Passing mentions: the notable lives lost in 2024
From a legendary baseball slugger to a beloved comic actor, from Scottish politicians to America’s sex therapist to the leader of Russia’s resistance: our shows have marked the deaths of many notewort...
27 Dec 202422min
Tomes will tell: books that predict the future
Some people read books to escape. Others turn to them for instruction. As the new year looms, our correspondents – and listeners – consider which titles can help forecast what’s coming next. Picks inc...
26 Dec 202436min
Good moos: cows could help the climate
Cows produce far more milk in rich countries than in poor ones. Our correspondent explains how beefing up bovine productivity could feed more people and reduce planet-heating emissions. Why Spain is t...
24 Dec 202423min
The club rules? India’s RSS
Is it a community-minded boys’ club, like the Scouts? A breeding ground for seething Hindu nationalism? A paramilitary puppetmaster of India’s governing elite? Our correspondent attends the annual bas...
23 Dec 202423min
Country of the year: The Economist picks
In the past 12 months, there has been no lack of news. Editors at The Economist have picked their way through the rubble to uncover some optimism: which country has seen the greatest improvement this ...
20 Dec 202427min
Between Estonia and a hard place: NATO meets
At the icy border between Russia and Estonia, the anxieties of NATO member states are clear, our correspondent reports. Leaders there have been debating defence spending and worrying about America shi...
19 Dec 202423min
Mass graves: revealing Syria’s horror
Ten days after the fall of Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad, the full brutality of his rule is being uncovered. Our correspondent travels to a site near Damascus, thought to be a giant mass grave. Wil...
18 Dec 202429min
Scholz fired: Germany calls snap election
After Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, lost a confidence vote in parliament yesterday, Germany is preparing for a snap election. Urban waste is a growing problem in India; our trash-talking correspo...
17 Dec 202421min
