The Intelligence from The Economist

<p>A grand jury’s decision has <a href="https://espresso.economist.com/c26eb42ae1a8b1ea54f325f051d6753f?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">re-energised</a> months-long protests. We ask how much another tragic death at the hands of police may spur meaningful reforms. A once-fringe movement to “re-wild” the Highlands of Scotland is gaining momentum. And how the promising German startup incubator Rocket Internet <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2020/09/24/why-rocket-internet-has-come-down-to-earth?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">left shareholders on the launchpad</a>.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>Soon the pandemic will have claimed a million lives. We take a broad look at what has been learned—and the deadly mistakes still being made. Our correspondent visits Wuhan, site of the first known outbreak, to find a city that beneath the surface has much healing yet to do. And a close look at New York’s much-loved, much-derided accent.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>Congressional elections will decide the direction of America’s governance irrespective of the presidential pick; we reveal <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/09/23/why-the-democrats-are-our-narrow-favourites-to-win-the-senate?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">our statistical model</a> of the Senate races. Tesla steals the headlines in the electric-vehicle stakes, but a <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2020/09/17/who-will-rule-the-teslaverse?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">vast, global industry</a> is nipping at its heels. And remembering <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2020/09/17/who-will-rule-the-teslaverse?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the astrophysicist</a> who explained the celestial light show of the aurorae.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>The Trump administration’s bid to block the Chinese app has been stymied—for now. The tussle reflects <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2020/08/13/donald-trump-has-caused-panic-among-millions-of-wechat-users?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a change</a> in how America does business, and how the internet itself may evolve. Migration in the Mediterranean is <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/09/12/the-number-of-migrants-arriving-in-italy-is-up-again?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">picking up again</a>; the pandemic is making it even more perilous and political. And Japan’s canned-coffee obsession <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2020/09/12/who-will-win-the-brewing-battle-between-japan-and-america?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">steams ahead</a> in foreign markets.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a liberal icon. Her death last week opens a Supreme Court vacancy for Donald Trump to fill, which could tip <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/09/19/a-battle-for-the-supreme-court-looms-after-the-death-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the court further right</a> ahead of what might be a legally fraught election. And there is nothing that Democrats can do about it. The majority of land in Africa is <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/09/12/the-quest-for-secure-property-rights-in-africa?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">neither mapped nor documented</a>. People who can’t prove that they own their land, cannot unlock its value. That is holding back the continent’s economies. And Japan may be famous for its slick and speedy bullet trains. But the country’s rural railways have <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/09/12/japans-rural-railways-are-disappearing?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reached the end of the line</a>. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Thailand is bracing for a large <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/20/audacious-student-protests-are-rocking-bangkok?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">anti-government protest</a>, with some of the anger directed at the usually-revered monarchy. Some fear that the establishment’s patience will snap, with bloody results. Freemasonry has been one of the most <a href="https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/08/27/a-global-history-of-the-freemasons?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">contagious ideas</a> of the modern age, spreading to every corner of the world. But the number of masons is shrinking. And in Britain, social distancing may have shut nightclubs. But many ravers <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/09/03/why-raves-are-enjoying-a-revival?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">don’t tech-no</a> for an answer. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

More than a million former felons in Florida regained the right to vote in 2018. Last week, many of them lost it again. We look at the barriers to voting in America. Colombia’s militarised police force are khaki-klad, poorly paid and heavy-handed. A case of police brutality has now provoked big protests and calls for reform. And in the Netherlands, covid-carrying Minks have been spared the slaughterhouse. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Belarus dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, has travelled to Sochi amid major protests at home to ask Vladimir Putin for help. We examine whether he will get it—and what the price might be. The possible discovery of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus could be a tantalising hint of life beyond Earth. And K-Pop, marred by sexual abuse scandals, is shedding its misogynistic image. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

<a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/09/14/suga-yoshihide-emerges-from-the-back-room-as-japans-next-leader?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Japan’s new prime minister</a> will be Yoshihide Suga, the son of a strawberry farmer from the country’s rural north. We look at whether he can step into the shoes of Abe Shinzo and revive Japan’s troubled economy. America may be leaving the <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2020/09/12/the-world-needs-a-better-world-health-organisation%20?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Health Organisation</a>, but the institution has handled the pandemic well. And the standing of <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/08/27/are-dogs-acceptable-pets-muslim-scholars-ask%20?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">dogs in Islam</a> is hounding clerics. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

The pandemic has been a giant <a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/09/12/covid-19-has-forced-a-radical-shift-in-working-habits?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">experiment in working from home</a>. We examine whether workers are happier and more productive using Zoom in their pyjamas than commuting in a suit. In the southern hemisphere, the seasonal flu <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/09/12/the-southern-hemisphere-skipped-flu-season-in-2020?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">seems to have faded</a>, as a happy byproduct of lockdown and social distancing. And an <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/28/abe-shinzo-resigns-leaving-formidable-problems-for-his-successor?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">obituary</a> for one of Pol Pot’s murderous lieutenants. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Relentless climate change will make devastating blazes more likely; urbanisation in woodland areas will make them more costly. Prevention measures <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/09/12/why-is-california-burning?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">could help</a>—if updated and widened. “Anti-vaxxers” may undermine coming covid-vaccination efforts; we examine the history of a <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/08/29/conspiracy-theories-about-covid-19-vaccines-may-prevent-herd-immunity?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">baseless and dangerous movement</a>. And things <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/08/13/drugs-torture-and-turf-war-europes-biker-gangs-turn-nasty?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">turn nasty</a> among the biker gangs of northern Europe. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

<p>Two Burmese soldiers have described in harrowing detail what has long been alleged: that the army targeted Muslim-minority Rohingya in a programme of ethnic cleansing. America’s Department of State has been hollowed out and wholly demoralised—and that has <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2020/08/13/the-dereliction-of-american-diplomacy?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">dire implications</a> for global diplomacy. And a wildly popular Chinese television show reveals <a href="https://www.economist.com/prospero/2020/08/26/a-new-hit-chinese-drama-explores-the-pressures-faced-by-young-women?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shifting mores</a> for thirty-somethings.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

Sanctions are tightening around the Chinese province amid suspicions of forced labour. Western firms that are reliant on the region’s cotton and other commodities <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2020/08/20/forced-labour-in-china-presents-dilemmas-for-fashion-brands?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">are in a bind</a>. The pandemic has shown the merits of some governments’ digitised bureaucracies, but rushing the digital shift <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2020/09/01/covid-19-is-spurring-the-digitisation-of-government?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">comes with risks</a>. And how Canada’s border closures <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2020/09/05/the-closure-of-canadas-border-with-alaska-has-split-twin-towns?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">threaten</a> a tiny town in remotest Alaska. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

<p>A hurried lockdown early in the pandemic has cratered the country’s economy, and infection rates are now shooting up. More suffering <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/09/03/indias-economy-shrinks-by-a-quarter-as-covid-19-gathers-pace?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lies ahead</a>, on both counts. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has failed for 20 years running, and now <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/09/03/the-uns-peacekeepers-are-under-pressure-to-quit-congo?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">there is pressure</a> for it to decamp. And the <a href="https://www.economist.com/1843/2020/09/02/why-the-baked-bean-divides-america-and-britain?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">transatlantic tale</a> of the baked bean.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>Negotiations on Britain’s post-Brexit relationship with Europe were floundering—even before <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/09/07/britain-suggests-it-may-overturn-parts-of-the-eu-withdrawal-agreement" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">revelations</a> it may essentially rewrite parts of the last pact it struck. Since the space race’s early days, satellites have been involved in defence. Now a new threat looms: armed conflict <a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2019/07/18/attacking-satellites-is-increasingly-attractive-and-dangerous?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">between the satellites themselves</a>. And a card game reveals the Lebanese people’s resilience and dark sense of humour.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

Alongside a green-minded, 100bn-euro stimulus, President Emmanuel Macron’s recovery plan <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/09/05/emmanuel-macron-revives-a-post-war-institution-for-a-post-covid-era?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">borrows ideas</a> from the post-war past to imagine a post-covid future. The <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/09/03/what-the-arrest-of-a-hero-of-the-genocide-says-about-paul-kagames-rule?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mysterious arrest</a> of Paul Rusesabagina, hero of the film “Hotel Rwanda”, shows just how far the country’s leaders will go to suppress dissent. And a careful, revealing study of <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/08/29/the-pampers-index-what-nappy-prices-reveal-about-europe?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nappy prices</a> across Europe. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

<p>The outcome of Jamaica’s election isn’t much in doubt. What’s uncertain is how <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2020/08/22/the-pandemics-indirect-hit-on-the-caribbean?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the wider Caribbean</a> can handle rock-bottom tourism and looming hurricane risks amid the pandemic. North Korea’s leadership at last admitted to the hardships of covid-19; the coming human cost <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/29/as-natural-disasters-strike-north-korea-cuts-itself-off?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">could rival</a> that of the famine in the 1990s. And why African countries put out so many <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/08/20/why-african-countries-issue-stamps-celebrating-english-cricketers?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">unlikely stamps</a>.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>Millions of schoolchildren are heading back to classes, many of them online. We examine the evidence on virtual learning and how it <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/08/29/disrupted-schooling-will-deepen-inequality-for-american-students?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">deepens inequalities</a>. Dubai is a glittering financial hub, connecting the Middle East, Asia and Europe—but to keep its position it will have to shed <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/08/22/can-dubai-enter-the-premier-league-of-financial-centres?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">its dirty-money reputation</a>. And why the pandemic has readers pulling <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/08/29/reading-especially-of-the-classics-is-booming?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">weighty classics</a> from shelves.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>Five years ago, a vast wave of migrants and refugees began to spill into the country. We examine <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/08/25/five-years-after-arrival-germanys-refugees-are-integrating?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">their fates</a> amid a tangle of bureaucracy. Even for the uninfected, the coronavirus has caused widespread “collective trauma”; we ask about its effects and <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2020/08/29/worldwide-covid-19-is-causing-a-new-form-of-collective-trauma?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">how to heal from it</a>. And Palestinians <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/08/29/israel-lets-the-palestinians-go-to-the-beach?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sneak to the beach</a> as security forces look the other way.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>Japan’s longest-serving prime minister leaves behind a mixed bag of policy successes and shortcomings. We examine his legacy and ask <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/29/who-will-replace-abe-shinzo-after-his-resignation-owing-to-illness?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">what his successor faces</a>. The annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole—online, of course—revealed research suggesting today’s economic woes <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/08/29/psychological-scars-of-downturns-could-depress-growth-for-decades?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">will ring down</a> for decades to come. And the curious appeal of in-flight meals <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/29/asian-airlines-are-selling-in-flight-meals-directly-to-the-public?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">eaten on terra firma</a>.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>Another shooting of an unarmed black man by police has <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/08/29/wisconsins-summer-of-fury?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reopened wounds</a> still not healed after George Floyd’s killing—and, like all else, the unrest is being politicised. Montenegro’s president is Europe’s longest-serving leader, but anti-government sentiment <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/08/29/serbian-orthodox-priests-say-montenegros-government-backs-satanists?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">has mounted</a> ahead of Sunday’s election. And a look back on <a href="https://www.economist.com/obituary/2020/08/22/julian-bream-died-on-august-14th?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the life</a> of Julian Bream, who restored the reputation of the classical guitar.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

American officials hope more Arab states <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/08/22/the-israel-uae-deal-is-good-news-for-a-troubled-region?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">will follow</a> the United Arab Emirates in normalising relations with Israel; the groundwork for that has been quietly laid for years. Not every expectant mother wants all those doctors and nurses fussing over them; we take a look at the increasing <a href="https://www.economist.com/1843/2020/08/03/the-battle-over-birth?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">politicisation of childbirth</a>. And a step change for <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/08/25/robots-that-can-walk-are-now-striding-to-market?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">robots that can walk</a>. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

The former head of the state-owned oil firm has presented <a href="http://espresso.economist.com/595afbd7f5a99efd71556d99b39c268e?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">stunning claims</a> of high-level graft. Are they credible, and will the president pursue them? Museum curators usually try to add to their collections, but a new generation steeped in the restitution debate is doing <a href="https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/08/08/activist-curators-are-sharpening-the-debate-on-restitution?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">just the opposite</a>. And a data-led <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/08/01/twitters-algorithm-does-not-seem-to-silence-conservatives?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">analysis</a> of the suggestion that Twitter suppresses conservative views. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Doctors believe Russia’s opposition leader was poisoned, and suspicion naturally falls on the Kremlin. Why might the country’s leadership have taken such a risk? For LGBT people coming out is, in many places, far easier and more commonplace than it once was—<a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2020/08/08/how-the-internet-is-changing-the-experience-of-coming-out?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thanks in part</a> to the internet. And why a younger generation is shunning Laos’s traditional <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/15/urban-laotians-pay-handsomely-for-ant-egg-soup?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ant-egg soup</a>. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

The considerable oil and gas reserves beneath the eastern Mediterranean have sparked Turkey’s interest—as well as <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/08/22/dealing-with-a-dangerous-dispute-in-the-eastern-med?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a number of disputes</a> in the region and beyond. China’s leaders like to say their country has history’s longest-surviving civilisation; now <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2020/07/30/digging-up-chinas-past-is-always-political?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a new archaeological site</a> allegedly offers some proof. And <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/08/19/the-world-is-losing-its-big-old-trees?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the grave risk</a> to the world’s tallest trees. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

The military has again ousted the president, after months of protests and years of ethnic violence. Fresh elections or no, whoever comes out on top <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/08/22/a-coup-in-mali-is-unlikely-to-make-matters-better?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">faces a tough job</a>. We survey the pandemic-era dining-out landscape, finding that restaurants are about <a href="https://www.economist.com/1843/2020/07/14/why-do-people-go-to-restaurants-its-not-about-the-food?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">so much more</a> than the food. And the Chinese trawlers that are <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2020/07/30/the-galapagos-islands-face-an-invasion-of-trawlers?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">stripping</a> the rich waters of the Galapagos. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Huge protests following <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/08/15/belaruss-election-was-a-sham-the-wests-response-has-been-feeble?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a rigged election</a> reveal that the people have had enough of “Europe’s last dictator”, Alexander Lukashenko. How long can he hang on? Indonesia’s leaders <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/15/indonesia-risks-repeating-an-environmental-disaster?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">risk repeating</a> an environmental disaster on Borneo, allegedly in the name of food security. And checking the <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/08/08/a-new-ai-language-model-generates-poetry-and-prose?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">writing chops</a> of the world’s best-read artificial intelligence. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

<p>For 15 years, the truck-bomb killing of a former prime minister went unpunished. But an even more devastating recent blast overshadowed <a href="http://espresso.economist.com/1427e10d92d23fb0476c58351417849e?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a court’s ruling</a> on the culprits. Chinese students hoping to study in America have been caught in the middle of the countries’ rising animus—<a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2020/07/09/a-sino-american-bond-forged-by-chinese-students-is-in-peril?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">not for the first time</a>. And the origins of <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/08/15/nigerias-demand-for-fancy-wigs-fuels-a-global-trade?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">all the hair</a> in Nigeria’s wildly popular wigs.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

Mexico’s new top cartel, led by a kingpin called <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2020/08/15/how-will-mexicos-president-handle-el-mencho-a-kingpin-on-the-rise" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">El Mencho</a>, has taken the country’s shocking violence to a terrifyingly brazen new level. In <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/08/13/in-tunisia-cradle-of-the-arab-spring-protesters-want-jobs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tunisia</a>, ten years after a self-immolation sparked the Arab Spring, voters are disillusioned with democracy and even nostalgic for the old days. And reflecting on <a href="https://www.economist.com/obituary/2020/08/15/leon-fleisher-died-on-august-2nd" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the pianist</a> who lost the use of his right hand, and reinvented his playing around his left. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

The <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/08/16/before-the-election-donald-trump-squeezes-the-postal-service" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">US Postal Service</a> is one of America’s most popular and necessary public institutions. Now it is at the centre of a battle over November’s election. The growth of <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/15/cambodians-are-bingeing-on-microfinance-loans" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">microfinance in Cambodia</a> has been for the most part positive, but the pandemic is posing challenges to its sustainability. And if you want to buy a used <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2020/08/15/whats-an-a380-worth" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Airbus A380</a>, it’s a buyer’s market. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Recent reports paint <a href="https://espresso.economist.com/2a2d16a741cf3a7738ce320021a5e661?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a dark picture</a>, from heatwaves to hurricanes to high-water marks. But some promising trends—and pandemic-era economics—provide reasons for hope. We examine the night-time economy of the very swankiest parties, discovering a kind of <a href="https://www.economist.com/1843/2020/07/03/the-secret-economics-of-a-vip-party?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">beauty brokerage</a> at work behind the scenes. And what baseball season <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/08/08/baseballs-faltering-restart?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reveals</a> for other sports that yearn for a return. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Joe Biden’s choice of running mate is simultaneously groundbreaking and conventional, and <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/08/11/joe-biden-picks-kamala-harris-as-his-running-mate?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reveals much</a> about the state of the Democratic party. In China, a surprise court ruling draws attention to the plight of <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2020/08/01/a-chinese-trans-woman-wins-a-surprising-legal-victory?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">oft-overlooked LGBT people</a> in the workplace. And Japan’s broad push for <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/07/23/as-crews-grow-old-japanese-shipping-firms-try-to-do-without-them?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">self-driving ships</a>. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

<p>The <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2020/08/10/jimmy-lais-arrest-in-hong-kong-is-the-latest-blow-to-free-speech?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">dramatic arrest</a> of Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy newspaper owner, reveals just how enthusiastically Beijing’s new security law will be deployed to quash any dissent. A reservoir is filling behind an enormous new dam in Ethiopia—and that has <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/07/02/egypt-ethiopia-and-sudan-must-learn-how-to-share-the-nile-river?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">soured relations</a> with Egypt downriver. And why Britain’s “<a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/07/30/britains-urban-explorers-worry-their-playgrounds-will-be-demolished?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">urban explorers</a>” may soon have far fewer derelict buildings to conquer.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>As clinical trials progress, policymakers <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/08/08/the-world-is-spending-nowhere-near-enough-on-a-coronavirus-vaccine?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">must determine</a> how heavily to fund the pre-emptive manufacture of candidate vaccines, and how to distribute the successful ones. Given Britain’s bungled pandemic response, the separatist mood in Scotland <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/08/08/how-the-scottish-national-party-risks-turning-caledonia-into-catalonia?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">has surged</a> to record levels. And travel tips from <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/07/23/vloggers-show-how-to-migrate-illegally-on-a-jet-ski?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the vloggers of illegal migration</a>.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>First it was Bytedance’s app TikTok, now it’s Tencent’s WeChat: the Trump administration’s fervour to ban or dismantle wildly popular Chinese apps <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/08/05/forced-sales-are-the-wrong-way-to-deal-with-chinese-tech?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">is increasing</a>. In these straitened times, employees naturally worry that robots and software are coming for jobs—but the pandemic <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/07/30/the-fear-of-robots-displacing-workers-has-returned?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">may actually slow</a> that transition. And Britain’s government suggests <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/07/30/boris-johnsons-plans-for-a-fitter-nation?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slimming down</a> even as it subsidises meals out.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>Survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings are now in their eighties. <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/01/atomic-bomb-survivors-seek-new-ways-to-keep-their-memories-alive?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A new generation</a> is learning to tell their tales, in hopes of preventing more atomic tragedies. Belarus’s president of 26 years will probably win in Sunday’s election, but an invigorated—<a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/07/30/the-right-way-to-get-rid-of-president-alexander-lukashenko?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">and unexpected</a>—opposition has him on the back foot. And the <a href="https://www.economist.com/prospero/2020/07/30/how-host-was-made-on-zoom-in-lockdown?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">horror movie</a> that will make you nervous to use Zoom. </p><p><em>Additional archive courtesy of Soka Gakkai Women’s Peace Committee. Additional sounds by InspectorJ at Freesound.org. </em></p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

Some 300,000 people are homeless after an explosion of unthinkable size. The culprit appears to be sheer negligence, brought on by a <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/08/05/beirut-after-the-blast-the-crunch-of-glass-acrid-smoke-and-stairs-slick-with-blood?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">broken system of governance</a>. <em>The Economist</em>’s data team has updated its excess-death tracker, giving ever-better insight into <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/07/15/tracking-covid-19-excess-deaths-across-countries?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">just how deadly</a> covid-19 is. And the <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2020/08/01/employees-and-employers-both-face-trade-offs-as-offices-reopen?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tricky trade-offs</a> for both bosses and workers as they return to the office. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Consecration at Ayodhya, the country’s most contested holy site, is another tick box in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist agenda. Is India’s foundational secularism <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/08/04/narendra-modi-cements-a-victory-for-hindu-nationalism-at-ayodhya?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">at risk</a>? The pandemic has been particularly cruel for those with dementia and Alzheimer’s; we examine <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2020/08/03/for-those-affected-by-dementia-the-pandemic-has-been-especially-grim?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">new research</a> that gives them a ray of hope. And the massive, <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2020/08/01/the-pandemic-is-giving-e-bikes-a-boost?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">wheel-terms growth</a> in e-bike sales. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Since the Arab spring the country has vastly expanded its military and diplomatic efforts—filling an evident power vacuum and <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/08/01/turkey-is-wielding-influence-all-over-the-arab-world?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">harking back</a> to the days of the Ottoman Empire. Tanzania’s economy was recently upgraded to “middle-income” status, but <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/07/23/why-tanzanias-statistics-look-fishy?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">our analysis</a> suggests something is fishy in its data. And why an Athens hotel will have two floors <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/07/25/a-hotel-developer-in-athens-obstructs-the-acropolis?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lopped off</a> its top. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

The territory’s elections have been postponed, its activists barred from running—police are even targeting them abroad. <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2020/08/01/many-hong-kongers-are-considering-emigration?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">What next</a> for the democracy movement? We ask whether the global protests about race will affect <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/07/23/bigotry-against-black-people-poisons-the-arab-world-too?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rampant discrimination</a> in Arab countries, most of which host a minority black population. And the solution to a <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/07/02/a-pests-genome-reveals-its-past?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">viniferous mystery</a> that dates back a century and a half. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Enormous growth over 22 years has brought challenges, both from within and from outside; we examine <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/07/30/google-has-outgrown-its-corporate-culture?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the tech behemoth’s prospects</a>. Wealth has always exploded wherever humans interacted more—and so have epidemics. We look back on <a href="https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/08/01/how-hand-washing-explains-economic-expansion?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the historical links</a> between economic success and hygiene. And Dubai <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/08/01/what-its-like-to-go-on-holiday-in-dubai-during-a-pandemic?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tries to lure tourists</a> for its sweltering summer season. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

<p>The crisis has disproportionately squeezed migrants and has given many leaders an excuse to tighten borders. Will the restrictions outlast the pandemic? Balkan countries were notorious for organised crime in the 1990s—but <a href="http://espresso.economist.com/fb8e951171a961a823a8f4081a5d8c08?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a new report</a> suggests the next generation of tech-savvy gangsters is even more formidable. And a look at this summer’s clutch of <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/07/21/is-there-life-on-mars?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mars missions</a>.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

Five years ago a $4.5bn hole in a development fund scrambled Malaysia’s politics. Now the <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/07/28/najib-razak-is-convicted-on-seven-charges-in-the-1mdb-scandal?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">inquiry has claimed</a> its first scalp: that of Najib Razak, a former prime minister. We examine the grand shift of business to “<a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/07/25/banks-lose-out-to-capital-markets-when-it-comes-to-credit-provision?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shadow banks</a>”—a more innovative, if less regulated, end of the industry. And we join a <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2020/07/23/in-south-western-chinas-yunnan-province-mushrooms-mean-money?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mushroom-picking</a> expedition in China’s Yunnan province. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Camouflaged personnel with no insignia, protesters bundled into unmarked vans: the <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/07/23/donald-trumps-divisive-method-culminates-in-portland?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">President Donald Trump's plan</a> to put federal officers into American cities is a worrying political ploy. Our annual <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/2020/07/15/the-big-mac-index?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Big Mac index</a> examines which currencies are over- and undervalued; we take a meaty look at what burgernomics reveals. And Indian scientists <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/07/18/stopping-pollution-with-pine-needles?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">simultaneously solve</a> a water problem while taming a fire problem. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

Scientists are looking to South-East Asia to find how the virus got its start in humans. Knowing that could head off future pandemics. It is often hard to blame climate change unequivocally for weather events, but there is no other explanation for this year’s searing Arctic temperatures. And why well-to-do Africans are shopping around for more permissive passports. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

The pandemic has taken its greatest toll in the world’s nursing homes—but the systemic problems surrounding elderly care long predate covid-19. Economists’ usual barometers have gone topsy-turvy during the crisis, so statisticians are turning to “real-time” data; we ask if these novel measures measure up. And reflecting on the life of America’s civil-rights icon John Lewis.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> <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>

<p>Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has gone from boasting about progress to battling protests as the country’s contact-tracing programme has been overwhelmed. Early and extreme seasonal floods in China have already displaced nearly 2m people, raising questions about the country’s grand river-management promises. And the boom in bedtime stories...for adults.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>It remains unclear whether influence and misinformation campaigns have had significant effects on Britain’s institutions, or its elections—but only because successive administrations chose not to look. For decades, Myanmar was a heroin supplier to the world; now a methamphetamine-production boom has created a domestic mess, too. And spotting the brightest comet in decades.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>After days of gruelling debate, European leaders have agreed a recovery plan. It includes, for the first time, taking on collective debt—to the tune of hundreds of billions of euros. Jihadism has been growing in Africa’s Sahel region; now it’s spilling into neighbouring states. In one of them, Burkina Faso, a charity is helping prisoners break out...into the music business.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>

<p>As Congress reconvenes and covid-19 rages largely unabated, the biggest question is how much to prop up the economy—and how to get past partisan rancour about it. With slumping oil prices and a pile of long-term worries, the oil-and-gas industry is looking to offload its dirtiest, most difficult assets. And international polling data suggest that money really can buy happiness.  </p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></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>