Opening punch: Shutdown ends, now more Epstein emails

A predictable outcome in President Donald Trump’s Senate trial will have unpredictable effects on executive power and congressional oversight—but probably not on November’s elections. A staggering map of neural connections opens a new frontier in brain science. And the entirely preventable plague of locusts munching through east Africa. 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.

6 Feb 202022min

President Donald Trump seemed to be going out of his way to rankle Democrats while he pitched his tenure as a change from American decline to American rejuvenation. In the developing world mobile phones have given millions access to financial services—as well as exposing them to exploitation. And what fashion houses do with their piles of unsold, high-end stock. 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.

5 Feb 202022min

Technical glitches and “inconsistencies” threw America’s first Democratic caucuses into disarray. That will have political consequences, irrespective of the eventual winner. So-called bio-bots—tiny machines made from the stem cells of a frog—blur the line between the biological and the mechanical. And the children competing in Thailand’s elbows-and-all Muay Thai boxing. 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.

4 Feb 202021min

Hong Kong’s GDP report released today reflects the squeeze that enormous protests at home and economic headwinds on the mainland have put on the territory—and that was before the coronavirus outbreak. Inequality in Brazil is bad and getting worse; we ask why the government is chipping away at a much-praised social safety-net. And a look at the self-help craze gripping Ethiopia. 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.

3 Feb 202021min

The costs of leaving the European Union are likely to outweigh the benefits. But as Britain re-aligns itself in the world, those benefits should be seized. The outcome of America’s impeachment proceedings is all but assured, and that is an insight into the Senate, the presidency and impeachment itself. And why pregnancy was absent for so long in British art. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

31 Jan 202023min

Our correspondent travels to the border of the locked-down Hubei province, finding among the people a mixture of resignation, fear and distrust. Was the draconian response appropriate? Big oil firms have just the kind of expertise needed to make a vast transition to renewables; in order to survive, they should put it to use. And why Mongolia’s winters are growing deadlier. 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.

30 Jan 202023min

Facing pressure from both China and America on allowing Huawei into its next-generation network, Britain opted to fully appease neither—and that will test relationships in the post-Brexit era. Collecting tax in Africa is a fairly fraught business, but it’s too much potential revenue to ignore. And the sociology that suggests the ideal size for a team. 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.

29 Jan 202022min

Palestinian leaders have already rejected the American administration’s peace plan. But the proposal is nevertheless politically useful, both for Binyamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. Our correspondent Nicolas Pelham recounts being detained in Iran last year. He was given a surprising amount of freedom—and made the most of it. And the shrinking American states paying people to move in. 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.

28 Jan 202023min