The Intelligence from The Economist

The Economist
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Nov 18, 2021 • 22min

Georgia undermined: protests and a hunger strike

Mikheil Saakashvili, a former president, is seven weeks into a hunger strike and protests supporting him are proliferating. We ask where the country is headed. China’s state-sponsored industrial espionage is growing more overt and more organised—and little can be done to stop it. And how to figure out the past tense of verbs like “green-light” and “gaslight”.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 17, 2021 • 20min

Defrost setting: the Xi-Biden summit

The meeting between superpower presidents was cordial and careful, but it will take far more than a video call to smooth such frosty relations. Europe once had an enviable international rail network—one it must revive if the bloc is to meet its climate targets. And the costly and sometimes dangerous lengths South Koreans are going to for flattering photographs.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 16, 2021 • 20min

White flagged: Cuba’s muted protests

White roses, white sheets hung from homes, even white t-shirts: a movement’s symbolic colour was not much in evidence after officials quashed national protests. Part of Saudi Arabia’s plan to wean its economy off oil is to entice lots of tourists; we ask how likely that is to work. And gut bugs beget a bigger bounty of blackcurrant berries.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 15, 2021 • 20min

Peronists’ peril: Argentina’s elections

The ruling party got a pasting at the polls, owing in part to a reeling economy. We ask what the opposition’s gains mean for the country. The practice of assisted dying is being enshrined in law the world over; we examine the ethical dimensions of its spread. And why electric vehicles failed to keep their market dominance a century ago.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 12, 2021 • 20min

The heat is on: COP26’s final hours

The climate summit in Glasgow is in its last official day, but looks sure to overrun as negotiators thrash out an agreement. When the talking’s over, what will count as success? The rise of film franchises and streaming is taking the shine off Hollywood’s top stars. And we hatch a tale of unusual births among North America’s biggest birds.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 11, 2021 • 20min

Putin’s defiers: repression in Russia

As the economy has deteriorated and the internet has bypassed television, persecution of opponents has become the president’s main tool of political control. Even the pandemic has been harnessed to silence dissent. An Economist film reports on the young women standing up to Vladimir Putin. And in China, there’s a more subdued background to the Singles’ Day online shopping splurge. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 10, 2021 • 21min

Trouble at the border: Belarus and the EU

Around 2,000 people from the Middle East are at the European Union’s eastern frontier. Alexander Lukashenko, the autocratic Belarusian president, promised them passage to the EU. They are pawns in a long dispute and their plight is bleak. Tension is mounting in north Africa, between Algeria and Morocco. And who said words were cheap? The cost of newsprint is soaring. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 9, 2021 • 21min

Dream on: Biden and social mobility

Americans born at the bottom of the economic ladder find it harder than past generations—or their peers abroad—to climb to the top. The president has plans to change that. But he’s already having to scale them back. Concrete may be a super-spouter of carbon dioxide, but it can go green. And a new style of book review is flourishing on TikTok Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 8, 2021 • 20min

Control the past: rewriting Chinese history

Over four days in Beijing, the political and military elite are meeting to recast the past. The revised version will depict Xi Jinping as a giant of the stature of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping—and justify his continued rule. More Africans are migrating, mostly within their own continent. And Hollywood is examining its navel. It doesn’t like what it finds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 5, 2021 • 22min

Tigrayans turn the tables: Ethiopia’s war

Few imagined when Ethiopia’s civil war began a year ago that the capital, Addis Ababa, would come under threat from Tigrayan rebels. We explain why the tide has turned. At this time of year, India’s deadliest environmental problem—its toxic air—is at its worst. And the Chinese Comminust Party is cracking down on burning gifts for the dead.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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