The Morality Police in Iran

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The morality police are the Ayatollah's arm to enforce Islamic law in Iran. They have patrols which roam the streets of major cities, particularly in the summer when people tend not to want to cover up so much. In the eyes of many Iranians, they sort of terrorized the population. And millions of women in Iran do live in fear of their patrols and there's been this sort of increasing sense of defiance, anger, civil disobedience at their presence on the street.

The enforcers of the hardliners’ mores may have been disbanded; it is hard to know if the regime is bending to protesters or sowing confusion. Either way the disquiet looks set to continue. We take a look at China’s widely watched nightly news and the narrative it hopes to promulgate. And why women are suddenly flooding into America’s funeral-services industry. Help us make the show better: take our listener survey at http://economist.com/intelligencesurvey For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer