The Economist: The week ahead

It is that best-of time of year. We outline the case for our country of the year, after an uncharacteristically easy nomination process. Our correspondents explain their picks for the best books of 2022. And the shortlist of the year’s best games: there are cats, Norse gods and trombones. 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.

In 2022 global inflation spiked at a rate not seen in decades. A look at the world’s very first such bout reveals eerie echoes of today’s woes—and lessons for tackling them. Our correspondent meets Indonesia’s Baduy people, for whom modernity is encroaching on strict religious and ascetic ways. And our data team finds that favourite dog breeds vary by country. Additional music courtesy of Wim van Zanten. 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.

Cows are venerated in India, but precisely how intensely often depends on politics. And being venerated does not necessarily yield a pleasant life for the creatures. Economists rarely consider how policies will affect birth rates and the yet-to-be-born; we examine the thorny topic of “population ethics”. And foreign-language phrasebooks may be in decline but they maintain huge historical value.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.

In a special episode, our Paris bureau chief witnesses the political divides that become apparent as she switches from France’s famed high-speed railways to forgotten lines. Our culture editor considers the improbably prophetic nature of the film “Titanic”. And, as the last 747 rolls off the line, our correspondent reflects on how the jet reshaped the airline industry. 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.

Waves of protest after a stolen election in 2019 came to nothing. Now, thanks to the luck of geopolitics and petro-economics, President Nicolás Maduro is increasingly back in favour. “Peanuts” blazed a trail for comic strips, but beneath the family-friendly messages were a probing examination of the human condition. And a listen to the soundtracks of the franchise’s small-screen adaptations. 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.

At the beginning of the war, editors from The Economist went to Kyiv, the first Western journalists to interview Ukraine’s president. Our Russia editor has now returned, finding a brighter capital—and a wearier leader still capable of flashes of humour. We consider the power the president has wielded through hundreds of speeches, and share his Christmas message to our listeners.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.

Elon Musk may be stepping down as chief executive, but he has already changed the firm’s fortunes—and shown that social media’s free-speech struggle is far from over. A bit of fried dough in Kenya reveals how cost-of-living concerns in Africa manifest as shrinkflation. And why members of South Korea’s pop behemoth BTS are headed into the armed forces. 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 Congressional committee probing the riot at America’s Capitol recommended that the Justice Department bring four charges against Donald Trump. But the road to indictment and prosecution of the former president is long and winding. The UN’s biodiversity summit ended with a historic but still unsatisfying agreement. And our language columnist presents his choice for word of the year.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 has been slinging missiles skyward at an alarming pace, and with ever-greater technological advancement. We ask why things are heating up, and how the West might at last cool them down. Reforms to Indonesia’s criminal code that sparked mass protests in 2019 are back; restrictions including an extramarital-sex ban look set to pass. And Wales’s booming leech-and-maggot business. 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.

A strategy approved today peels back some of the country’s constitutional pacifism; in large part that is because of its tense relationship with a hawkish China. Despite some promising reforms, violence against women remains rampant in India. And our obituaries editor looks back on the life of Britain’s last surviving Dambuster.Help us make the show better: take our listener survey at http://economist.com/intelligencesurveyFor 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 sits down with President Volodymyr Zelensky and two top military commanders—concluding that the next few months will determine the future of Ukraine. Morocco’s inspired run in the World Cup sparked much debate about its identity as an Arab country. And our co-host investigates the vanishing pleasures of American Jewish delis—over lunch, of course. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scientists have reported a long-awaited nuclear-fusion breakthrough, using lasers to ignite hydrogen-isotope fuel in a self-sustaining burn. But that marks just one step on a long, uncertain road to clean fusion energy. Same-sex marriage in America is now protected by legislation, in a compromise that could provide a template for future culture-war clashes. And the uncertain future of Darjeeling teas.Help us make the show better: take our listener survey at http://economist.com/intelligencesurveyFor 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.

A pair of crises will bedevil Europe, starting with crippling energy prices in the short term. And American protectionism threatens a longer-term dent in the continent’s green-industry ambitions. A visit to Ivory Coast’s cocoa operations reveals why balancing farmers’ welfare and market forces is so tricky. And what Britain’s street names reveal about its history and its ideals.Help us make the show better: take our listener survey at http://economist.com/intelligencesurveyFor 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.

With astonishing speed, the machinery of testing, tracing and lockdowns is being dismantled. We examine the risks that will pose to a country that is not prepared for big outbreaks. A winemaker’s lawsuit in Napa Valley reveals why many Californians believe regulators are unfriendly to business. And a clever solution to spare sharks from becoming unwanted “bycatch”. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Perhaps Pedro Castillo thought he could repeat the coup staged by his predecessor, Alberto Fujimori, in 1992. He did not, and is now behind bars. We ask how his fitful presidency fell apart so suddenly. Our correspondent explains why getting policy right around e-cigarettes is so tricky. And what the funerals of Kenya’s motorbike-taxi drivers reveal about the country. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Raids across the country netted 25 far-right extremists suspected of trying to overthrow the government. We look into what is known about a hare-brained plan to dissolve the republic and restore a king. Spates of spontaneous violence in Chicago reveal the unintended consequences of America’s organised-crime crackdown. And why Indonesia’s clerics are taking up environmentalist causes.Help us make the show better: take our listener survey at http://economist.com/intelligencesurveyFor 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.

Democrats will have a bit more breathing room in the Senate, with an outright majority provided by Reverend Raphael Warnock’s win. We ask what the state-level victory reveals about national politics. Algeria’s leadership has benefited from an oil-and-gas boom; lamentably, its long-suffering citizenry has not. And why an artificial intelligence success at the game Diplomacy is significant. 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shippers and insurers of Russian crude are now subject to a $60-per-barrel price cap. That may spark Russian production cuts—or an oil-market realignment that undercuts the cap. Senegal might be out of the World Cup, but a visit to its football-academy machinery reveals why it will continue to create star players. And why it’s harder to get deodorant in Manhattan.Help us make the show better: take our listener survey at http://economist.com/intelligencesurveyFor 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 leader says a pile of cash stashed in a sofa represents no wrongdoing. The outcome of an investigation could be the undoing of his presidency and his party. We examine Britain’s hydrogen-economy plans as representing the tradeoffs that many countries will face. And remembering Jay Pasachoff, the world’s foremost expert on and exponent of eclipses.Help us make the show better: take our listener survey at http://economist.com/intelligencesurveyFor 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.