Opening punch: Shutdown ends, now more Epstein emails

A revolutionary conflagration a decade ago has almost entirely flickered out. We ask what happened to all the optimism and why real change has been so hard to achieve. A widely watched lawsuit reveals the slow march of feminism in China, one case at a time. And a look back at Ludwig van Beethoven’s life and work, 250 years on. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 Dec 202023min

Astonishingly, companies have raised more capital this year than ever before. We ask how capital markets shook free amid the pandemic—and what will happen with all that cash now. Our correspondent finds just how dependent the world’s waste-management industry is on informal workers, whose hard jobs have been made far harder this year. And the technology making megaphones much more mega.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Dec 202022min

America’s by-the-book electoral-college vote calmed concerns about another Trump-camp bid to overturn the election—but that is not to say the ructions are over. On an unannounced visit to a suspected forced-labour camp in China’s Xinjiang province, our correspondent runs into trouble when witnessing evidence of a far wider social-engineering effort. And Cuba’s beloved sweet, milky treat gets a freshen-up. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Dec 202021min

Britain’s divorce from the European Union still hinges on sticky matters of fishing rights and the enforcement of fair competition, and time is rapidly running out to strike a deal. India’s fantastical “love jihad” conspiracy theory is just another Muslim-marginalisation move—one that the government seemingly approves of. And a hermit-crab housing shortage in Thailand.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Dec 202018min

Ahead of a weekend meeting to assess and bolster the Paris Agreement, our correspondent speaks with Antonio Guterres about his reasons for cautious optimism. The founder of an upstart far-right Dutch party has been consumed by scandals; we discuss a disastrous downfall. And following AirBnB’s stonking stockmarket debut, we examine the revealed preferences of pandemic-era bookers. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Dec 202020min

American regulators have put mergers that they approved years ago at the heart of antitrust lawsuits—a tricky bid to curb the social-media giant’s market power. We examine the surge of an artist-led protest movement in Cuba, where dissent on any scale is a dangerous proposition. And what a cross-border, ski-slope spat reveals about European co-operation. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Dec 202021min

President Emmanuel Macron’s draft bill walks a fine line balancing the country’s foundational secularism and worries about Islamist terrorism. Amid slumping economies everywhere, Taiwan’s looks surprisingly buoyant; we ask how that might continue after the pandemic. And how managers can best navigate the holiday-party season in a cheerless year.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Dec 202019min

As Britons receive the first doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, authorities in America are meeting this week to authorise its emergency use. We examine the approaches on both sides of the pond. Despite pandemic prescriptions of social distancing, multigenerational living is on the rise. And how Advent calendars became so very extra.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Dec 202021min