Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Heavyweight-price fight: how to beat global inflation
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shoppers across the developed world face sharply rising prices, and leaders are reaching for all man...
Drilling into the numbers: ExxonMobil
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
America’s biggest oil firm has long been recalcitrant on climate matters, so its new net-zero targ...
Through deny of a needle: vaccine mandates
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Austria is set to enact a bold policy of levying fines on the unvaccinated. We look at what is drivi...
But who’s counting? Voting rights in America
17 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Democrats will spend the week battling for a tightening of laws on casting votes; that will overshad...
His royal minus: Prince Andrew
14 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The queen’s second son has been stripped of his titles—an apparent bid to insulate the crown fro...
In vino, veritas: Boris Johnson under fire
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
While Britons followed covid strictures, the prime minister’s residence hosted boozy gatherings; w...
Not in the same class: America and schools
12 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The country’s children have missed more in-person learning than those in most of the rich world—...
Talking out his asks: Putin’s NATO demands
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s flurry of diplomacy aims to address what Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, says he...
Hope for the crest: an Omicron wave hits India
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The country has the world’s worst estimated covid-death total—but as another variant takes hold ...
Fuel to the flames: uprising in Kazakhstan
07 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What started as a fuel-price skirmish has engulfed the entire country; now Russian-led troops have b...
Capitol crimes: one year after America’s insurrection
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The insurrection’s horrors might have marked a turning point for Donald Trump’s supporters and e...
Stop the presses! Hong Kong’s media crackdown
05 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The closure of two independent, Chinese-language media outlets all but completes the push to silence...
Holmes stretch: Theranos’s founder convicted
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Holmes has been found guilty of fraud. We ask what lessons her downfall holds for Theranos...
Separate weighs: Brexit, one year on
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Trade is down, red tape is up, details of regulatory harmony are still being hammered out. Britain m...
All she wrote: our obituaries editor reflects on 2021
30 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From Prince Philip to Desmond Tutu, from an anti-racism campaigner and member of the Auschwitz Girls...
A few bright spots: our country of the year
29 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Each year The Economist selects its country of the year: a place that has improved the most. Improve...
You bet your dollar-bottomed: Erdogan’s next gambit
28 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s idea for saving the lira by backing deposits with dollars means t...
Beginning of the endemic? Omicron’s spread
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The lightning-fast spread of a seemingly milder coronavirus variant may represent a shift from pande...
No safety in numbers: security in Haiti
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The security situation is hopeless, following violent unrest and a presidential assassination—as o...
Relocation, relocation, relocation: America’s internal migration
22 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The flood of people out of cities is unlike anything since the suburbanisation of the 1950s; we exam...
All about that base: Japan’s security policy
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In recent years the country has found itself in a sharply different geopolitical environment, respon...
Back to the USSR: Russia and Ukraine
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As border tensions continue to build, our Russia editor looks back to the fall of the Soviet Union t...
Centre of no attention: Chile’s presidential election
17 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the vote’s second round has neared, the candidates have shifted, a bit, from their positions at...
Money printer slow brrr: the Fed turns down the taps
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
America’s central bank plans to pinch off its massive bond-buying programme much faster in a bid t...
In full swing: Ethiopia’s shifting civil war
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More than a year after a rebellion Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed promised to put down in weeks, the bala...
Twister of fate? Tornadoes and climate change
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Many have been quick to link the tornado catastrophe in America’s Upland South to climate change; ...
Protein shake-up: getting to know Omicron
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The latest “variant of concern” has spread far—and fast. We examine what has been learned abou...
Unsafe as houses? Evergrande and China’s big plans
10 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The wildly indebted property firm has defaulted at last. That poses big risks as China’s leadershi...
Ain’t no party: scandals hobble Britain’s government
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At two years into Boris Johnson’s premiership, yet more scandal ensures attention will still stray...
CDU later: Angela Merkel’s successor
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For the first time in 16 years Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union is out of Germany’s gover...
Off the warpath: America 80 years after Pearl Harbour
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Japanese attack set America on a course toward military hegemony; recent administrations have wa...
The first sentence of the story: Aung San Suu Kyi
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Myanmar’s ousted leader has been sentenced to four years in prison; more guilty verdicts are expec...
Taiwan thing after another: the Solomon Islands
03 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The archipelago’s diplomatic pivot to China has added an international dimension to the latest fla...
Roe blow? SCOTUS weighs abortion rights
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The conservative supermajority on America’s Supreme Court looks likely to strip back rights enshri...
The house that Jack built: Twitter’s founder departs
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jack Dorsey’s departure from the social-media giant reflects the growing primacy of engineering ta...
Centrifugal forces: Iran nuclear talks resume
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Things were all smiles after negotiations resumed—but it is difficult to see how a middle ground c...
Priority letter: the Omicron variant
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Governments’ rapid responses to a new coronavirus strain were wise. But much is still to be learne...
A cut-rate theory: Turkey’s currency spiral
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan keeps pushing his upside-down economic ideas, the currency plummet...
You put your left side in: Germany’s shake-about
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A three-way coalition has struck a deal to govern. We ask who’s who among top ministers and what’...
America’s sneezing: diagnosing global inflation
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Prices are up all over, especially in America. But whether the world’s largest economy is part of ...
New bid on the bloc: Europe and vaccine mandates
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A Delta wave is driving restrictions and restrictions are driving unrest. Vaccine mandates like that...
Left, right and no centre: Chile’s elections
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The presidential election will now go to a run-off—between candidates of political extremes. We as...
State of profusion: governments just keep growing
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Some factors that drive relentless growth in state spending are eternal; some are getting stronger. ...
Georgia undermined: protests and a hunger strike
18 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mikheil Saakashvili, a former president, is seven weeks into a hunger strike and protests supporting...
Defrost setting: the Xi-Biden summit
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The meeting between superpower presidents was cordial and careful, but it will take far more than a ...
White flagged: Cuba’s muted protests
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
White roses, white sheets hung from homes, even white t-shirts: a movement’s symbolic colour was n...
Peronists’ peril: Argentina’s elections
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The ruling party got a pasting at the polls, owing in part to a reeling economy. We ask what the opp...
The heat is on: COP26’s final hours
12 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The climate summit in Glasgow is in its last official day, but looks sure to overrun as negotiators ...
Putin’s defiers: repression in Russia
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the economy has deteriorated and the internet has bypassed television, persecution of opponents h...
Trouble at the border: Belarus and the EU
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Around 2,000 people from the Middle East are at the European Union’s eastern frontier. Alexander L...
Dream on: Biden and social mobility
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Americans born at the bottom of the economic ladder find it harder than past generations—or their ...
Control the past: rewriting Chinese history
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over four days in Beijing, the political and military elite are meeting to recast the past. The revi...
Tigrayans turn the tables: Ethiopia’s war
05 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Few imagined when Ethiopia’s civil war began a year ago that the capital, Addis Ababa, would come ...
Covering the ground: trees and COP26
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At the global climate summit, more than 100 countries have promised to end deforestation by 2030. Si...
Power failure: South Africa’s ANC stumbles
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For the first time since the end of white rule, South Africa’s governing African National Congress...
The Floyd factor: American police reform
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More than a year after George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis policeman, the city votes on an ov...
Cool heads needed: COP26 begins
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
World leaders are gathering in Glasgow for the UN climate summit. Can they agree on the path to meet...
Going critical: Iran’s nuclear programme
29 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Islamic Republic is closer than ever to a bomb’s worth of fissile material. Talks with America...
Competitive spirit: tech after the pandemic
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After a year of breakneck growth, the big five tech companies—Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook, Apple an...
Winter is coming: Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Two months after the Taliban’s victory, civilians face a looming disaster. Will Western government...
Trouble in Khartoum: Sudan’s coup
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Just as the country was moving towards democracy, its generals have overthrown the civilians—again...
You shall not pass: standardising vaccine passports
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Covid certificates are a global mess, with countries operating a patchwork of incompatible systems. ...
Flu into a rage: Brazil’s Bolsonaro inquiry
22 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Jair Bolsonaro’s early dismissal of the pandemic as “a little flu” presaged a calami...
States of emergency: Nigeria
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Criminal gangs in north-western states, jihadists in the north-east, a rebellion in the south-east: ...
Gas-trick distress: a visit to Ukraine
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Russia continues to pile pressure on the country, and will soon have the power to cut off its natura...
Meeting them where they are: a British MP’s murder
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sir David Amess was killed doing what he loved: speaking directly with voters. We examine the danger...
Chinese draggin’: growth slows
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A paltry GDP rise is down to the pandemic, power and property. We ask what growing pains President X...
Port, and a storm: sectarian violence in Lebanon
15 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The effort to investigate last year’s port explosion in Beirut has fired up political and religiou...
For watt it’s worth: energy markets’ squeeze
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A fossil-fuel scramble reveals energy markets in desperate need of a redesign. We examine what must ...
Keep your friends close: Pakistan’s shifting role
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the Taliban’s closest ally, the country bears a big responsibility for Afghanistan’s fate. We...
Exit Poles? A bold challenge to the EU
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After a court ruling in Poland that is an affront to a core European Union principle, Poles hit the ...
Zero-to-some game: Asia-Pacific covid-19 plans crack
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Where governments enacted zero-tolerance coronavirus strategies, numbers indeed stayed low. That was...
Strait of tension: Chinese jets test Taiwan
08 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
China has sent more than 100 planes to probe Taiwan’s air-defence zone. We explain why Beijing has...
How to lose friends and alienate people: Ethiopia’s civil war
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Abiy Ahmed is sworn in again as prime minister, even as continuing strife increases the country’s ...
Ticker shock: London’s wheezing stockmarket
06 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A global financial centre must move with the times, and—so far—London has not. Our correspondent...
When it goes dark: Facebook’s terrible week
05 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Yesterday’s global outage is not even the worst of it: today’s congressional testimony will exam...
Docket launch: a new term for America’s Supreme Court
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The court will be tackling just about every judicial and social flashpoint in the country during the...
The courage of two convictions: Nicolas Sarkozy
01 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The first conviction of France’s former president shocked the nation; the second confirms for citi...
Nobody’s fuel: Britain’s shortages
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From chicken to petrol, Britons are facing long queues and bare shelves. We ask about the multifario...
Suga-free Diet: Japan’s next leader
29 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The ruling party’s choice for its president—a shoo-in for prime minister—seems to overlook the...
A run for its money: funding crunches in Congress
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
America’s crash of deadlines carries risks for the government’s budget and just possibly its sov...
Colour schemes: Germany’s coming coalition
27 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The country heads for a three-party government after a nail-biting election. We cut through the flur...
Clubs seal: China’s view as alliances multiply
24 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Leaders of “the Quad” are meeting in person for the first time; drama from the AUKUS alliance st...
Same assembly, rewired: the United Nations meets
23 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The annual United Nations General Assembly is more than just worthy pledges and fancy dinners; we as...
The homes stretch: Evergrande
22 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
China’s property behemoth has slammed up against new rules on its giant debt pile. We ask what wid...
Running to stand still: Canada’s election
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remains in power after Monday’s election, but he emerges without the...
Potemkin polls: Russia’s elections
20 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The winner of Russia’s elections was not in doubt. Vladimir Putin’s party, United Russia, came o...
Sub plot: the AUKUS alliance
17 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The alliance between America, Britain and Australia has enormous significance, most of all for its n...
Shake, rattle the roles: Britain’s cabinet reshuffle
16 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has re-allocated a number of key government posts. We ask how the chang...
Hunger gains: Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis
15 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Economic collapse and halting international aid following the Taliban’s takeover have compounded s...
Percent of the governed: California’s recall vote
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Governor Gavin Newsom is fighting off a bid to remove him that puts the world’s fifth-largest econ...
Getting their vax up: America’s vaccine mandates
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Joe Biden’s requirements for employers to insist on vaccinations are a bold move amid fl...
From the ground up: New York after 9/11
10 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The horrors of 20 years ago spurred an ambitious transformation, not just at the site of the attacks...
Putsch back: Africa’s latest coup in Guinea
09 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It is unclear whether better governance lies ahead after a military takeover; what is certain is tha...
The call before the storm? Brazil’s protests
08 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tens of thousands of people aligned with President Jair Bolsonaro held protests—at his direction. ...
Bitcoin of the realm: El Salvador’s experiment
07 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Nayib Bukele thinks obliging businesses to take the cryptocurrency will help with remittan...
Heartbeat of the matter: Texas’s draconian abortion law
06 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court’s surprise decision to let the country’s harshest “heartbeat bill” stand b...
Taking the fifth: Venezuela’s talks
03 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Four previous resolution meetings involving President Nicolás Maduro have changed little. This time...
Reeling and dealing: how to engage the Taliban
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In some ways America has more leverage now that its forces have left; we ask how diplomatic and aid ...
Out for blood: the Theranos trial
01 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Holmes founded a big blood-testing startup; her claims were founded on very little. As her...