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The Intelligence from The Economist

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Apr 17, 2020 • 23min

Gross domestic plummet: China’s historic contraction

The covid-19 pandemic has caused the country’s first GDP dip in more than four decades. What struggles still lie ahead for the world’s second-largest economy? Decisive action to help the homeless amid the crisis offers hope for what comes after it. And a look back at the life of Joseph Lowery, a firebrand preacher and rhyming civil-rights activist. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer
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Apr 16, 2020 • 23min

This sequestered isle: Britain’s covid-19 response

The prime minister is still convalescing; Parliament is still finding ways to meet virtually. Meanwhile questions are growing about how the government has handled the pandemic. In China authorities are promoting unproven traditional remedies to treat covid-19—treatments they would love to export. And the role that animals play in making wildfires worse, and in preventing them. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer
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Apr 15, 2020 • 20min

The gloves are on: South Koreans vote

Today’s legislative elections in South Korea are the world’s first to take place amid the covid-19 crisis. How have masked campaigners managed, and how are masked voters likely to respond? “Contact tracing” is crucial in following the coronavirus’s progression; we look into nascent technological approaches to the task. And a look at whether the pandemic will give way to a baby boom.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer
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Apr 14, 2020 • 24min

Dis-Kurti-ous: intrigues in Kosovo

We speak to Albin Kurti, a reformist prime minister, after his ouster—and ask how American officials may have played a role in his downfall. Gloomy forecasts will dominate this week’s virtual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, with more countries than ever begging for financial help. And the connection between Instagram, Indonesian lovers and conservative Islam.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer
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Apr 13, 2020 • 22min

Opening arguments: Europe’s cautious restart

This week, some European countries are beginning to switch their economies back on, but leaders face a grim trade-off between economic health and public health. Meanwhile, bids to finance Europe’s fiscal-stimulus programmes re-ignite old debates on financial interdependence. And why a bad-boy Belgian is making chocolate in Congo.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer
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Apr 10, 2020 • 26min

The fascists and the furious: remembering the 43 Group

Many have forgotten that, even after the second world war, a fascist movement held sway in Britain. Our culture editor recounts the tale of the group that quashed it. Leonora Carrington was an adventurous and pioneering Surrealist artist; our correspondent explores deepest Mexico to discover what inspired her. And the wizard industry that is casting a spell over Myanmar. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer
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Apr 9, 2020 • 23min

What Viktor’s spoiled: ten years of Orban

Under Hungary’s shape-shifting prime minister the country has essentially become a dictatorship—and it seems there is little the European Union can do about it. We examine the serious mental-health effects the covid-19 crisis is having—and will have in the future. And Japan’s #KuToo movement aims to reform some seriously sexist dress codes at work. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer
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Apr 8, 2020 • 24min

Movement at the epicentre: Wuhan’s lockdown lifts

People are spilling from the Chinese metropolis where the global outbreak took hold. But controls actually remain tight, and authorities’ attempts to spin pandemic into propaganda are not quite working. Mozambique’s rising violence threatens what could be Africa’s largest-ever energy project, in a region that has until now escaped widespread jihadism. And “geomythologists” may have uncovered humans’ oldest tale yet. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer
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Apr 7, 2020 • 23min

States’ evidence: Brazil’s messy covid-19 response

President Jair Bolsonaro still dismisses the disease as “just the sniffles”, so state and local authorities—and the country’s vast slums—have taken matters into their own hands. The physical and mental needs of the world’s locked-down populations are driving a boom in online wellness. And we look back on the life of the French chef who revolutionised English fine dining.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer
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Apr 6, 2020 • 24min

An app for that: covid surveillance

To keep track of the spread of covid-19, some governments are turning to digital surveillance, using mobile-phone apps and data networks. We ask whether this will work—and examine the threat to privacy posed by a digital panopticon. Britain’s Labour Party has a new leader. We ask in which direction Sir Keir Starmer will lead the opposition. And we report on the northern hemisphere’s winter that wasn’t. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer

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