Pump and circumstance: is China the new OPEC?
The Iran war triggered the largest supply shock in the history of petroleum, yet prices never rose as high as feared. Our correspondent explains how a...
Spring, then fall: a weakened Muslim Brotherhood
The Muslim Brotherhood won power and influence in the Arab Spring of 2011. Now autocrats are resurgent and its leaders are in jail or exile. Elon Musk...
Under strAIn: breaking the British state
Britons are turning to artificial intelligence to file objections to state institutions, and claim their dues. The resulting deluge of complaints and ...
Outsider chance: ending Sudan’s proxy war
We look at the peace that has settled over Khartoum, the ruined capital. War rages on elsewhere, and a slim chance at a settlement rests largely with ...
Socialist mobility: a telling Michigan vote
We examine one of America’s primary races, in which a sharply lefty candidate beat the establishment figure. What does that reveal about changes in th...
Taking the shine off: albedo and global temperatures
Fewer clouds, shrinking ice caps, changing pollutants: all result in less of the sun’s energy being reflected back into space. Which is more bad news ...
In arms’ way: Gaza-deal sticking points
President Donald Trump’s claim that Hamas had agreed to disarm in Gaza was, at best, premature. We examine the sticking points of a lasting deal. New-...
Taken littorally: Spain’s sudden crisis in Ceuta
The deadly rush of migrants into the Spanish exclave has deep roots in a wider North African conflict—and implications for a far wider European fight ...
Omission accomplished: why the Iran-war cycle spins on
From impasse in Iran to still-unresolved conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, a trend is clear: President Donald Trump’s scant, early plans for peace do not...
Working memory: the surprising decline of dementia
A dive into the data reveals that, despite dire past predictions, the prevalence of dementia is actually waning. We take a look at Pix, a beloved Braz...