Two systems go: a new law grips Hong Kong
A sweeping new national-security law deeply undermines Beijing’s “one country, two systems” approach in the territory; under it, arrests have already been made. What next for Hong Kong’s activists and...
1 Juli 202022min
The next threat: confronting global risks
Six months on from the first reports of the coronavirus, this special episode examines the catastrophic and even existential risks to civilisation. Work is already under way to head off future pandemi...
30 Juni 202025min
States of alarm: America’s covid-19 surge
An entirely predictable pattern is playing out: the states quickest to exit lockdowns are being hit hardest. Can the country get the virus reliably under control? The pandemic has led to staggering am...
29 Juni 202021min
Council insecurity: the UN at 75
The founders of the United Nations expected it would move with the times. It hasn’t. Can reforms keep all those nations united? The global focus on policing following George Floyd’s death has sparked ...
26 Juni 202023min
Rush to a conclusion: Latin America’s lockdowns
After scattershot enforcement of lockdowns, the region has become the pandemic’s new focal point. But many countries are opening up anyway. America’s latest choke on immigration is aligned with the pr...
25 Juni 202022min
Leave in peace: Afghan-Taliban negotiations
A withdrawal agreement struck with America has been damnably hard to implement, but the two sides may at last start talks to crimp nearly two decades of conflict. Wirecard, once the darling of Germany...
24 Juni 202020min
Past its Prime? Amazon comes of age
The pandemic has been great for sales; for profits, not so much. We examine the e-commerce giant’s prospects as it adapts to a changing world. Throughout history pandemics have helped to shape human c...
23 Juni 202024min
Isle be damned: Britain ravaged by covid-19
Cosmopolitan, overweight, multi-ethnic: the country’s makeup has made the pandemic more deadly. But the government has repeatedly played a bad hand badly. Native American communities are being hit har...
22 Juni 202020min
