podcast

School of shock: teenagers get dimmer

08.09.2026
Listen to the episode on your favorite platforms:
  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify
  • Castbox
  • Pocket Casts
  • Stitcher
  • iHeart
  • PlayerFM
  • Overcast
  • Castro
  • RadioPublic

International tests in maths and reading show that 15-year-olds today score what 14-year-olds would have done a decade ago. Our correspondent explains the long-term decline. Is Miami’s thriving economic growth sustainable? And why Jeremy Vine’s BBC Radio 2 show is a microcosm of Britain.   


Guests and host:

  • Mark Johnson, senior editor
  • Cerian Richmond Jones, international economics correspondent
  • Sonny Loughran, Britain correspondent 
  • Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered: 

  • PISA, education, test scores, exams, aptitude
  • Miami, Trump, Florida, hurricane
  • Jeremy Vine, Radio 2, BBC

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.


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