The Economist Radio (All audio)

China’s parliament voted today to draft legislation that would utterly undermine the territory’s independence. What now for protesters, for Western powers, for the region’s foreign firms? The pandemic has quashed some crimes but has also created new nefarious opportunities. And it may be closing time for the golden age of the booze business.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Donald Trump’s failures of leadership have compounded the crisis. But America’s health-care and preparedness systems have problems that predate him. South Korea marks the 40th anniversary of a massacre that remains politically divisive even now. And, today’s space-launch plan in America blazes a trail for a new, commercial space industry. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic has caused a shift in how drug firms are viewed: their capacity for big-money innovation will give them immunity in the crisis. Widespread homeworking will have broad consequences, from commercial-property values to urban demographics. And a seemingly innocuous Hong Kong history exam is a window into the territory’s increasingly fraught politics. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emissions have plummeted as the pandemic slowed the world. It could be a mere blip—but it is an unprecedented opportunity for a greener, more sustainable economy. Serving in America’s armed forces is a long-established path to citizenship, but that path is narrowing. And we ask how sport will emerge from the pandemic, even if the stands stay empty. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Legislation signalled at the annual meeting undermines the “one country, two systems” approach to Hong Kong’s rule—and may inflame rather than quell protests. Argentina finds itself at the doorstep of default once again; the pandemic is sharpening the hardship ahead. And remembering the woman who expanded Irish poetry with the gloriously quotidian. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A central bank struggling for independence, dwindling foreign reserves to prop up the currency and a president who just hates rates: Turkey’s economy looked shaky even before covid-19. Online dating carries on apace amid lockdowns, and it seems people are forging more emotionally intimate bonds. And the risk that humans might pass the coronavirus to their primate cousins.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rhetoric and posturing at the World Health Organisation’s annual assembly reveal an agency under geopolitical stresses just when global co-operation is needed most. Illegal logging has become an existential threat for the Amazon; under the cover of covid-19, a new bill in Brazil could hasten its decline. And reflections on the vast musical legacy of Kraftwerk’s Florian Schneider.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Extremists are cropping up at protests and expanding their reach online. They see the pandemic as proof of their worldview, and as an opportunity to spread their messages. After systematically ignoring mental-health concerns for decades, China’s authorities are at last tackling the issue—somewhat. And lockdowns prove that Britain is a nation of gardeners. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Which firms will fly above the covid-19 clouds? Big, low-cost carriers with strong finances seem likeliest, but either way consolidation is inevitable. The Indian state of Kerala seems to be handling its outbreak far better than others; blame an unassuming but wildly popular health minister. And whether New York’s beloved Irish pubs will craic on past the pandemic.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What started as a public-health crisis is developing into an existential one. The most fundamental question to be addressed is: what is the European Union for? Hopes of helpful change by El Salvador’s millennial president are dimming as he becomes increasingly dictatorial. And why so many Indonesians are draping themselves in the sun.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After three elections and 16 months, the unity government between sworn rivals Binyamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz gets to work tonight. Can it withstand the coming political storms? Frenetic research into the coronavirus is upending some long-established ways of disseminating science, perhaps for good. And we examine the merits of outlawing an awkward job interview question. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radioofferEditor's note: After publication, the swearing in of Israel's new government was postponed until Sunday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a series of government missteps, people in Britain—and, increasingly, outside it—are lambasting the covid-19 response. That has great reputational costs. In a story suited to a television drama, a Filipino network popular with the people but critical of the president has been forced off the air. And our columnist finds surprising modern resonance in a 1950s Argentinian novel. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The vast network moving food from farm to fork has shifted gears mightily in response to covid-19. But some will still go hungry; governments must resist the urge to crimp exports. Inflation statistics are often tallied in store aisles and at restaurant tables; how to gather those data now? And why being a warm-up act is cold comfort for many bands. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pandemic overshadowed a striking spate of uprisings around the world. In Lebanon economic conditions have only worsened since—and the protesters are back. A look at urban architecture reveals how past diseases have shaped the world’s cities; we ask how much covid-19 will leave its mark. And, can Corona beer, Latin America’s first global brand, escape its associations with the coronavirus?  For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can stockmarkets be so healthy when many businesses are so unwell? We look at the many risks that are clearly not priced in. China’s documentary-makers are having to find clever ways to get past censors—which is why one famed filmmaker is just giving his work away online. And remembering a legendary rock-climber who always wanted to find a new way up.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Russia’s leader marks two decades in power, he faces almighty headwinds—not only covid-19 but also cut-price oil and an increasingly leery citizenry. The pandemic is hitting different tech firms in different ways but on balance it seems to be further consolidating the power of the big ones. And the surprisingly upbeat music that comes about during downturns.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many were shocked when armed groups heeded a call for a global ceasefire; given a squabble at the UN it would now be shocking if those pockets of peace continue to hold. We examine a century-old technique as a possible treatment for covid-19. And a family feud involving Britain’s most-reclusive octogenarians heads to court. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many universities were on thin ice financially before the pandemic. Now, with foreign travel slumping and distancing measures the norm, a global reckoning is coming. In many Asian countries, Ramadan seems largely untouched by pandemic-protection measures; we ask why. And the vexing question of how many people live in North Macedonia.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Nigeria tentatively lifts its lockdown today, we examine the decisions African leaders face: pandemic policies may do more harm than the pandemic itself. There’s a curious dearth of smokers among covid-19’s most severe cases; that may point to a treatment. And on its 150th anniversary, a reflection on the history and the mission of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scientists may soon understand how the new coronavirus got its start; that could help head off future outbreaks. In the meantime, politicians are clouding the discussion. America and Europe are taking different approaches to keeping small businesses afloat, but it’s a struggle on both sides of the Atlantic. And tuning in to the global boom in community radio stations. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/radiooffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.