Stresses of strains: emerging coronavirus variants

<p>It is no surprise that more-transmissible coronavirus variants are <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/01/02/what-the-new-variants-of-covid-19-mean-for-human-health?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">cropping up</a>. We ask how worrisome the strains found in Britain and South Africa are. American authorities have lodged a landmark <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/01/02/the-justice-department-accuses-walmart-of-fuelling-the-opioid-crisis?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">case against Walmart</a> for its role in the country’s worsening opioid crisis—a problem with clearly more than one cause. And dealing with the pile of <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2021/01/02/how-to-deal-with-leftover-leave?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">unused vacation days</a> from 2020.</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>