The fall of Kabul, the capital, sealed the country’s fate: after 20 years, the Taliban are back in charge—a fearsome outcome for its people and for the Biden administration.
As capital punishment fades, life sentences proliferate; that comes with its own costs and iniquities. And visiting an enclave in Uruguay that is in many ways more Russian than Russia.
Washington Post columnists Jonathan Capehart and Michael Gerson join William Brangham to discuss the politics of the week including the Taliban’s march across Afghanistan, the latest startling report on climate change and how to convince all Americans to get vaccinated.
As Greece’s wildfires show no sign of abating, we speak to a correspondent on the ground. We also check in with Lynne O’Donnell in Kabul for the latest on the rapid Taliban advance. Plus: astrology in print.
We get the latest from Lynne O’Donnell on the front line in Afghanistan and ask whether recent hijackings in the Persian Gulf are part of a concerted effort of Iranian foreign policy. Plus: is the far right on the rise in Italy?
Sweeping rural gains made as American forces have slipped out are now giving way to bids for urban areas; an enormous, symbolic victory for the insurgents looms.
Singapore has enjoyed relative racial harmony for decades, but shocking recent events have revealed persistent inequalities. And why chewing gum has lost its cool.
We discuss what’s on the agenda as US secretary of state Antony Blinken arrives in India. We then get the lowdown on Russia’s recent talks with the Taliban and assess the Kremlin’s intentions in the region.
Plus: the latest action from Tokyo 2020.
Could Poland crash out of the EU? Plus: Spanish citizens sue the government over “illegal” lockdown laws and what we learned this week.
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the new fault lines in the world economy, the catastrophic consequences of America abandoning Afghanistan (10:28) and how Mills & Boon, a famed publisher of romantic novels, wants to diversify its hero base (17:30)
Passport queues are lengthening; ad-hoc civilian militias are strengthening. As foreign powers bow out, Taliban militants take district after district—and the fear of the people is palpable.
The pandemic drove a boom in the attention economy, and media companies happily obliged. Now, it seems, an “attention recession” looms. And a look at the thoroughly inbred nature of thoroughbred horses.
Police responded to an active shooter incident at the King Soopers grocery store in South Boulder yesterday afternoon. Late last night, officials confirmed that 10 people were shot and killed, including Boulder police officer Eric Tally.
Plus, will the U.S. meet the May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan?
The AstraZeneca vaccine passes initial American trials.
And, why a fire at one Japanese chip plant is affecting the entire auto industry.
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