The country’s children have missed more in-person learning than those in most of the rich world— to their cost . We ask why battles about schooling rage on. Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president, came to power on big promises; few were fulfilled. We ask about the skimpy legacy he leaves behind. And a look at the metaverse’s red-hot property market . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See ...
Jan 12, 2022•22 min
This week’s flurry of diplomacy aims to address what Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, says he wants . He cannot get it. Does an invasion of Ukraine hang in the balance? At an annual jamboree of economists our correspondent finds an unusual focus on the future—in particular the future of home working. And why Cuba has an enormous trade in grey-market garlic. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acas...
Jan 11, 2022•22 min
The country has the world’s worst estimated covid-death total—but as another variant takes hold there are reasons for optimism . Mexico’s president has some old-fashioned notions about energy, and his pet legislation would make it both dirtier and costlier. And the Orient Express was itself a murder victim , just one line in a continent-spanning rail network that may yet be revived. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intellige...
Jan 10, 2022•22 min
What started as a fuel-price skirmish has engulfed the entire country; now Russian-led troops have been summoned to help. How did things escalate so quickly? The spike in global house prices has several pandemic-related causes —but do not expect them to fall much when those factors fade. And our obituaries editor reflects on the life of Britain’s first transgender activist. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer ...
Jan 07, 2022•23 min
The insurrection’s horrors might have marked a turning point for Donald Trump’s supporters and enablers. Not so; the people and the politics remain as divided as they were one year ago. We examine why, despite the rampant uncertainty that should lift it, gold had a terrible 2021. And London’s farcical attempt to draw consumers to a famed shopping district. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. S...
Jan 06, 2022•24 min
The closure of two independent, Chinese-language media outlets all but completes the push to silence pro-democracy press; we ask what is next for the territory. Sudan’s military seems as uninterested in civilian help with governing as legions of protesters are in military leadership. What could end the standoff? And why sanctions on Iran are affecting the purity of saffron. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer ...
Jan 05, 2022•22 min
Elizabeth Holmes has been found guilty of fraud. We ask what lessons her downfall holds for Theranos’s high-profile backers—and for a startup culture of hype before science. As Apple crosses a $3trn valuation we examine the motives for its stop-start forays into the competitive streaming-video business. And what lies behind the curious resurgence of syphilis. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast...
Jan 04, 2022•22 min
Trade is down, red tape is up, details of regulatory harmony are still being hammered out. Britain may be less divided about it, but the benefits of the divorce are still to be seized. For the clinically vulnerable, covid restrictions go beyond government mandates; our correspondent shares a personal view. And a visit to mainland Singapore’s last rural village. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Aca...
Jan 03, 2022•22 min
From Prince Philip to Desmond Tutu , from an anti-racism campaigner and member of the Auschwitz Girls’ Orchestra to a war surgeon focused on civilians to an impoverished Ethiopian whose school for the poor educated 120,000 students: our obituaries editor reflects on the famed and the lesser-known figures who died in 2021. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...
Dec 30, 2021•25 min
Each year The Economist selects its country of the year: a place that has improved the most. Improvement, though, was damnably rare in 2021. We run through our nominations and the shortlist, and take a close look at why the winner won . And we examine what has gone on in South and South-East Asia, which offered no contenders whatsoever. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...
Dec 29, 2021•20 min
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s idea for saving the lira by backing deposits with dollars means the Turkish taxpayer will end up bailing out the Turkish depositor. Our correspondent finds striking insights in 40 years’-worth of humdrum submissions to a unique sociology project. And Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion-dollar push into the cinema industry it outlawed for decades. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Ho...
Dec 28, 2021•23 min
The lightning-fast spread of a seemingly milder coronavirus variant may represent a shift from pandemic to endemic; we ask how that would change global responses. Concern about video-game addictiveness is as old as video games themselves—but the business models of modern gaming may be magnifying the problem . And newly publicised photographs shed light on Bangladesh’s brutal war for independence. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist...
Dec 27, 2021•22 min
The security situation is hopeless, following violent unrest and a presidential assassination—as one family’s epic and ultimately failed attempt to leave reveals. The sum total of the missing banknotes in the world is staggering, but what is worrying is that no one seems interested in finding it all. And meeting the man who unwittingly became Sherlock Holmes’s secretary . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Ho...
Dec 23, 2021•24 min
The flood of people out of cities is unlike anything since the suburbanisation of the 1950s; we examine the inevitable economic and political consequences. After years of reporting our correspondent concludes that the mutual disdain of a country’s northern and southern halves is a curious human universal . And a sojourn to fact-check Julius Caesar’s accounts of his triumphs in France. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelli...
Dec 22, 2021•24 min
In recent years the country has found itself in a sharply different geopolitical environment, responding by building bases and security-partner ties as never before . Our correspondent meets perhaps the last living offspring of an American slave, whose stories paint a picture of the civil-rights movement right up to today. And Thailand’s changing cannabis policy, best seen through its restaurants’ menus. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.e...
Dec 21, 2021•24 min
As border tensions continue to build, our Russia editor looks back to the fall of the Soviet Union to explain why Russia has never accepted Ukraine’s independence. Eating out has only become more expensive through the decades, yet the diners keep coming; we examine the long history and economics of restaurants . And our staff picks for 2021’s best books. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See...
Dec 20, 2021•24 min
As the vote’s second round has neared, the candidates have shifted, a bit , from their positions at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Which radical vision for the country will win out? The transition to electric vehicles may well stall, unless the chicken-and-egg problem of public chargers can be cracked. And a soaring history of “ birdmen ”, successful and otherwise. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer...
Dec 17, 2021•23 min
America’s central bank plans to pinch off its massive bond-buying programme much faster in a bid to stall inflation; our correspondent says it is perhaps a late-arriving signal—but a promising one . Loneliness is a growing problem in the rich world but seems particularly acute among American men. And why aged artists are increasingly taking over the December music charts . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer H...
Dec 16, 2021•21 min
More than a year after a rebellion Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed promised to put down in weeks, the balance of power keeps swinging —and neighbouring states may soon be drawn in. To the chagrin of libertarian crypto types, regulators are weighing in on an industry now worth trillions. And the fed-up North Korean wives earning more than their husbands. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast....
Dec 15, 2021•24 min
Many have been quick to link the tornado catastrophe in America’s Upland South to climate change; we ask why that is a tricky connection to draw. Citizenship of Gulf states has long been difficult to acquire, even for lifelong residents. That is slowly changing—for a slice of the elite . And the kerfuffle surrounding the repurposing of Britain’s red phone boxes. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Ac...
Dec 14, 2021•24 min
The latest “variant of concern” has spread far—and fast . We examine what has been learned about it at equally striking speed, and ask what to look out for next. South-East Asia has long had a methamphetamine problem; so-called compulsory treatment centres are only making matters worse . And the effort to make a minuscule lemur science’s next super-model . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. S...
Dec 13, 2021•20 min
The wildly indebted property firm has defaulted at last. That poses big risks as China’s leadership works to refashion financial markets and draw in foreign investors. We visit the world’s largest lithium reserves, asking why Bolivia has not yet made the most of them—and whether it still might . And the Chopin concert aimed at calming Poland’s refugee tensions. Have your say about “The Intelligence” in our survey here www.economist.com/intelligencesurvey . And for full access to print, digital a...
Dec 10, 2021•24 min
At two years into Boris Johnson’s premiership, yet more scandal ensures attention will still stray from the sweeping agenda of change he promised. An archaeological find in the state of Tamil Nadu rewrites the timeline of civilisation in India—raising questions of identity in a charged political atmosphere. And the man listening intently to the staggering variety of Beijing’s birds. Have your say about “The Intelligence” in our survey here www.economist.com/intelligencesurvey . And for full acce...
Dec 09, 2021•22 min
For the first time in 16 years Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union is out of Germany’s government. We ask what to expect from Olaf Scholz , the new chancellor. China’s leadership wants to boost the birth rate but discriminates against single mothers; we examine a slow push for equality. And mental-health apps are booming, but the risks are many and the benefits uncertain. Have your say about “The Intelligence” in our survey here. www.economist.com/intelligencesurvey . And for full access to ...
Dec 08, 2021•23 min
The Japanese attack set America on a course toward military hegemony; recent administrations have walked it back. We ask what the country would fight for now. A clash of priorities between national and city-level politicians the world over makes for fraught politics on car ownership. And our columnist envisages how the office will compete with home in a post-pandemic world.Have your say about “The Intelligence” in our survey here www.economist.com/intelligencesurvey . And for full access to prin...
Dec 07, 2021•23 min
Myanmar’s ousted leader has been sentenced to four years in prison; more guilty verdicts are expected soon. That will only fuel unrest that has not ceased since a coup in February. Scrutiny of Interpol’s new president adds to concerns that the supranational agency is in authoritarians’ pockets. And governments start to back the “seasteading” of libertarians’ dreams. Have your say about “The Intelligence” in our survey here www.economist.com/intelligencesurvey . And for full access to print, digi...
Dec 06, 2021•22 min
The archipelago’s diplomatic pivot to China has added an international dimension to the latest flare-up of domestic tensions. We ask how this tiny state figures into far larger geopolitics . British law permits medical cannabis for children with epilepsy—so why are so few able to get it? And a Formula 1 race may mark the end of Saudi Arabia’s alcohol ban. Have your say about “The Intelligence” in our survey here www.economist.com/intelligencesurvey . And for full access to print, digital and aud...
Dec 03, 2021•21 min
The conservative supermajority on America’s Supreme Court looks likely to strip back rights enshrined since the Roe v Wade ruling in 1973. Beset by natural disasters, Puerto Rico did not seem ready for a pandemic—but our correspondent finds it has done better than the rest of America. And an intriguing new idea in the mystery of how Earth got its water. Have your say about “The Intelligence” in our survey here www.economist.com/intelligencesurvey . And for full access to print, digital and audio...
Dec 02, 2021•24 min
Jack Dorsey’s departure from the social-media giant reflects the growing primacy of engineering talent, and the waning mythology of the big-tech founder. Ukraine’s military has become much better at battling Russian-backed separatists since the annexation of Crimea—but now a far graver kind of war looms . And the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest list of the world’s most expensive cities. Have your say about “The Intelligence” in our survey here www.economist.com/intelligencesurvey . And for ...
Dec 01, 2021•20 min
Things were all smiles after negotiations resumed—but it is difficult to see how a middle ground can be reached in Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Apple’s surprise move to permit repairs to its hardware reflects the growing “right to repair” movement, and a shift in the notion of tech ownership. And the “ grab lists ” that museum curators prefer not to talk about. Have your say about “The Intelligence” in our survey here www.economist.com/intelligencesurvey . And for full access to print, digital and ...
Nov 30, 2021•23 min
