Intro

Is the “Trump Effect” working on the US economy? New figures show 119,000 jobs were added in September, sharply beating expectations after a slow summer. We’ll look at what’s driving the pickup. Also, novelists are increasingly worried that AI could replace them. Andrew Peach asks one writer whether a computer could ever produce a book as good as a human. And how seafood has become a weapon in the latest row between China and Japan.

Photo by WILL OLIVER/EPA/Shutterstock A member of the public passes the US Department of Labour in Washington DC, USA, 05 September 2025.