A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how rotten is Russia’s army? France’s re-elected president prepares for a tough second term (10:30) and a struggle over artistic freedom suggests a better way out of the culture wars (15:25).
Tag Archives: Analysis
Political Views: China Gets It Wrong, Ukraine Stakes, Crypto Utopias
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, what is China getting wrong? Also, why the world should stand up to Putin (10:43). And, crypto and web3: libertarian dream, or socialist Utopia? (18:27).
Political Views: Emmanuel Macron’s Future, Russian War Crimes, Headset Wars
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why Emmanuel Macron’s fate matters beyond France, war crimes in Ukraine (11:05) and we explore the new headset wars between tech firms (16:05).
Analysis: Ukraine Victory Importance, Anti-Media In China, Social Influencers
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why a Ukrainian victory would transform the security of Europe, a terrible plane crash prompts a revealing anti-media backlash in China (11:20) and the serious business of social influencers (18:30).
Analysis: Drinking Water – Is The World Drying Up?
Only 0.3 percent of the Earth’s total water supply is suitable for human consumption. Ominously, this precious resource is beginning to shrink. Natural water reservoirs are drying up due to climate change.
Glaciologist Daniel Farinotti surveys melting glaciers in the Swiss Alps. If glaciers continue to melt at the current rate, he says, there will be no ice left by the end of the century. The disappearance of glacial meltwater would have fatal consequences. From the heights of the Swiss Alpine glaciers, the documentary travels down to the seafloor, off the coast of Malta. Here, the crew of the German expedition ship “Sonne” wants to track down mysterious freshwater deposits in the Mediterranean.
Next up is Peru where, in a bid to counteract the threat of water shortages, work is underway on projects that use ancient Incan methods.
Retail: Rise Of Unwanted Goods Liquidation (CNBC)
A record number of online returns has created a booming $644 billion liquidation market. As supply chain backlogs cause shortages of new goods and Gen Z shoppers demand more sustainable retail options, pain points for one sector of retail are big business for another. The nation’s only major public liquidator, Liquidity Services, resells unclaimed mail, items left at TSA checkpoints, and outdated military vehicles. It also refurbishes highly sought after electronics, from noise-canceling headphones to the machines that make microchips.
CNBC takes you on an exclusive tour inside a Liquidity Services returns warehouse outside Dallas, Texas, where unwanted goods from Amazon and Target are stacked to the ceiling before being resold on Liquidation.com or a variety of other marketplaces. Inside Liquidity Services’ 130,000-square-foot warehouse in Garland, Texas, the aisles aren’t lined with typical merchandise. Instead, they’re stacked with returns from Amazon, Target, Sony, Home Depot, Wayfair and more, all in the process of being liquidated.
Analysis: World Financial Markets Risks, Chinese Ideology, Spinal Implants
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, what would happen if financial markets crashed? We also profile China’s thinker-in-chief (11:25) and explore how new spinal implants allow the paralysed to walk, swim and cycle again (18:45).
Affordable Housing: Is Modular The Answer?
Cities around the world are facing an affordable housing shortage – and the Covid-19 pandemic has only worsened the crisis. A 2021 report revealed 88 out of 92 major cities are considered unaffordable. The least affordable of them is Hong Kong, where the median house price is more than 20 times the annual median household income.
But there is a potential solution that is garnering attention: factory-built homes. These houses – also known as modular homes – are constructed in controlled conditions and can take just a week or two to build.
“We can build 27 Top Hat homes for every one brick and mortar traditionally built house,’ said Jordan Rosenhaus, who is the CEO of modular housing factory, TopHat. “So, over the next week, we’ll finish approximately 10 houses, that’s just our production program for now. That can ramp up”.
So can this innovation solve the housing crisis? Watch the video above to learn more.
Analysis: Why Plastic Surgery Is On The Rise
Plastic surgery has been booming in the past decade. But it was the Covid-19 pandemic that catapulted the industry to new heights. Americans working from home spent hours watching themselves on camera, endlessly scrolling on social media and experiencing downtime from social events. This all but benefitted the plastic surgery industry, which saw a record number of patients as pandemic restrictions were lifted.
Consumers: What Is The True Price Of Food? (FT)
Food prices might be rising but many associated production costs are not currently included in the price we pay. How can we get closer to a system that reflects the true cost and what implication will this have on consumers and wider society?
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