The Economist: The week ahead

President Joe Biden’s riposte to the bellicose speech of his counterpart Vladimir Putin was a study in contrast. We examine their views on Ukraine and ask how a lasting peace could be secured. We speak with an exiled Chinese blogger trying to get the truth about that conflict into his homeland. And why the young are leaving Japan to seek greater fortunes abroad.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.

Particulate matter is shortening lives and hobbling economies in the region. We ask how policy changes and international collaboration could mitigate the suffering as the pollution spreads. Our correspondent meets with two Russian men who, fearing being drafted, made a hair-raising journey by dinghy from their homeland’s far east. And why Seventh Day Adventists seem to live longer lives. 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.

The country’s war-torn north-west has been getting far less aid than it needs in the earthquakes’ aftermath. We investigate the dilemma of lifting long-running international sanctions. Housing prices are slipping across the rich world, but South Korea’s unusual property market makes that slide far more perilous. And what three decades’-worth of data reveal about crafting a pop hit.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.

Charitable giving is being disrupted by the same youthful tech folk who got rich disrupting other sectors: these days it is fast, data-driven and bureaucracy-light. We meet a new class of investors who trade shares from behind bars. And reflecting on the life of Maya Widmaier-Picasso, who spent her childhood painting alongside her father, becoming an expert on his work.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.

Nicola Sturgeon is bowing out after shaping a party that has defined itself on the notion of Scottish independence. What now for Scotland and for Britain more broadly? Our correspondent says that France’s protests against pension reform are about far more than the stereotype of being workshy. And the surprising information spies could gather from your home’s Wi-Fi router.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.

Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina and UN ambassador, has declared her 2024 presidential candidacy. We assess her chances and survey the field. Intimidation and financial pressure are quashing journalism in the Arab world. And a new film tenderly imagines what it means to be a donkey.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.

The petrostates of the Gulf are modernising their economies, growing more tolerant and liberalising their social contracts as they prepare for a world run on fewer hydrocarbons—but who will be left behind? A Chinese maker of electric vehicles prepares to steal a march on Tesla. And a look at Britain’s newest islands reveals they are made of wet wipes.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.

Our correspondent visits town after devastated town. Poorly enforced building codes are one clear factor in the rising death toll—and a political backlash looms. Britain’s productivity problem is at least partly a problem with bad managers; we look at the substantial gains to be had from better-run companies. And the valuable data to come from an ambitious, national-scale sex survey.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.

Young voters are fired up and the electoral system has been strengthened, but Nigeria’s challenges are considerable. We explore why this month’s vote offers an opportunity to turn the country around. Our correspondent says that China’s economic reopening may have limited effects outside China. And why some psychotherapists object to how films and TV shows portray their work.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.

America’s Congress may be gridlocked, but its state legislatures certainly aren’t. The laws they’ll pass this year will probably impact more people more directly than anything Congress does, with just a fraction of the public attention. Why things are looking up for Meta. And reflecting on the legacy and achievements of Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former president.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.

The race for AI supremacy is on. Microsoft, Google, Baidu and a host of smaller firms are all placing bets on the technology’s future. Which version emerges on top may well determine how people find information online for decades to come. Luxury offices are a bright spot in the commercial real-estate doldrums. And why inflation is stalking Europe’s sweet treats.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.

Amid unthinkable destruction and loss of life, we examine the factors that will frustrate relief efforts following earthquakes in an already troubled region. As President Joe Biden prepares to welcome a new chief of staff, we speak with the author who literally wrote the book on America’s second-most-powerful government job. And Argentina’s newest musical export repurposes an American genre born three decades 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.

American fighters shot down a balloon that China says was monitoring the weather, but America insists was spying. It was a minor incident, but it highlights the relationship of a great-power rivalry with inadequate guardrails. Our correspondent visits a market in Mumbai to see what might be lost as India’s economy formalises.  And some surprising—and worrying—data puncturing the myth about the skinny French.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.

As part of The Economist’s new series on the remaking of the country's economy, our correspondent looks at the Biden administration’s audacious industrial plans. Russia’s media outlets have been relentlessly squeezed, so many have set up newsrooms in exile; we examine the rise of “offshore journalism”. And reflecting on the life of Gina Lollobrigida, a remarkable, irrepressible, impenitent Italian actress.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.

The country remains riven by unrest since the “self-coup” and subsequent arrest of its president in December; only an early election might bring a return to calm. Our correspondent goes shopping to discover the spending habits of Generation Z and millennials. And examining the work of Tom Lehrer, a mathematician who was an unlikely midwife at the birth of modern satire.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.

The Adani Group, one of India’s biggest conglomerates, has come under fire from a tiny American research firm. A successful secondary share sale amid a rout in the markets leaves many questions—and proves revealing about India Inc. Our correspondent explains why Mexico is so well-placed to navigate the electric-vehicle transition. And the unlikely rise of MAGA rap artists.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.

Fixing the complex, creaking pension system remains central to President Emmanuel Macron’s agenda of reforms. But leaving it alone is central to French identity—so workers are striking, again, in huge numbers. Our correspondent lays out why 2023’s first earnings season is so gloomy. And America is providing more legal protections for polyamorous “throuples”.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.

The response to the death of the 29-year-old has differed from that of previous cases of police killings; we ask what the tragedy indicates about how America deals with police violence. Our correspondent says a lawmaker’s murder in Afghanistan highlights the misery of women under the Taliban. And why a decades-old model of animal and human learning is under fire. 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.

South Africa’s infrastructure—its ports, railways and power grid—are struggling and poorly managed. Ordinary South Africans are increasingly fed up. We profile Russia’s new military commander in Ukraine. And our obituaries editor remembers one of Britain’s finest rural writers.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.

Israel’s right-wing coalition government has the country’s supreme court in its sights. Their proposal to effectively subjugate its independence to the legislature has sparked protests and stirred concern for the country’s democracy. Our correspondent reports from a newly reopened Shanghai. And how gas stoves became the latest battleground in America’s endless culture wars.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.