A few bright spots: our country of the year

So many books are published each year; few stand the test of time. Today we devote our whole show to asking which works have shaped the way we behave and how we think. Picks include “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, “A Suitable Boy” by Vikram S ...  Show more

Join our editors and correspondents in a gripping test of recall and reflexes. There are questions on business and politics of course—but also news noises to identify, one saucy limerick and quotes from “The Real Housewives” franchise that frankly no one expected. Which team will ...  Show more

Each year The Economist selects its country of the year: a place that has improved the most. Improvement, though, was damnably rare in 2021. We run through our nominations and the shortlist, and take a close look at <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/12/1 ...

It is that best-of time of year. We outline the case for our country of the year, after an uncharacteristically easy nomination process. Our correspondents explain their picks for the <a href="https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/12/06/these-are-the-economists-best-books-of-202 ...  Show more

The province’s largest party aligned with Britain has <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2021/05/01/arlene-foster-northern-irelands-first-minister-is-ousted?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener ...  Show more

The populous South-East Asian country is uniquely well-positioned to benefit from the deepening rift between America and China, so what’s stopping it? How a breakaway party on Germany’s far left is appealing to voters in the east (08:13). And, why VAR is frustrating football fans ...  Show more