Unsafe as houses? Evergrande and China’s big plans
The wildly indebted property firm has defaulted at last. That poses big risks as China’s leadership works to refashion financial markets and draw in foreign investors. We visit the world’s largest lit...
10 Dec 202124min
Ain’t no party: scandals hobble Britain’s government
At two years into Boris Johnson’s premiership, yet more scandal ensures attention will still stray from the sweeping agenda of change he promised. An archaeological find in the state of Tamil Nadu rew...
9 Dec 202122min
CDU later: Angela Merkel’s successor
For the first time in 16 years Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union is out of Germany’s government. We ask what to expect from Olaf Scholz, the new chancellor. China’s leadership wants to boost the...
8 Dec 202122min
Off the warpath: America 80 years after Pearl Harbour
The Japanese attack set America on a course toward military hegemony; recent administrations have walked it back. We ask what the country would fight for now. A clash of priorities between national an...
7 Dec 202122min
The first sentence of the story: Aung San Suu Kyi
Myanmar’s ousted leader has been sentenced to four years in prison; more guilty verdicts are expected soon. That will only fuel unrest that has not ceased since a coup in February. Scrutiny of Interpo...
6 Dec 202122min
Taiwan thing after another: the Solomon Islands
The archipelago’s diplomatic pivot to China has added an international dimension to the latest flare-up of domestic tensions. We ask how this tiny state figures into far larger geopolitics. British la...
3 Dec 202120min
Roe blow? SCOTUS weighs abortion rights
The conservative supermajority on America’s Supreme Court looks likely to strip back rights enshrined since the Roe v Wade ruling in 1973. Beset by natural disasters, Puerto Rico did not seem ready fo...
2 Dec 202124min
The house that Jack built: Twitter’s founder departs
Jack Dorsey’s departure from the social-media giant reflects the growing primacy of engineering talent, and the waning mythology of the big-tech founder. Ukraine’s military has become much better at b...
1 Dec 202119min
