Pump and circumstance: is China the new OPEC?

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<p>The Iran war triggered the largest supply shock in the history of petroleum, yet prices never rose as high as feared. Our correspondent explains how action <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/08/09/china-is-now-the-worlds-great-oil-power?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">taken by China</a> steadied global oil flows. Why Brazil has such strict laws on <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/07/27/brazil-has-the-worlds-strictest-laws-against-racist-speech?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">racist language</a>. And the legendary <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/07/30/beerlao-probably-the-most-important-lager-in-the-world?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lager of Laos</a>. </p><br><p>Guests and host:</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Matthieu Favas, commodities editor</li><li>Ana Lankes, Brazil bureau chief</li><li>Vishnu Padmanabhan, Asia correspondent </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: </p><p><br></p><ul><li>China, Iran, oil supplies, OPEC, crude</li><li>Brazil, hate speech, racism</li><li>Laos, Beerlao, beer, lager</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 The Economist</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><br></p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>