Now boarding: America seizes an Iranian ship

<p>This week’s peace talks are endangered after American forces fired on and boarded a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. We visit Chernobyl’s ruined reactor to assess <a href="http://economist.com/interactive/europe/2026/04/20/chernobyls-forgotten-nuclear-lessons" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the damage done</a> by a Russian drone to its enormous safety structure. The likes of McDonald’s and KFC have <a href="https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2024/08/06/why-chinese-consumers-are-turning-their-backs-on-american-fast-food-chains?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">long been</a> in China’s cities; now they are expanding <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2026/04/05/why-mcdonalds-and-kfc-are-growing-like-wildfire-in-china" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">at pace</a> in the countryside.</p><br /><p>Guests and host:</p><ul><li>Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent</li><li>Sarah&nbsp; Lawrynuik, deputy editor of “The Intelligence”</li><li>Don Weinland, China business and finance editor</li><li>Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”</li><li>Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”</li></ul><p><br /></p><p>Topics covered:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Iran war, Strait of Hormuz</li><li>Chernobyl, Ukraine war</li><li>China, fast food</li></ul><p><br /></p><p><em>Get a world of insights by </em><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>subscribing to Economist Podcasts+</em></a><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>