The Intelligence: F is for falling standards

Cancelled flights, longer routes, higher prices: the war in Iran is taking its toll on the airline industry. The conflict may force lasting change on the big Gulf carriers. We ask why the once-frothy fake-meat industry is losing its bite. And why PDFs, one of technology’s most pe ...  Show more

Nigeria sorely needed the enormous oil refinery built by Aliko Dangote, who was already Africa’s richest man. We ask what that new capacity means for him, for Nigeria and for the continent. We speak to the surprisingly large and diverse Iranian diaspora in Los Angeles. And how a ...  Show more

America is producing more high-school graduates—but on average, they know less. We ask how a push for equity can in reality seed a <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/03/10/new-numbers-show-falling-standards-in-american-high-schools?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medi ...

America’s central bank left rates untouched, to widespread market delight. Why is this economic cycle confounding expectations so much, and how to bring it to a <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/03/20/why-america-cant-escape-inflation-worries?utm_ca ...

Labour markets are changing in all kinds of ways, thanks to ageing societies, hot-running economies and technological boosts. It all adds up to a <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/11/28/welcome-to-a-golden-age-for-workers?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_mediu ...

India is not the first country to leapfrog from poverty-induced undernourishment to also having an obesity crisis—but a <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2024/03/07/indian-food-is-great-perhaps-too-great?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelli ...