Spread too thin: Africa’s next Ebola outbreak

<p>The latest Ebola emergency is different from previous ones: there is no vaccine, and the kind of community-level work that stops the spread has been thinned by aid cuts. Britain is likely to get a new prime minister soon; we profile <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2026/05/15/andy-burnham-britains-could-be-prime-minister-is-a-man-of-two-parts?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">Andy Burnham</a>, the Labour party’s polling favourite. And celebrity book clubs abound—but useful criticism in them <a href="https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/05/07/many-celebrities-now-have-book-clubs-most-are-irritating?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">does not</a>.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>Guests and host:</p><ul><li>John McDermott, chief Africa correspondent</li><li>Joel Budd, social affairs editor</li><li>Catherine Nixey, culture correspondent</li><li>Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”</li></ul><p><br /></p><p>Topics covered:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Ebola outbreak, West Africa</li><li>Andy Burnham, British politics</li><li>celebrities, book clubs, book industry</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>