<p>Even before America crimped Cuba’s oil, the country was <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/03/19/cubas-broken-economy-leaves-it-at-donald-trumps-mercy?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">teetering</a>. We ask what is to blame for the Cuban people’s plight, and whether anything better is in prospect. The craze of <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/03/11/want-to-hack-your-body-with-peptides-if-only-the-science-agreed?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">injecting peptides</a> is not only scientifically unsupported—it is potentially dangerous. <a href="https://www.economist.com/obituary/2026/03/26/chuck-norris-made-onions-cry?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">Chuck Norris</a> once got mad at dinosaurs. Just once. Our obituaries editor recounts his unlikely rise to international manly stardom.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Guests and host:</p><ul><li>Sarah Birke, Central America and Caribbean bureau chief</li><li>Natasha Loder, health editor</li><li>Tim Cross, senior science writer</li><li>Ann Wroe, obituaries editor</li><li>Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Topics covered:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Cuba, Trump administration</li><li>peptides, wellness, pseudoscience</li><li>Chuck Norris</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 style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>