Editor’s Picks: September 26th 2022

On December 8th, 2024, rebels swept into Damascus and ousted Syria's dictator, Bashar al-Assad. One of the first things they did was open up the prisons. Syrians who disappeared years earlier began to emerge from their grim detention cells. Would missing American journalist Austi ... Show More

Growth is abysmal; wages are low. But seen from the outside, Britain is a great place to contract services and buy bargain-basement bonds. We explore the opportunities amid the challenges. After months of reporting, our correspondent shares what he learned about Austin Tice, a mi ... Show More

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

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, Disney’s second century, Turkey’s looming dictatorship (10:25) and how young people spend their money (17:35).  Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digita ... 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

Taiwan’s election of William Lai Ching-te of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party is sure to annoy leaders in Beijing; we ask what to expect next. Britain’s post-office scandal simmered for two decades before a television series made it boil over (10:14). And what ha ... 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

Prabowo Subianto stormed to victory in the world’s largest single-day election. But critics say his presidency could jeopardise two decades of democratic progress. Nvidia has dominated the global market for AI accelerator chips for years. Could a company about a third of its size ... 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

Ahead of a general election in July, we reflect on 14 years of Conservative rule. It’s not a great record, but will the prime minister be able to spin it on the campaign trail? Latin America is still being torn apart by some of the world’s worst gang violence. Why aren’t counterm ... Show More

America’s upbeat assessment of a ceasefire deal masks deep divides that may not, in fact, be bridgeable. There are nevertheless reasons for optimism. Our data team digs into the accusation that the New York Times’s bestseller list is biased against conservatives (10:58). And why ... Show More

Hardened war-zone doctors say the situation in Gaza is the worst they have witnessed—and that will cost lives long after the current conflict is resolved. Numbers from America’s tight labour market suggest that long-standing gaps between black and white workers are narrowing (09: ... Show More