</a>.</p><br /><p>Guests and host:</p><ul><li>Edward Carr, deputy editor of “The Economist”</li><li>Simon Rabinovitch, Beijing bureau chief</li><li>Avantika Chilkoti, global business correspondent&nbsp;</li><li>Rosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence”</li></ul><p><br /></p><p>Topics covered:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Iran, Donald Trump, Brent Crude, financial markets, Asia, oil shock</li><li>Chinese foreign policy, Wang Yi</li><li>Erewhon, food prices, supermarkets</li></ul><p><br /></p><p><em>Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—</em><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+</em></a></p><br /><p><em>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=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>our video</em></a><em> explaining how to link your account.&nbsp;</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>