{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/d556eb54-6160-4c85-95f4-47d9f5216c49/64552eb4c7168c0011402738?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Good, bad and ugly: the Taliban and Afghanistan","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/62e286a934d4d93d6587424a/show-cover.jpg?height=200","description":"<p>Their return to rule is unequivocally bad for the country’s women and girls. But wholesale collapse has not come and some aspects of government have <a href=\"https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/05/01/life-under-the-rule-of-the-taliban-20?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">improved</a>; it turns out threats of grotesque violence change behaviours. We investigate the curious case of Morocco’s <a href=\"https://www.economist.com/1843/2023/04/14/the-mystery-of-moroccos-missing-king?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">absent king</a>—and his unlikely mixed-martial-artist pals. And how the mobile phone has <a href=\"https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/04/28/mobile-phones-have-shaped-cinema-for-half-a-century?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">shaped cinema</a> for half a century.</p><p><br></p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to <a href=\"http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></p>","author_name":"The Economist"}