Human Leambois in China

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The show has been on the air continuously since the 1970s. It's broadcast across all state channels at the same time around the country. anchors are very well scrubbed, very well-behaved young people with kind of hairspray. Allegedly they get fined if they make a mistake in mispronouncing a Chinese character. Their job these days then is essentially to deliberately overlook the country's biggest story.

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