Editor's Picks from The Economist

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. More than 2,000 American schools now operate on four-day weeks. Teachers and parents like it, but test scores tell a more complicated story.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Several tech companies are rumoured to be pursuing blockbuster public deals. This interest is out of character.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. China defied Trump’s tariffs and revealed America's dependence this year. Rigid politics may yet become its undoing.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Wrapping paper transforms Christmas gift-giving into a five-act drama. It's wasteful, enervating, and absolutely worth it.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Jakarta and Dhaka are now among the world's largest cities, but fragmented governance is making them unliveable. Tokyo and Shanghai show there's a better way.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Europe's mainstream leaders are warning of catastrophe if the populist right takes power. But their apocalyptic rhetoric may be making things worse.Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.