The Economist: The week ahead

Boris Johnson, Britain’s prime minister, narrowly survived a no-confidence vote last night. As he limps on, the informal contest to succeed him will intensify, as will questions about the Conservative Party’s direction. San Francisco’s progressive district attorney faces a recall election today, in a vote with broader implications for the future of criminal-justice reform in America. And why Ukraine’s army relies on century-old machineguns. 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.

For almost 80 years, the world has refrained from using or, for the most part, even seriously pondering the use of nuclear weapons. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has eroded that taboo. Avian flu is spreading around the world, threatening birds’ health and contributing to rising egg and poultry prices. And Sun Ra’s huge, weird and wonderful Arkestra is back on the road. 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.

Britain’s capital is packed with foreign capital, in particular the Russian kind. We ask what it is about London that attracts—and protects—the oligarchs. We check in again with Lusya Shtein of the anti-Putin punk-rock group Pussy Riot about her daring escape from Russia. And amid celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year tenure, we reflect on royal jubilees through history.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 government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has expelled our correspondent. Abiy’s proxies at home and abroad are helping a propaganda push that is silencing criticism. California’s legal-marijuana market is enormous, but its growers are floundering under taxes and regulations; the industry is getting stubbed out. And a look at how companies that have withdrawn from Russia are faring.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on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.

War and blockades in Ukraine are the largest but far from the only problems squeezing the global food system—and with prices already way up, a catastrophe of hunger looms. The prospect of whole-genome screening for newborns opens up many opportunities to avoid or treat disease, and many ethical debates. And more than just sordid history at Bangkok’s red-light-district museum.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.

Russian forces are having some successes in eastern Ukraine; our defence editor discusses the situation on the ground and what may tip the balance in the grinding war. We examine a contentious American law that reveals the country’s broken immigration system. And why independent Chinese bookshops are becoming so social-media-friendly.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 just one foreign military base, but there are fears it wants to dot the Pacific region with more—and that is, so far, proving tricky. With ties between Western and Russian scientists severed, decades of research in the Arctic, particularly on climate change, are at risk. And a new series further unpicks the mythology of punk music. 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.

POLLS SUGGEST // Polls suggest the country might get its first-ever leftist leader. Whatever the outcome, a fresh outbreak of violent protest may await. Africa’s increasingly crippling fuel shortages can be blamed on more than just higher prices. And reflecting on the life of Lawrence MacEwen, laird of a tiny Scottish island whose austere simplicity he fought to preserve. 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 long-awaited inquiry into lockdown gatherings on Boris Johnson’s watch reveals lurid details of brash bashes. Yet the prime minister will be able, once again, to brush off the controversy. We ask why Switzerland is such a powerhouse in business and finance despite its modest resources. And how Russia’s war propaganda is winning over plenty of Twitter users. 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.

After 19 children and two adults were gunned down in Texas, we ask why gun laws are actually loosening in many states and why even moderate gun controls do not get passed. The rapid spread of monkeypox has rattled a covid-weary world; how much cause for concern is there? And why teams of professional writers are getting involved in games development. 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.

China’s Communist Party leaders have painted themselves into a corner: they cannot be seen to put the capital into lockdown, but permitting covid to spread could be catastrophic. We look into the myriad reasons behind America’s sharp shortages of baby formula, and how to solve them. And why it is illegal for women to get a manicure in Turkmenistan.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.

Anthony Albanese, the first Labor prime minister in a decade, has pledged to do far more on climate change. His party’s slim win shows how Australian politics is changing. Bosses are increasingly turning to surveillance software to monitor employees (so be careful if listening to this show during work hours). And why the fortune-telling tradition of shell-throwing thrives in Brazil.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 Kremlin’s propaganda machine ensures that Russians have a much different view of the war in Ukraine than the rest of the world. Our correspondent spent a day immersed in Russian media, to learn what people there see—and what they don’t. The spectre of hyperinflation is once again stalking Zimbabwe. And our obituaries editor remembers a man who refused to let Japan forget its painful past.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.

North Korea’s zero-covid strategy appears to have failed. The country has officially acknowledged 162 cases; the true number is probably orders of magnitude more. The country’s health-care system is inadequate, and pre-existing conditions such as tuberculosis and malnutrition are rampant. With elections impending in Turkey, politicians have begun competing with each other to scapegoat refugees. And why girls outperform boys in the Arab world’s schools. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five American states held primary elections yesterday. The most important were in Pennsylvania, where a Trump-backed candidate won the Republican gubernatorial primary. The Republican senate race remains too close to call. Wide-area motion imaging is a surveillance technique developed by the military in Iraq but now creeping into the civilian world. And why war in Ukraine is raising the price of berries in Britain. 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.

Stablecoins are essential to the financial plumbing of the cryptocurrency world. They’re pegged to a real-world asset, usually the dollar. But when that peg breaks, things can turn ugly in a hurry. Much of India is suffering through a particularly blistering and costly heatwave. And Indonesians’ love of songbirds is threatening wild bird populations within and beyond Indonesia itself. 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.

Neither Finland nor Sweden ever joined NATO, the Western military alliance formed in 1949: Finland for pragmatic reasons and Sweden for ideological ones. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted both to change course. Facebook’s appeal is waning – to both users and investors. And for the first time, a telescope has captured images of the black hole at the centre of our galaxy. 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.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s collective-defence deal with Swedish and Finnish leaders represents a shift in the European order—and Britain’s post-Brexit place in it. Our correspondent visits Great Zimbabwe, a long-overlooked archaeological site of stunning proportions whose secrets are only now being revealed. And a look at the weird sensory thrill of ASMR through a new exhibition. 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.

Russia’s bid to conquer the eastern region of Donbas is proceeding at a snail’s pace. All over Ukraine resistance continues and a grinding, prolonged conflict looms. Police reform remains controversial in America even two years after George Floyd’s murder. We visit two alternative-policing efforts to see how things might change. And examining the cultural chronicle tucked within Britain’s rules-of-the-road handbook. 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.

Demonstrations that eventually ousted the prime minister have cost lives, but the protest mood is not fading: many want every member of the storied Rajapaksa family out of government. We examine an effort to develop undersea GPS and learn why a watery sat-nav would be so useful. And why 1972 was such a formative year for music in Brazil.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.