The Globalist Podcast (September 14, 2023) – Humanitarian efforts ramp up as the death toll from flooding in Libya rises.
Plus: a look at China’s ‘interconnected living’ plan for Taiwan, Brazil begins the first trials of pro-Bolsonaro rioters who stormed the country’s centres of power in January and a flick through today’s papers.
Desperate searches for survivors continued in Morocco’s Atlas mountains after last Friday’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake, which killed thousands of people. Peter Beaumont reports from remote villages devastated by the country’s deadliest quake in six decades.
A worse disaster still appeared to be unfolding further along the north African coast in Libya, where up to 10,000 people were feared missing after flooding caused by the collapse of two dams. Details were only just emerging at the time of the Weekly going to press on Tuesday, but you can find the latest updates here.
First there were the bewildering DNA test results, then the long-forgotten fertility blog. Jenny Kleeman tells the remarkable tale of a discovery that would change the lives of two American families for ever.
Also in Features is American author Elif Batuman’s entertaining account of what happened when she asked the AI chatbot ChatGPT for assistance with a quote from Proust, leading her down a digital rabbit hole she never could have foreseen.
The Globalist Podcast (September 13, 2023) – The US House of Representatives opens an impeachment inquiry into president Biden. Our Washington correspondent Christopher Cermak has the details.
Also in the programme: why Germany is buying more oil from India, president Macron’s plan to transform what critics call “ugly France” and how a severe lemon shortage is affecting Peruvians.
The Globalist Podcast (September 12, 2023) – Kim Jong-un reportedly arrives in eastern Russia for arms talks with Vladimir Putin, as Moscow seeks to replenish its dwindling stockpile. Who has the upper hand and how will the meeting be portrayed for home audiences?
Plus: Israel’s supreme court prepares to rule on its own future and we discuss the British parliamentary researcher accused of spying for China.
‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (September 18, 2023) – Three essential articles read aloud from the The Economist. This week, the future of the Middle East, Wall Street’s race to wealth management (10:00), and how London’s bus drivers revolutionised health (17:40).
The New Yorker – September 18, 2023 issue: The new issue features R. Kikuo Johnson’s “Bodega Cat”, where the the artist discusses pivotal moments and his relationship to pets.
This summer, Ross Douthat, liberal America’s favorite conservative commentator, wrote a piece about liberal America’s least favorite Democrat, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Douthat argued in his New York Times column that an unwillingness to debate Kennedy—who has claimed that childhood vaccines cause autism, that 5G networks are part of a mass-surveillance system, and that covid was designed to spare Jewish and Chinese people—was an insufficient response to voters who are increasingly distrustful of the establishment.
Three winters in a row, Kate DiCamillo went into the hospital, never sure if she would come home and always a little scared to do so. One of those winters, when she was four years old and the air outside was even colder than the metal frames of the oxygen tents she’d grown accustomed to having above her bed, her father came to see her. He was wearing a long black overcoat, which made him look like a magician. “I brought you a gift,” he said, pulling something from his pocket as if from a top hat.
The Globalist Podcast (September 10, 2023) – We look back at the G20 summit in India, which concluded yesterday, and discuss its key points.
Plus: the start of joint military exercises between Armenia and the US, a flick through the day’s papers and a round-up of stories from the Asia-Pacific region.
September 10, 2023– Emma Nelson, Isabel Hilton and David Bodanis on the weekend’s biggest talking points. We also speak to Monocle’s editorial director Tyler Brûlé in Lisbon and our Istanbul correspondent, Hannah Lucinda Smith.
Monocle on Saturday, September 9, 2023: A look at the week’s news and culture with Georgina Godwin. Plus: Yassmin Abdel-Magied joins us for a look through the morning’s papers, while Fernando Augusto Pacheco meets Angus Dowling of Australian psychedelic-rock band Babe Rainbow to discuss their new single “Juice of the Sun”.
The story of the “Atlantis of the North Sea” is one about our impermanence and ultimate futility against the elements. But within it also lies a warning of our potential future in an age of climate change.