The Economist Radio (All audio)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In a region racked by dodgy polls, the country looks to continue a trend of uncontested handovers of power. That is not to say, however, that there aren’t sticking points. As tortuous Brexit negotiations drag on, we look at how British farming can and should change under a new regulatory regime. And the starving deer of a Japanese tourist hotspot.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.

Numbers of cases, hospitalisations and deaths are rocketing across the country. We examine the situation in the Midwest, as a microcosm of a wider unfolding tragedy. Venezuela’s ruling party will take over the National Assembly after Sunday’s vote, sidelining the self-proclaimed legitimate leader Juan Guaidó and cementing Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship. And the fruitful life and ignominious death of the Arecibo telescope.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.

In the West market forces are squeezing coal—even as its use rises in Asia. We examine how the world can wean itself off the dirtiest fossil fuel. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Belarus’s probable presidential-election winner, never expected to run for office. Our correspondent visits her in exile, asking about the country’s prospects for democracy. And how candy-floss machines may help make better face masks.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.

Britain’s High Court has ruled that puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria have been dispensed too readily, fuelling a debate that will be keenly watched abroad. A vote today on a law tightening accounting rules on American-listed Chinese companies has a political dimension—and implications for investors. And Poland’s populist leaders seize on the resurgence of “disco polo” music.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.

The killing of the country’s top nuclear scientist comes at a tricky time: violent retribution may threaten hoped-for diplomacy with the incoming American administration. An artificial-intelligence breakthrough may transform protein science, with implications for everything from industrial processes to tackling disease. And why Europe’s lighter-touch, second round of lockdowns have been so effective.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.

Protesters are raging against a proposed bill that would outlaw posting videos of alleged police brutality—just as two videos expose more such violence. High-stakes exams for students have been delayed, modified, even cancelled during the pandemic; we look at how all those varying results stack up. And, South Africa’s growing trend of livestock theft—and rebranding.  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.

Many of the country’s institutions are being slowly hobbled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government; we ask whether the world’s largest democracy is in peril. Sweden has a surprisingly entrenched problem with gang violence, revealing the social costs of its segregated populations. And how Black Friday is playing out in the pandemic era. 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.

A long string of pro-democracy protests are railing more and more against the king himself—and the protesters are younger and more fearless than ever before. The arrest of Bobi Wine, Uganda’s popular singer-turned-opposition-hero, has sparked deadly violence. He won’t win January’s election, but his movement isn’t going away. And a Thanksgiving Day look at the globe-trotting history of the turkey. 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.

The northern region’s surrounded forces are ignoring Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s deadline to disarm. More regions are being drawn in—and a conflagration across the Horn of Africa looms. Artificial-intelligence pilots have shown serious dogfighting skills, but for reasons both technical and ethical humans are still needed in the cockpit. And the rise of mixed martial arts on both sides of the Atlantic.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.

The boom-and-bust of environmental-technology investing has settled out, and money is flooding in—both individual and institutional. We examine the green fields that lie ahead. Many Arab countries have long been suffering an exodus of medical professionals—a problem only magnified by the pandemic. And a reflection on the life of Jonathan Sacks, a tirelessly unifying British rabbi. 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.

The tone of America’s president-elect on China changed markedly through the campaign; his policies, at least at the outset, may differ little from those of his predecessor. We examine the stark racial disparities in covid-19 outcomes around the world. And the clever use of a waste product to make a better takeaway coffee cup.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.

Peace talks continue in Doha but on the ground the Taliban are consolidating control. America’s rush to withdraw its forces could undo the good work of getting them to the negotiating table. As DoorDash heads to a public listing, we look at the rapidly shifting fortunes of the food-delivery business. And why golf has a long-shot problem.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.

Now that the economic reins have been taken back from the president’s son-in-law, the country is making the right policy noises—and just in time. China’s anti-poverty drive is not disinterested charity; it is about transforming citizens’ thoughts. And chronicling Pepe the Frog’s descent into alt-right memedom.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.