Editor’s Picks: August 8th 2022

Immigration is a political lightning rod in part because the ageing global asylum pact is no longer fit for purpose. We examine how best to update it. As paycheques for top-notch AI researchers go stratospheric, demand for rank-and-file coders is quickly cooling. And what a gimmi ... Show More

Once again President Donald Trump extended the deadline for spine-stiffening tariffs to go into effect on trading partners. We look at the effects of all the uncertainty. Brazil once dominated the world of football; we ask where it went wrong and assess the route to a comeback. A ... Show More

Anglo-French relations have not been so good since before the Brexit vote. Beneath the state-visit pageantry, though, there is much co-operation for President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss. Gangs have infiltrated many of Latin America’s mining operati ... Show More

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, MBS: despot in the desert, the era of big-tech exceptionalism may be over (49:05), and why it’s OK not to be perfect at work (55:30). Please subscribe to The Economist for full a ... Show More

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week: a report on the technology behind babymaking, why optimism about the world economy might be premature (10:30), and what the hype over Barbenheimer says about the movie industry ( ... Show More

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how to cure obesity, Ron DeSantis’s foreign policy doctrine (10:53) and why hype can help and hinder entrepreneurs (17:00). Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to p ... Show More

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why only America can save Israel and Gaza from a greater catastrophe. Also, the recent election in Poland offers a lesson in how to push back on populism (10:30) and the resurgen ... Show More

Melting ski slopes, floods and droughts are enraging the continent’s citizens, but not quite enough for them to consider voting differently. Our correspondent explains what the electorate is weighing up. The world’s largest maker of glasses is branching out into tech (10:41). And ... Show More

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, as the death toll climbs in Israel’s war on Gaza, we argue that the country looks deeply vulnerable. Plus, we consider Britain as an unexpected beacon of immigration. And finally ... Show More

What can A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke tell us about AI? Does Shakespeare's Othello contain a warning for the 2024 US presidential election? Our journalists (and our listeners, too) recommend books that might help us better understand our times. Sign up for a free trial of E ... Show More

The case for assisted dying is essentially one of individual freedom—and plenty of Britons support a change in the law to permit it. Japan’s Noto peninsula is still reeling from a New Year’s Day earthquake. It could well have been worse, but geography and demography may ultimatel ... Show More

On our website and in our app, “The Economist explains” is one of the best-read features. Today we invite a few of their authors to keep explaining. What is tranq dope? Why did France get so het up about bedbugs (06:48)? Can superstars’ stadium shows actually affect inflation (11 ... Show More