The threat from the illiberal left
The world this week
Leaders
Political thought
The threat from the illiberal left
Don’t underestimate the danger of left-leaning identity politics
Do not move on, move forwards
America should engage with the Taliban, very cautiously
The aim should be to help ordinary Afghans, not to compete with China and Iran
Delta and the world economy
How the pandemic became stagflationary
As the virus has changed, so has its relationship to the economy
Poor and parched
Why Madagascar is going hungry
Climate change, covid-19 and bad governance all play a role
Letters
On Afghanistan, vaccinations, chewing-gum, Berlin, corporate jargon
Letters to the editor
Briefing
The illiberal left
How did American “wokeness” jump from elite schools to everyday life?
And how deep will its influence be?
Imposing orthodoxy
Left-wing activists are using old tactics in a new assault on liberalism
It is possible to detect eerie echoes of the confessional state of yore
Europe
Get them while they’re young
Vladimir Putin’s henchmen target Russia’s universities and students
It’s complicated
German voters face a bewildering array of possible coalitions
A tale of two pubs
Germany’s election, seen through the bottom of a glass
Stranded in no-man’s-land
Europe’s latest migrant crisis leaves refugees stuck between two borders
Britain
Tied up in knots
For Northern Ireland, Brexit means red tape and subsidies
Spin doctors
The extraordinary power of the NHS brand
Middle East & Africa
Hunger island
Madagascar is on the brink of famine
Reform, and its malcontents
What the travails of a reformist governor say about Nigeria
Managing the conflict
Israel’s foreign policy has changed in tone but not in substance
Bulldozing history
Arab states are wrecking old treasures
United States
Fallout from the flight
How damaging has the Afghanistan withdrawal been to Joe Biden?
The woking class
American philanthropy turns left
The Americas
A cuddlier Conservatism
Could Canada’s Conservative Party win back power?
Machiavellian manoeuvres
Nicolás Maduro’s regime and the Venezuelan opposition meet in Mexico
Asia
After the airlift
Foreign powers ponder how and whether to engage with the Taliban
Cutting Kabul’s cable
Afghanistan’s thriving television channels prepare for a crackdown
Perverse outcomes
Criminalising sex work does more harm than good
China
Red lines, grey rhinos and big mountains
China’s bid to stabilise its property market is causing jitters
Squeezing out the carbon
America wants China to end support for coal projects abroad
International
It’s all connected, man
From Congo to the Capitol, conspiracy theories are surging
Business
Update your calendar
The future of meetings
The Oracle of AI
Flush with billions, Databricks has momentum and big plans
Can Rivian deliver?
An electric-vehicle startup aims for a stellar valuation
China’s gaming crackdown
China imposes the world’s strictest limits on video games
Theatre of blood
The trial of Elizabeth Holmes gets under way
Finance & economics
The special sauce
The economy that covid-19 could not stop
Can they build it?
Labour shortages threaten housing supply
Satoshis for cervezas
Using bitcoin as legal tender
We're hiring
Wanted: a new economics writer
Schools brief
Biology brief
Finding living planets
Science & technology
AI for vehicles
Is a self-driving car smarter than a seven-month-old?
Hummingbird cross-dressers
Some female hummingbirds have evolved to look like males
Scientific errors
Software is subbing mistakes into scientific papers
Culture
Cuban history
America looms large in a new history of Cuba
Liberalism and the truth
Jonathan Rauch defends “the constitution of knowledge”
Keys to all knowledge
How the index changed reading, for better and worse
Economic & financial indicators
Graphic detail
We were expecting you
Poorly devised regulation lets firms pollute with abandon
Obituary
Blood and roses