Cache and carry: American states’ gun-law push
Today another state will enact a “permitless carry” law—no licence, checks or training required. We ask why states’ loosening of safeguards fails to reflect public sentiment. Brexit has supercharged S...
5 Maj 202121min
Strait shooting? The growing peril to Taiwan
A decades-old policy of “strategic ambiguity” is breaking down; we ask about the risks and the stakes of a potential Chinese bid to take Taiwan by force. The number of diseases jumping from animals to...
4 Maj 202121min
The turn at a century: Northern Ireland’s anniversary
The province’s largest party aligned with Britain has lost its leader; in the 100 years since the island was split it has rarely seemed so close to reuniting. Diplomacy, as with so much else, had to g...
3 Maj 202122min
Illiberal-arts degrees: Hungary’s universities seized
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s proudly “illiberal democracy” has nobbled nearly every institution. Now that his ruling party will run the higher-education system, expect a propaganda blitz. We examine ...
30 Apr 202122min
A word in edgewise: Turkey, Armenia and genocide
In calling the 1915 campaign against Armenians a genocide, President Joe Biden has rekindled tensions that never really faded—and has perhaps delayed a rapprochement. Chinese authorities fear religion...
29 Apr 202122min
A great deal to be desired: Europe-Britain trade
Europe’s parliament has overwhelmingly voted to extend a stopgap trade agreement. But the rancour behind the vote, and the deal’s thin measures, say much about future relations. Female soldiers are en...
28 Apr 202121min
SPAClash: the buzz and the bust
Special-purpose acquisition companies offer a novel way for companies to list on stockmarkets. We look behind the buzz, and something of a recent bust, to discover why they are a useful innovation bot...
27 Apr 202120min
Extremist prejudice: rebranding Navalny
Russian courts’ bid to designate opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s movement as a terrorist organisation is unsurprising: it fits a narrative of increasing repression at home and sabre-rattling at the...
26 Apr 202123min
