The Economist Radio (All audio)

People are spilling from the Chinese metropolis where the global outbreak took hold. But controls actually remain tight, and authorities’ attempts to spin pandemic into propaganda are not quite working. Mozambique’s rising violence threatens what could be Africa’s largest-ever energy project, in a region that has until now escaped widespread jihadism. And “geomythologists” may have uncovered humans’ oldest tale yet. 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.

President Jair Bolsonaro still dismisses the disease as “just the sniffles”, so state and local authorities—and the country’s vast slums—have taken matters into their own hands. The physical and mental needs of the world’s locked-down populations are driving a boom in online wellness. And we look back on the life of the French chef who revolutionised English fine dining.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.

To keep track of the spread of covid-19, some governments are turning to digital surveillance, using mobile-phone apps and data networks. We ask whether this will work—and examine the threat to privacy posed by a digital panopticon. Britain’s Labour Party has a new leader. We ask in which direction Sir Keir Starmer will lead the opposition. And we report on the northern hemisphere’s winter that wasn’t. 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.

The coronavirus pandemic has sent America’s mighty jobs machine into screeching reverse. How bad might the labour market get? Covid-19 is just one reason why Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, is finding 2020 to be a much harder year than he’d hoped. And we report on the fight to save a 44,000-year-old cave painting.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.

Cruise ships had been enjoying a golden era—until covid-19 came along. The pandemic has been a catastrophe for the industry. Stranded passengers have taken ill and even died, ships have been banned from ports, and revenue has collapsed. But lawmakers are unlikely to bail it out. In Sweden, daily life has been pretty normal, despite the coronavirus, but can that continue? And we report on Dutch disease—the language’s unusual affinity for poxy swear words.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.

The Trump administration makes Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro an offer he seems sure to refuse: an end to sanctions in return for power-sharing and elections. The coronavirus pandemic has crushed oil prices at the same time a price war is raging: the industry has never seen anything like it. And as videoconferencing brings your workmates into your home, we suggest how to create the right impression. 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.

New York is at the centre of America’s—and the world’s—coronavirus crisis. The metropolis has also been caught in a damaging three-way political division, involving three of its native sons. In the Middle East and north Africa, governments have imposed unusually harsh covid-19 crackdowns, but will the authoritarians let up afterwards? And we report on a golden age for African art.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.

Japan has reported a relatively low number of coronavirus cases. But concern is growing. The Olympics have at last been postponed and infections are on the rise. Uganda’s president faces a challenge from a pop star—and has his own backing group. And turtles have a deadly appetite for plastic. To them, it may smell like lunch. 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.

Outbreaks among inmates are all but inevitable. Efforts at prison reform that were already under way will get a boost, because now they will save lives. We examine the international variation in what are considered “essential industries” and “key workers”. And, what our editors and correspondents are doing to pass the time in lockdown. 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.

Governments across the continent have had a head start, but that will not address some worrying systemic problems many of them share. Ventilators are now a bottleneck in critical covid-19 care; we ask how many there are, and whether many more would help matters. And voting closes for the enthusiasts nominating a national lichen for Canada. 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.

As American lawmakers reach a deal on the country’s largest-ever rescue package, we examine how planners are balancing the health of their citizens and that of their economies. China’s lockdown came in the midst of the spring planting season; what can other countries learn about how to keep food flowing? And the increasingly perilous lives of crocodile hunters in the Congo River basin. 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.

The world’s scientists are swiftly identifying drugs that may help with the pandemic, and setting out on the long road toward a vaccine. Ethiopia’s prime minister has been hailed as a peacemaker—so why is a violent crackdown plaguing the country’s most populous state? And a look at the epidemiology hidden in Instagram posts. 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.

The novel coronavirus is spreading around the world, but its grip on Europe is curiously tight; we ask why, and what to expect next. We pay a visit to Colombia, which is suffering a refugee crisis it did not create and fighting a drug war it cannot win. And all those cancelled sporting events are costly in more than just monetary terms. 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.

Schools are closing down as covid-19 measures take hold; we look into the social, economic and educational costs for a world thrust into distance learning and homeschooling. Wild market swings have regulators worldwide wondering whether to shut down stock exchanges altogether. And remembering the backgammon genius known only as Falafel. 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.

Prior tensions have blunted the chances for a co-ordinated response to covid-19—and both countries are fighting a grand ideological battle alongside an epidemiological one. India has so far reported few covid-19 cases; we explore the systemic concerns that would make a large outbreak there staggeringly deadly. And, a failed attempt to tame the notorious traffic of Lagos. 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.

Borders are closing; suggestions to stay home are becoming mandates. We examine how the national responses to covid-19 have varied, and how they may be converging. In America, Joe Biden cemented his lead in the race for Democrats’ presidential contender. But the bigger question is how the pandemic will affect elections. And Japan’s government fights to protect the country’s famed Wagyu beef. 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.

He has four weeks to form a government, but Binyamin Netanyahu’s rival Benny Gantz is likely to find that the battle lines from three inconclusive elections haven’t moved. As Western factories shift gears to help in the coronavirus response, we ask what they could learn from China’s distillers. And a look back on the economic upheavals wrought by past pandemics. 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.

Travel restrictions that are proliferating worldwide may represent an existential threat to many airlines. How long the pandemic lasts will determine how much the aviation industry is reshaped by it. We ask why the Philippines’ politics is so much more socially conservative than its populace. And the self-defence measures being developed for delivery drones. 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.

A resetting of the clock on the Russian leader’s tenure will almost certainly pass into law. That sets up a standoff with a public swiftly losing faith in him. The incentives around sick days are all wrong; a change in attitudes could keep everyone safer. And why it is that, for many contestants on “The Price is Right”, the price is wrong. 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.

Britain’s central bank made an emergency cut and released a budget with a whopping £30bn ($38bn) stimulus; we discuss what countries are doing, or should be, to cushion economies against the pandemic. After decades of false starts, laser-based weapons will soon shine on the battlefield. And a look at the legacy and philosophy of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” as it turns 42.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.