The European Court of Human rights foiled Britain’s plans to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda yesterday by holding that British courts must first find the policy legal. The Taliban have proven surprisingly adept tax collectors, though they will spend much of the funds on defence rather than improving the lives of struggling Afghans. And the world is buying too few electric vehicles to meaningfully reduce carbon emissions.
Tag Archives: The Economist Podcasts
Opinions: New Frontier For AI, British Stagnation, Story Scene Imagination
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why foundation models are artificial intelligence’s new frontier, the stagnation nation: a chronic British disease (10:30), and why visiting the scenes of stories is an act of imagination (18:20).
Morning News: January 6 Panel Focus On Trump Role, Wolf Populations
The committee investigating the Capitol attacks of January 6th 2021 held the first of several public hearings last night, having gathered evidence for the past year.
The hearings may not break Donald Trump’s hold on the Republicans, but they are creating a vital record of an attempted coup. As wolf populations grow, humans are learning to live with them. And why the corporate world has taken an interest in psychedelic drugs.
Morning News: North Korea Covid Surge, Turkey Voters, Arab School Girls
North Korea’s zero-covid strategy appears to have failed. The country has officially acknowledged 162 cases; the true number is probably orders of magnitude more.
The country’s health-care system is inadequate, and pre-existing conditions such as tuberculosis and malnutrition are rampant. With elections impending in Turkey, politicians have begun competing with each other to scapegoat refugees. And why girls outperform boys in the Arab world’s schools.
Opinions: Saving The U.S. Supreme Court, Health Care Tech, Remote Work
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how to save the supreme court from itself, how wearable technology promises to revolutionise health care (10:29) and our Bartleby columnist on why working from anywhere isn’t realistic (18:29).
Morning News: U.S. Raises Rates, Lockdown Fatigue In China, Nelson Mandela
Prices in America are rising faster than at any time in the past 40 years. In response, the Federal Reserve has made its steepest interest-rate hike in 20 years.
Will it be enough to tame inflation while not tipping America into recession? Shanghai’s residents are growing restive after a long lockdown. And Nelson Mandela’s name and legacy are being used to sell a growing range of consumer goods.
Morning News: Taiwan & China Assess Ukraine, El Salvador Gangs, Climate
Much like Ukraine, Taiwan has a well-armed neighbour that does not think it exists as a state: China. We ask what both sides are learning from Russia’s invasion.
A heavy-handed string of arrests following a flare-up of gang violence in El Salvador is unlikely to change matters. And an analysis reveals the connection between weather and whether voters support climate-change legislation.
Morning News: Bulgaria & Poland Gas Cut, Singapore Politics, Venice Biennale
By shutting off gas to Poland and Bulgaria, Russia has made an aggressive move that may draw yet more European sanctions. How might the escalation end?
The popularity of Singapore’s ruling party has slipped, a bit, so it has selected a kinder, gentler leader ahead of elections in 2025. And why the delayed Art Biennale in Venice was worth the wait.
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).
Morning News: Ukraine Refugees In Poland & New York, Russians In Turkey
The war in Ukraine has created the greatest flux of refugees in Europe since the second world war.
We visit Poland, where the response has been remarkably smooth, and a New York neighbourhood that is no stranger to émigrés from the region. And we consider the displaced who are largely overlooked: why are so many Russians exiling themselves in Turkey?
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