Mutual-appreciation anxiety: Putin and Erdogan
The presidents of Turkey and Russia make an odd couple; their former empires have clashed over centuries. We look at the fragile—but nonetheless worrisome—alliance between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tay...
26 Feb 202120min
Hell for Tether: a cryptocurrency crimped
The notionally dollar-pegged “stablecoin” quietly underpins many crypto-market moves. We ask what the currency issuer’s clash with New York authorities means for the wider crypto craze. In many Africa...
25 Feb 202122min
Let the games be thin: Tokyo’s Olympic tussles
Planners are in a corner. Delaying or cancelling the summer tournament looks like defeat; pressing ahead looks like a danger. We take a look at the sporting chances. Britain has decarbonised faster th...
24 Feb 202121min
Confirmation biases: Biden’s cabinet picks
President Joe Biden’s top posts are shaping up as Senate confirmation hearings continue—but some controversial nominations await a vote. We look at who is on the docket. Politics in the Democratic Rep...
23 Feb 202120min
Contrary to popular opinion: Mexico’s president
Andrés Manuel López Obrador roared into office with a grand “fourth transformation” agenda. Even after two years of policy failures and power-grabbing, he remains wildly popular. An eye-catching new r...
22 Feb 202119min
Have I not news for you: Facebook’s Australian battle
A media code that would obligate tech giants to pay for linking to news stories looks set to pass. In response, Facebook pre-emptively took down those links—and a whole lot more. So-called honour kill...
19 Feb 202121min
Watts the problem: Texas’s energy failings
Crippling blackouts can be explained in part by the state’s unique energy market, but the disaster exposes wider failures that must be confronted amid a changing climate. Today’s landing of another Ma...
18 Feb 202123min
The next of 1,000 cuts: Hong Kong activists on trial
It is not violent young protesters in the dock: the accused are the architects of the territory’s democracy. Our correspondent examines the city’s descent into authoritarian rule. In Colombia, activis...
17 Feb 202120min
