Iron Curtain call: Mikhail Gorbachev

<p>The leader who oversaw the Soviet Union’s collapse had only intended to reform it. But the propaganda and repression <a href="https://www.economist.com/obituary/2022/08/30/mikhail-gorbachev-has-died?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">he abhorred</a> were what held it together. A speed bump lies ahead for electric vehicles: manufacturing and mining capacity <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2022/08/14/could-the-ev-boom-run-out-of-juice-before-it-really-gets-going?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">may not keep up</a> with battery demand. And visiting a <a href="https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/08/20/a-vast-sculpture-in-the-nevada-desert-is-finished-at-last?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">vast landscape sculpture</a> in Nevada’s desert ahead of this week’s public opening.</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>