Syria’s condition: Bashar al-Assad

Income inequality abounds and today’s rich are staggeringly rich, implying that tax regimes are giving the wealthy more and more of a pass. Our dig into the numbers suggests the opposite. We ask why so many of the world’s international mercenaries hail from Colombia. And despite ...  Show more

Many scientists are considering the notion of actively cooling the region that is warming fastest. We examine the merits and the risks—both environmental and geopolitical—of messing with the polar climate. We ask why the kind of gig economy that has struggled in many markets is b ...  Show more

Tomorrow, Syria’s president will be welcomed back into the Arab League as regional leaders meet in Jeddah. Is this the dictator’s first step in a journey to restore ties with the rest of the world? America’s small banks are capturing rural communities in a way that the big one ...

Our correspondent meets with <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/10/10/peter-obi-a-man-who-carries-his-own-suitcases-could-be-nigerias-next-president?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.conte ...

Voting begins today in an <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/03/12/russians-go-to-the-polls-in-a-sham-election-for-their-president?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_ar ...

The long-anticipated <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/10/28/israels-new-plan-to-encircle-hamas?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa. ...