Colour visions: a German-election lookahead

2025-01-29

Rebels linked to Rwanda have occupied the city of Goma (https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/01/27/rwandas-reckless-plan-to-redraw-the-map-of-africa?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) in eastern Congo. Our correspondent reports on the horrific scenes there, and warns that Rwanda’s belligerence may be part of a bigger plan to redraw the map of Africa. How microplastics (https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/01/24/should-you-worry-about-microplastics?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) may be affecting our

2025-01-23

Nations that subjugate women tend to be more unstable and violent. Here’s why.

Video supported by @mishcon_de_reya

00:00 – Why nations that fail women, fail
00:55 – South Sudan: deadly cattle raids
02:10 – How bride price is destabilising
03:45 – Child marriage
05:29 – Polygamous unions
06:57 – Male kinship group
08:25 – Misogyny and instability
10:07 – Women in leadership
11.04 – Liberia’s women peace movement
12:46 – Women in peace negotiations

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Read why child marriage in America still exists: https://econ.st/3zf6upA

Read: to marry or not to marry – that is the question: https://econ.st/47sWhCt

Melinda French Gates: how leaders can boost women’s economic power: https://econ.st/3XrNeND

Read The

2025-01-20

Quiet skies, returned Israeli hostages, Gazans going back home: there is much to celebrate (https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/01/19/the-start-of-a-fragile-truce-in-gaza-offers-relief-and-joy?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners), for the moment. We examine the path to a more robust and lasting peace. Britain’s minimum-wage rise is good news for those who earned less—but those who earned not much more are feeling more squeezed

2025-01-09

The world’s most populous country is at the front line of climate change. Our deputy editor explores the many ways it is adapting (https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/01/02/how-14bn-indians-are-adapting-to-climate-change?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners)—because it must. Our series The World Ahead continues by examining the plausibility (https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2024/11/19/where-donald-trump-will-be-constrained-and-where-he-will-not?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) of the incoming Trump administration’s policy

2025-01-06

Israel continued to pound Gaza, even as ceasefire negotiations began in Qatar. The familiar dynamic will soon be interrupted by a new American administration. Our analysis shows that Nordic firms have markedly better fundamentals (https://www.economist.com/business/2024/12/30/why-are-nordic-companies-so-successful?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) than the European average; we examine what’s behind all that success (10:18). And our series The World Ahead considers how democracy will fare in Asia

2024-11-11

Our Russia editor, Arkady Ostrovsky, explains why Vladimir Putin will be relieved at Donald Trump’s victory—and why ordinary Russians may also see it as a lifeline.

Why Volodymyr Zelensky may welcome Donald Trump’s victory: https://econ.st/40HTwMf
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2024-11-07

The American presidential election delivered a mercifully quick and decisive outcome (https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/11/06/donald-trump-wins-big-and-fast?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners). Our data editor explains why such a tight-seeming race was likely to result in a clear-cut victory. As ADHD prevalence keeps climbing, the science suggests it should be treated not as a disorder but as a spectrum (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/10/30/adhd-should-not-be-treated-as-a-disorder?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners)

2024-11-04

Both campaigns have racked up air miles covering the swing states that will decide America’s knife-edge (https://www.economist.com/interactive/us-2024-election/prediction-model/president?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) election. We take a measure of things one day before the vote. The Turkic states of central Asia once depended heavily on Russia; now they are banding together (https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/09/26/turkey-and-central-asia-are-riding-together-again?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) to counterbalance it (10.38).