Algorithm and blues: a watershed social-media verdict

The Intelligence from The Economist

A jury in California agreed with a plaintiff who argued that Meta and Google, two social-media giants, designed their platforms to be addictive. That opens the floodgates to more litigation and perhaps to regulatory change. We examine the world’s maritime chokepoints and how they shape geopolitics—littorally, not figuratively. And how digitally animated films came to dominate the box office.


Guests and host:

  • Tom Wainwright, media editor
  • Anton La Guardia, diplomatic editor
  • Alex Selby-Boothroyd, head of data journalism
  • Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”


Topics covered: 

  • social-media sites, internet use, online addiction
  • geopolitics, chokepoints, Strait of Hormuz
  • animated films


Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More description

A jury in California agreed with a plaintiff who argued that Meta and Google, two social-media giants, designed their platforms to be addictive. That opens the floodgates to more litigation and perhaps to regulatory change. We examine the world’s maritime chokepoints and how they shape geopolitics—littorally, not figuratively. And how digitally animated films came to dominate the box office.


Guests and host:

  • Tom Wainwright, media editor
  • Anton La Guardia, diplomatic editor
  • Alex Selby-Boothroyd, head of data journalism
  • Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”


Topics covered: 

  • social-media sites, internet use, online addiction
  • geopolitics, chokepoints, Strait of Hormuz
  • animated films


Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2026-03-26 22 min
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