Off like a shot: the race for a covid-19 vaccine

The pandemic has made negotiations more difficult and changed the political calculus on both sides. Prospects for a deal before year’s end are dimming. After more than two decades on the lam, an alleged architect of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide is headed to court. And how archaeologists use “soundscapes” and replica instruments to examine past civilisations. 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 Juni 202021min

Even those who can distance themselves are unsure whether to do so—in part because President Jair Bolsonaro mocks the science and rails against lockdowns. The private-equity industry has ballooned since the last financial crisis; does that make it weaker or stronger in this one? And our correspondent investigates a Mexican-mummy mystery. 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 Juni 202022min

The pandemic is driving up the number of impoverished people for the first time in more than two decades. Lockdown-policy calculations are simply different in the poor world. The ill effects of China’s hydropower boom are trickling down to the tens of millions who depend on the Mekong River. And a meditation on the merits of reading others’ diaries. Additional audio from 'caquet' at Freesound.org. 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.

2 Juni 202019min

Demonstrations against police violence have only amplified. We ask why George Floyd’s death touched a nerve, and why these events keep happening in America. A look at the country’s cyber-defences reveals considerable weaknesses—what are states to do as electronic attacks outpace the conventional kind? And what museums are doing now to document the history unfolding around them.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.

1 Juni 202022min

Protests have broken out in Minneapolis and far beyond, following another black man’s death at the hands of a white policeman. Can the once-mighty Black Lives Matter make itself heard? The pandemic may threaten London’s place as Britain’s undisputed centre of gravity. And a researcher spooks spooks by revealing a decades-old spy pact. 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 Maj 202021min

China’s parliament voted today to draft legislation that would utterly undermine the territory’s independence. What now for protesters, for Western powers, for the region’s foreign firms? The pandemic has quashed some crimes but has also created new nefarious opportunities. And it may be closing time for the golden age of the booze business.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 Maj 202021min

President Donald Trump’s failures of leadership have compounded the crisis. But America’s health-care and preparedness systems have problems that predate him. South Korea marks the 40th anniversary of a massacre that remains politically divisive even now. And, today’s space-launch plan in America blazes a trail for a new, commercial space industry. 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 Maj 202022min

The pandemic has caused a shift in how drug firms are viewed: their capacity for big-money innovation will give them immunity in the crisis. Widespread homeworking will have broad consequences, from commercial-property values to urban demographics. And a seemingly innocuous Hong Kong history exam is a window into the territory’s increasingly fraught politics. 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.

26 Maj 202020min