The new mediocre: the world economy

This week Elon Musk announced the merger of two of his companies: SpaceX and xAI, which makes chatbots. Is the new firm viable? As migrant workers return home for lunar new year, the Chinese Communist Party tells migrant workers not to stay for too long. And our culture editor’s ...  Show more

The New START nuclear deal was signed in 2010 to restrict the number of strategic warheads and missiles America and Russia could amass. Will there be a new deal – and what will happen if not? How social media has helped fuel recruitment to cults. And our baldness correspondent br ...  Show more

The International Monetary Fund is sitting on oodles of cash, but failing to disburse it. We examine why China’s lending practices are putting the IMF on <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/04/05/how-to-fix-the-international-monetary-fund?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medi ...

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 ...

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 ...

How can the most vulnerable countries protect against climate change if they’re drowning in debt? A major international aid agency revealed this week that 93% of the world’s worst-affected countries can’t afford to safeguard against natural disasters. Some are being forced to sla ...  Show more