The pandemic is driving up the number of impoverished people for the first time in more than two decades. Lockdown-policy calculations are simply different in the poor world. The ill effects of China’s hydropower boom are trickling down to the tens of millions who depend on the Mekong River. And a meditation on the merits of reading others’ diaries. Additional audio from 'caquet' at Freesound.org. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer

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