Watts the problem: Texas’s energy failings

<p>Crippling blackouts can be explained in part by the state’s unique energy market, but the disaster exposes <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/02/17/the-freeze-in-texas-exposes-americas-infrastructural-failings?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">wider failures</a> that must be confronted amid a changing climate. Today’s landing of another Mars rover broadens the hunt for evidence of extraterrestrial life—an effort that is <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/02/13/the-search-for-et-may-soon-yield-an-answer?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">expanding</a> faster and farther than ever before. And soft rock <a href="https://www.economist.com/prospero/2021/02/11/soft-rock-has-rediscovered-its-hard-interior?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shakes off</a> its milquetoast manner.</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><p>Listen and subscribe to “<a href="https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2021/02/08/the-jab-a-new-podcast-from-the-economist?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Jab from Economist Radio</a>”, our new weekly podcast at the sharp end of the global vaccination race.</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>