Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
The wrath of Khan: Pakistan’s turbulent spring
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pakistan’s government faces an unpleasant choice between doing what’s popular and what is econom...
After the party, the hangover: Boris survives, barely
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson, Britain’s prime minister, narrowly survived a no-confidence vote last night. As he ...
A farewell to arms control? Ukraine and nuclear weapons
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For almost 80 years, the world has refrained from using or, for the most part, even seriously ponder...
Hide, park: Russian money in London
03 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Britain’s capital is packed with foreign capital, in particular the Russian kind. We ask what it i...
Press clipping: Ethiopia’s media crackdown
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has expelled our correspondent. Abiy’s proxies at home...
The diet is cast: a coming food catastrophe
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
War and blockades in Ukraine are the largest but far from the only problems squeezing the global foo...
Bear traps: Russia’s push in eastern Ukraine
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russian forces are having some successes in eastern Ukraine; our defence editor discusses the situat...
Base motives? China in the Pacific
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The country has just one foreign military base, but there are fears it wants to dot the Pacific regi...
Take the first left? Colombia’s election
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
POLLS SUGGEST // Polls suggest the country might get its first-ever leftist leader. Whatever the out...
Let’s get the parties charted: the Partygate report
26 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A long-awaited inquiry into lockdown gatherings on Boris Johnson’s watch reveals lurid details of ...
Active shooters, inactive politics: America’s latest school massacre
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After 19 children and two adults were gunned down in Texas, we ask why gun laws are actually looseni...
The city that never slips: Beijing and covid
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
China’s Communist Party leaders have painted themselves into a corner: they cannot be seen to put ...
Labor’s day: Australia’s election
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony Albanese, the first Labor prime minister in a decade, has pledged to do far more on climate ...
Straight out of Orwell: Russia’s propaganda machine
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Kremlin’s propaganda machine ensures that Russians have a much different view of the war in Uk...
Pestilent peninsula: covid in North Korea
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
North Korea’s zero-covid strategy appears to have failed. The country has officially acknowledged ...
It’s his party: American primaries
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Five American states held primary elections yesterday. The most important were in Pennsylvania, wher...
Luna landing: Crypto chaos
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Stablecoins are essential to the financial plumbing of the cryptocurrency world. They’re pegged to...
Not stuck in neutral: Sweden, Finland and NATO
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Neither Finland nor Sweden ever joined NATO, the Western military alliance formed in 1949: Finland f...
Arm Scandi: Britain’s mutual-defence pact
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s collective-defence deal with Swedish and Finnish leaders represents...
Entrenched: stalemate in Ukraine’s east
12 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russia’s bid to conquer the eastern region of Donbas is proceeding at a snail’s pace. All over U...
It’s a family affair: Sri Lanka’s protests turn deadly
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Demonstrations that eventually ousted the prime minister have cost lives, but the protest mood is no...
Out like a Lam: Hong Kong’s new leader
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
John Lee, the successor to Chief Executive Carrie Lam, won by a predictable landslide: he is just th...
Under-armed sweat: America’s “arsenal of democracy”
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
America accounts for the lion’s share of weaponry sent to Ukraine. But that may leave it short of ...
The son shines: elections in the Philippines
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Voters in the Philippines choose a new president on Monday. The likely winner is a scion of one of t...
Powell’s points presentation: the Fed raises rates
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Prices in America are rising faster than at any time in the past 40 years. In response, the Federal ...
Stormont weather: elections in Northern Ireland
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Voters in the UK head to the polls for local elections tomorrow. In Northern Ireland, a party that d...
Roe-ing away: Abortion rights in America
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A leaked draft opinion shows America’s Supreme Court is ready to let states outlaw abortion. We ex...
ROC and a hard place: Taiwan’s lessons from Ukraine
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Much like Ukraine, Taiwan has a well-armed neighbour that does not think it exists as a state: China...
General disarray: Russia’s military failures
29 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s armed forces were believed to be lean, modern and fightin...
Pipe down: Russia cuts gas to Poland and Bulgaria
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By shutting off gas to Poland and Bulgaria, Russia has made an aggressive move that may draw yet mor...
Strong suits: climate litigation
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Activists are tired of waiting for governments and companies to act on climate change. So increasing...
A bird in the hand: Elon Musk buys Twitter
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The world’s richest man now has the keys to one of the most influential social-media platforms. Ca...
Le Pen pusher: Macron wins again
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Emmanuel Macron’s re-election is historic and, for many, a relief. But, as we discuss in the final...
Rwanda-on-Thames: Britain’s asylum proposal
22 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
BRITAIN’S GOVERNMENT has proposed sending asylum-seekers to Rwanda. The plan has been widely criti...
Knocking on hell’s Dvornikov: the battle for Donbas
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has entered a new phase, and its forces in Ukraine have a new command...
Sana’a sunrise: A ceasefire in Yemen
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In Yemen, fighting between Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition has led to hundreds of thousands ...
In neither camp: Neutrality and war
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
ONE-THIRD of the world’s population lives in countries backing neither Russia nor Ukraine. The Bid...
Running for cover: our Ukraine-refugees special
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The war in Ukraine has created the greatest flux of refugees in Europe since the second world war. W...
Girls interrupted: Afghanistan
15 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When the Taliban resumed power, there were hopes that women might not be as excluded, repressed and ...
Food haul: aid trickles into Tigray
14 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A ceasefire agreed weeks ago should have mitigated the suffering of starving Ethiopians caught up in...
Just fine: Boris Johnson and “partygate”
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Police have served Britain’s prime minister, among others, with a fine for breaching the lockdown ...
A stretch and a run: Brazil’s ex-president returns
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva left office with a sky-high approval rating, having raised millions from ...
Le Pen is mightier than before: France’s election
11 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen of the nationalist-populist National Rally party will ad...
Laïcité, extrémité, fragilité: our French-election series in full
09 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The first round of the presidential election is on Sunday and our first-ever series has been followi...
Gota the trouble: Sri Lanka’s crises
08 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Through ineptitude and bad timing, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa—known as Gota—has driven his cou...
Nasty, brutish and long? The war’s next stage
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russian troops have withdrawn from suburban Kyiv to focus on the eastern Donbas region. With Western...
Zero's intolerance: Shanghai’s messy lockdown
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
China’s zero-covid policy is being stretched to breaking point as the virus makes its way through ...
Bodies in the streets: Russian atrocities
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our correspondent reports from towns around Kyiv, where Russian forces appear to have committed war ...
No-confidence interval: Pakistan’s embattled PM
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Prime Minister Imran Khan seems to be trying everything to avoid an ouster. The powerful military br...
All opposed, say nothing: Hungary’s election
01 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Viktor Orban’s eight-year assault on the country’s institutions will help his bid for re-electio...
Oil and vodka: Russia’s resilient economy
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Western businesses pulled out and governments imposed punishing sancti...
Capital outflow: Russia changes tack
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It appears that Russian forces are withdrawing from Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, to focus on the easte...
Talk in Turkey: Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Negotiators are again meeting face-to-face, this time in Istanbul. There is little hope of reaching ...
In the war room: our exclusive visit to Zelensky’s “fortress”
28 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our editors traverse layers of security to reach the situation room where Ukraine’s president is s...
Under fire: Life in Kharkiv
25 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For the past month, one of our editors has spoken daily with a young man in Kharkiv. Today he discus...
What little remains: The destruction of Mariupol
24 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For weeks, Russian forces have besieged the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Up to 90% of its struct...
Vlad the in-jailer: Alexei Navalny sentenced
23 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Alexei Navalny returned to Russia after being poisoned in an assassination attempt that many believe...
Russian to judgment: Putin accused of war crimes
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Biden, among others, has called Vladimir Putin “a war criminal.” International tribunals hav...
Blood will out: Russian mercenaries
21 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russian forces advancing on Kyiv have stalled. Ukraine has refused the demand to surrender Mariupol....
Mention the war: Germany awakes
18 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, Germany was doctrinally pacifist: a legacy left over from the second world war. Russia’...
Shock and war: global prices rise
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed global prices, which were already climbing, even higher. A...
Bear hug? China’s take on Ukraine
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
China appears content to let the carnage continue in Ukraine, anticipating a win for Vladimir Putin....
Capital accounts: on the ground in Kyiv
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our correspondent finds Ukraine's capital already accustomed to an eerie war footing. People are get...
Abject lesson: the siege of Mariupol
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
To the west, strikes near Poland have rattled NATO partners. But look to the south-east to see what ...
Defog of war: your questions answered
11 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We tackle some of the many questions on the war in Ukraine that listeners sent in this week—why no...
A non-member states: Finland’s ex-PM on NATO
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Perched at Russia’s north-western corner, the country has plenty of history dealing with neighbour...
Strikes, fear: an update from Kharkiv
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After failing to take Ukraine’s second city, Russian forces continue to pummel it with air, artill...
War stories: the view from Russia
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With the propaganda machine at fever pitch, not everyone in Russia agrees on—much less agrees with...
Bear trapped: the sanctions on Russia
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The West’s co-ordinated financial weaponry is starting to bite, opening a new age of economic conf...
Rushing from Russians: Ukraine’s refugees
04 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered a refugee crisis in Europe. More than a million people ...
Climate of fear: the IPCC’s new report
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A new report shows that climate change is already causing widespread, tangible damage, and argues th...
All that Xi wants: China’s Ukraine dilemma
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After backing Russia’s grievances against NATO, China now finds itself treading a very fine line o...
Square in their sights: Kharkiv under siege
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The levelling of Freedom Square in Ukraine’s second city is powerfully symbolic. One resident has ...
The battlefield broadens: Ukraine resists
28 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On the ground, Ukrainian resistance is holding—so far—and Vladimir Putin’s nuclear posturing r...
Capital offence: the battle for Ukraine
25 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As promised, Ukraine’s forces are fighting back tenaciously against a Russian invasion on multiple...
It begins: Russia invades Ukraine
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ukrainians woke to the sound of sirens. Volleys of cruise missiles, artillery, widespread reports of...
Given choice: Colombia’s abortion-law change
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In little more than a year, three of Latin America’s four most populous countries have expanded ac...
Putting his first boot forward: Russian troops move
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
President Vladimir Putin has declared the independence of the two Ukrainian provinces of Donbas—an...
Trial run: genocide claims against Myanmar
21 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Gambia’s first-of-its-kind case at the International Court of Justice might bring a rebuke and...
On the brinkmanship: a special episode on Ukraine and Russia
18 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We unpick the week’s torrent of headlines; an invasion may yet come but either way President Vladi...
Sharpest tools, in a box: miniature vaccine factories
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
BioNTech, the German firm behind the first licensed coronavirus jab, reveals its attempts to stuff i...
Judge, jury and executive: another power-grab in Tunisia
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last summer President Kais Saied nobbled the legislature; now he has abolished the judiciary. We ask...
Yen here before: Japan’s “new capitalism”
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s figures showing the first annual economic growth in three years may seem promising. But th...
Not trucking around: Canada’s protests spread
14 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It has become much more than a fight against proof-of-vaccination strictures. The anti-government mo...
Withdrawal symptoms: Afghanistan goes hungry
11 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since American forces left, pessimism has skyrocketed—and with good reason. Starvation is driving ...
Which way UP: India’s bellwether election
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The state-legislature poll in Uttar Pradesh is in effect a vote on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ...
The quiet man of Europe: Olaf Scholz
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
So far Germany’s new chancellor has been all but invisible at home and on the international stage....
FAANGer danger: big tech takes a beating
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For years, the big tech firms Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google were seen as a colle...
Fission creep: Iran nuclear talks resume
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After protracted negotiations, at last a conclusion appears nigh—but depending on whom you ask, a ...
Skin in the Games: Beijing’s nervy Olympics
04 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our correspondent describes the fraught effort to attend the opening ceremony. It is a pageant highl...
A model result: our French-election series begins
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the first instalment of the series, we unveil our forecast model and visit one of the quiet subur...
Action pact: NATO’s Ukraine role
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our correspondent speaks with Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary-general, who says the alliance’...
Do as I say, except at my dos: Boris Johnson’s parties
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A long-awaited report confirms rumours that have consumed Boris Johnson’s premiership. He may be w...
Sunshine statement: Ron DeSantis’s Florida
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Talk of a presidential run for the governor is growing. We examine the state’s rightward lurch as ...
Insecurities in securities: why markets are sliding
28 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Huge swings and downward trends: markets are forward-looking, and it is clear they do not see much t...
On the edge of his seat: Stephen Breyer
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The departure of one of America’s Supreme Court justices is an opportunity for President Joe Biden...
Twist of faith: religious hatred in India
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As the country celebrates its secular constitution, we examine the rising bigotry of Hindu nationali...
What’s it good for? Putin’s Ukraine calculus
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
More Russian troops piling in. Embassy staff pulling out. American forces on alert and sober diploma...
Prime mover? Mario Draghi and the Italian presidency
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s secretive votes will determine the next president and the current prime minister looks...
Unsustainable envelopment goals: China’s zero-covid fight
21 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Omicron variant is destined to test the limits of a policy that has already proved costly: consu...