Party down: Vietnam’s Communist leaders meet

<p>At this week’s five-yearly congress there will be pride in the handling of the pandemic—but <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2021/01/21/vietnams-communist-party-is-in-a-weaker-position-than-it-seems?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">broader discontent</a> and mounting protests should worry party bigwigs. We ask our education correspondent why so many American schools <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/01/19/why-america-has-done-such-a-poor-job-of-keeping-schools-open?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">remain empty</a> and what the long-run costs will be. And differentiating the difficult character of <a href="https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2021/01/20/a-poisonous-person-patricia-highsmith-was-an-enduring-writer?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Patricia Highsmith</a> from the litany of difficult characters she conjured.</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>