Over the moon: Artemis II launches

<p>NASA has successfully launched its first crewed <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/03/25/nasas-moon-base-plans-mark-a-rethinking-of-its-future?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">space mission</a> in over a decade. Our correspondent explains why America wants to build a moonbase. AI models underperform in <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/03/18/top-ai-models-underperform-in-languages-other-than-english?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">languages</a> other than English. And meet China’s social-media stars: <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2026/03/12/some-of-chinas-officials-are-becoming-social-media-stars?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">influencer-officials</a>.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>Guests and host:</p><ul><li>Oliver Morton, senior editor</li><li>Deena Mousa, science writer</li><li>Gabriel Crossley, China correspondent</li><li>Rosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence”</li></ul><p><br /></p><p>Topics covered:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Artemis II, moon, NASA</li><li>AI, LLMs, language</li><li>China, Chinese Communist Party, influencers, social media&nbsp;</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.</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>