Curacao and Qatar were the only World Cup countries I could find without a major diaspora in the US. Having so many in-built supporters is a bit part of why this tournament feels so unique: my chart accompanying our US editor's excellent piece, for @economist.com www.economist.com/united-state...

I helped put together our new index of childcare affordability across the OECD for @economist.com. The divergence is stark - largely explained by how generous government subsidies are - with huge knock-on effects for the labour force. Have a look 👇 www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

FIFA painted over a beloved Wyland mural of whales, one of just 100 in the world, to advertise for the World Cup. Apparently without talking to anyone before doing so. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

I wrote about the apparently unstoppable rise of "companion podcasts" to TV shows, and what they tell us about how fan culture is evolving as well as the business of streaming, in this week's @economist.com www.economist.com/culture/2026...

That’s quite a chart www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Fascinating chart: women earned 37% of computer science degrees in America in 1984, a proportion which quickly plummeted. It's rising again, but still nowhere near where it was four decades ago. Source: nces.ed.gov/programs/dig...

The dizzying progress of AI models developed by Dario, Demis, Elon, Mark and Sam poses a threat to America’s security at a time when resentment is growing among voters. Want the full picture? Register to read (it’s free)

The Economist spoke to diplomats, advisers, scholars, experts, and current and former officials in China. Almost all of them see the war in Iran as a grave American error. Register for free to read why: econ.st/416vZDK

The reckless campaign against Iran will weaken America’s president. That will make him angry. Be warned: he makes a very bad loser econ.st/4bAtZby

For International Women's Day I've updated our 14th annual "glass-ceiling index", ranking 29 rich countries on life for working women. Interesting movers from their positions last year inc: ⬆️ France ⬆️ Netherlands ⬇️ United States ⬇️ Spain www.economist.com/interactive/... For @economist.com

Please please read this from the archbishop of Chicago www.archchicago.org/statement/-/...

This @theguardian.com piece is fantastic like everyone says. Bravo to those who worked on it. www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

A new paper shows that less than 2 months of exposure to Twitter’s algorithmic feed significantly shifts people’s political views to the right. Moving from chronological feed to the algorithmic feed also increases engagement. This is one of the most concerning papers I’ve read in awhile.

V refreshing to hear a group of women dissect the Mandelson scandal, and the misogyny, unconscious or not, of everyone involved in the decision to appoint him ambassador. At the heart of this are victims, who were completely ignored when it was convenient. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKIJ...

There are some countries where alleging immigrants are a drain on public finances is plausible, but the US? The public benefits are nowhere near generous enough.

The owner of Amazon killed the Washington Post books section.

I put together our latest Carrie Bradshaw Index, measuring how affordable it is to rent alone in major European cities from Brussels to Budapest. If a relocation is on the cards, there are some surprising results 👇 www.economist.com/graphic-deta... @economist.com

Another ruthlessly ambitious (and unlikeable) defector. A thought: if they can't push above 30%, it's a hung parliament in 2029 with probable coalition locking out Reform. Next shot is 2034. Farage is now 70, and has kept the party, full of jostling egos, from imploding for eight long years...

Here's a time-lapse from yesterday as thousands of people marched through downtown Minneapolis to protest ICE. 📷️: Sydney Lewis/The Minnesota Star Tribune

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024... Exactly two years ago

Had no idea that Denmark sustained NATO’s highest number of fatalities per capita in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sobering context for this growing crisis

The doom and gloom about London is ridiculous and harmful. Team FT is Team London - as.ft.com/r/19d3d36d-e...

This is without a doubt the best analysis out there of the stakes in Britain's next election (and the graphics are fun too!) www.economist.com/interactive/...

Despite becoming a yawn-inducing attack line it is still *extraordinary* that in the early 2000s Britain's Labour government decided to sell off half the country's gold reserves when the price was where it was. 395 tonnes, which then netted $6.3bn (adjusted), would today fetch $52bn 😳

I'm a "glass is half-full" kinda guy, so let's look at the upside of the Riyadh Comedy Festival: We never, ever have to even pretend to take any of these "anti-woke" "free speech warriors" seriously, ever again. New from me at @opinion.bloomberg.com (gift link): bit.ly/4h51JjF

I put together our third annual Carrie Bradshaw index, measuring how affordable it is to rent alone in America's 100 biggest cities, for @economist.com www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

With about a month to go until a salary renegotiation deadline on October 31st, I looked at why America's women basketball players are scandalously underpaid, for @economist.com www.economist.com/united-state...

Who knew the Lib Dems were the chilled ones about tax returns! But overall that's a striking consensus, and a potentially big problem brewing for Farage

Now two years after this was announced and (by my reckoning at least) still no sign? 🤔 Curieux www.theguardian.com/politics/art...

Lovely vignette on the making of Gone With The Wind (from Bruce Chadwick’s Reel Civil War)

“My characters exist,” snapped Candace Bushnell at her critics. “Go to enough parties, and you’ll meet all of them.” First appearing on TV in 1998, I wrote about the (perhaps slightly overdue) end of her Sex and the City universe last week, for @economist.com www.economist.com/culture/2025...

Our polling with YouGov has found nearly a third of under-30s listen to audio sped up (compared to 8% of those 45+). A sign of brain-frazzling madness, or an ingenious time-saver? I had a closer look for @economist.com www.economist.com/culture/2025...

A reminder that when Kemi Badenoch was offered a security briefing on this earlier this year she decided that it wasn't important enough for her to bother turning up

There's a lot of 'the spendthrift PLP versus the Iron Downing Street' about, which ignores that the PLP accepted a deferment of scrapping the two child limit and voted to means-test winter fuel.

Shout out to Catherine Corless, independent local historian. who has made a difference.

🚨 BREAKING: Zia Yusuf has resigned as Chairman of Reform UK, saying “I no longer believe working to get a Reform government is a good use of my time.”

Another excellent column by @michellegoldberg.bsky.social, this one about the amazing play John Proctor is the Villain: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/o...

"It's not a magic trick to get people to watch women's sports", one analyst told me. As the new WNBA season starts tonight, I wrote for @economist.com about how women's basketball exploded in America www.economist.com/culture/2025...

One lesson of the local elections is that it's time to take Reform seriously, not just as a political movement but as a possible party of government. So I spent a few days digging into their economic plans—and found hair-raising, Truss-adjacent stuff. www.economist.com/britain/202...

NEW: The rate of sepsis in Houston surged 63% after Texas banned abortion. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where hospital leaders empowered doctors to intervene before patients’ conditions worsened, it rose just 29%.

Australia heads to the polls on Saturday, in an election dominated by the cost of living crisis - housing in particular. I put together the latest version of our "Carrie Bradshaw index", measuring how affordable it is to rent alone in six major Australian cities 👇 www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

The problem with the theory that FPTP keeps fringe parties out is that it does until it doesn't, at which point it creates a massive ratchet effect. Having FPTP and a successful radical right party is essentially a gamble of sorts.

Imagine being lectured by RFK Jr about how to be healthy and then having Mark Zuckerberg tell you how many friends normal people should have

Australia heads to the polls on Saturday, in an election dominated by the cost of living crisis - housing in particular. I put together the latest version of our "Carrie Bradshaw index", measuring how affordable it is to rent alone in six major Australian cities 👇 www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

This isn’t the first time America’s credibility as an ally has been questioned. 50 years ago today Saigon fell, the Vietnam war ended and American pride took a big hit. My piece looks at The Economist’s coverage from April 1975. Much of it will sound familiar. www.economist.com/interactive/...

Birth bonus. Sigh.

So. In the spirit of being fair, I have now read Nick Clegg‘s Essay about the Future of Europe - and Britain‘s Part in it. I have also done my best to ignore who wrote it, and focus on the arguments in it. A few thoughts observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Shoutout to Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, who’s been on the Judge Dugan story all week. You can catch up on his coverage here www.jsonline.com/staff/264800...