Spread bet: China’s coronavirus quarantine
In Hubei province and increasingly across China, new-year celebrations are muted. Authorities are trying to contain the outbreak with an unprecedented lockdown. Homelessness is rising in the rich world, with Finland as a notable exception; we examine the merits of the country’s “housing first” policy. And how to identify someone by reading their heartbeat at 200 paces. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
27 Jan 202022min
Ill-judged: Poland’s rule-of-law crisis
Poland's government has been trying to nobble the courts for years. Now the European Union is intervening, and the outcome could undermine the union itself. Our obituaries editor looks back on the life of Nell Gifford, whose small, tight-knit circus brought a sense of community into the big top. And modern sensitivities reveal why gender is so tricky in German. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
24 Jan 202021min
On the right track: a trend in diplomacy
When conflict-resolution efforts falter in official channels, there are unofficial ones. We ask why “Track 2”—allowing well-meaning third parties to mediate—is on the rise. The prime minister of Lesotho has pledged to resign and his wife is on the run; we examine the high drama playing out in the African country. And some surprising truths about lie-detector tests. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
23 Jan 202022min
Justin time, again: Trudeau’s second term
Canada’s prime minister now leads a minority government, and has lost support in the country’s west. We ask what he must do, and how, with his weakened mandate. Our correspondent travels across Ireland to discover how it swiftly switched from socially conservative to proudly progressive. And a look at the worrying numbers in our annual Democracy Index. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
22 Jan 202023min
Can I get a witness? Impeachment
The rules are set, battle lines drawn and the outcome is all but assured. We ask why the Senate trial of President Donald Trump seems so sewn up. A decade after a devastating earthquake, Haiti is still a mess—and now a constitutional crisis is compounding the misery. And why gay women are more likely to divorce than gay men. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
21 Jan 202023min
Tripoli crown: the battle for Libya
This weekend’s peace talks in Berlin were a good start, but the situation is still ripe for a longer, messier proxy war. More than a million people die each year on the world’s roads; solutions to the crisis are plain to see, if only governments would seize them. And how curators and conservators are bracing for climate change. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
20 Jan 202020min
Address the problem: the global housing blunder
Badly run housing markets are linked to broader ills, from financial crises to the rise of populism. The first problem? The conviction that home ownership is an unambiguously good thing. While China clamps down on most religions, it encourages others; we meet the followers of a tenth-century sea goddess. And the decline of drinking a century after Prohibition began. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
17 Jan 202023min
Set for life? Putin’s power-grab
After Russia’s president proposed vast constitutional change, the whole government resigned. It seems to be another convoluted power-grab by Vladimir Putin—and it seems likely to work. Our correspondent finds that the tired stereotypes European Union countries have about their neighbours are pervasive even at the heart of the European integration. And the surprising and nefarious world of sand-smuggling. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
16 Jan 202019min
