Minds blown: are we getting dumber?

We go deep inside the Chernobyl nuclear-power plant and the surrounding exclusion zone, recounting the history of the accident on April 26 1986, and speaking with plant workers who were on shift that day. A pre-eminent Chernobyl historian discusses the lessons learned and yet to ...  Show more

We examine what our forecast model predicts so far—and consider what might change its confident prediction for one house of Congress and toss-up call for the other. Our correspondent sits down with Steve Reich, a pioneering classical composer who is nearing his 90th birthday. And ...  Show more

A snapshot of the country reveals deepening military and economic problems—and, perhaps above all, political ones. America’s efforts to clamp down on skilled-worker visas will have far-reaching unintended consequences. And globally, more children today are obese than underweight. ...  Show more

Cyberattacks have brought firms like Jaguar Land Rover and Asahi to a standstill. Our correspondent asks what companies and governments should do about a rising problem. Why it is getting harder to count deaths in Africa. And is eating dark chocolate actually good for you? Listen ...  Show more

Coffers running low and an increasingly absent principal member: the United Nations has never looked so precarious. We discuss its future amid uncertain geopolitics. The generative-AI explosion has mostly been driven by so-called large language models—but small ones look ever mor ...  Show more

The collapse of Russia’s wartime economy has long been foretold, yet massive fiscal stimulus has compensated for the effect of sanctions. Though the pinch is now being felt, the labour market is surprisingly resilient. Protesters in China are getting more creative. And why car to ...  Show more