Our correspondent joins the French air force on a mission in the Baltics, seeing increasing support for NATO just as the country draws down in Africa. Drones have by now become a standard feature of warfare, but in Gaza the demands are different—and Israel has much expertise to draw upon (09:36). And artificial intelligence predicts the structures of 2m brand-new materials (16:38).

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In the American West, grizzly bears are spreading—and fights over protecting them under the Endangered Species Act test the frontiers between science and politics. Vaping is tremendous business in Britain, but the largely unregulated industry is now, curiously, asking for more oversight (10:57). And our language columnist explains our word of the year for 2023 (17:47).

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Even before America’s tussle over funding Ukraine’s war effort, it seemed as if Russia was gaining the upper hand—by exploiting Ukraine’s widening political cracks. A drought-induced traffic jam in the Panama Canal will only get worse in the coming dry season, and consumer-price rises look inevitable (10:42). And to save Britain’s heritage pig breeds, consumers should eat more of them (17:48).

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By the numbers, the outcome seems clear: Venezuelans voted to annex much of newly minted petrostate Guyana. But our correspondent says the referendum was mere electioneering by President Nicolás Maduro, with unimpressive results. Our obituaries editor remembers Saleemul Huq, who campaigned relentlessly on behalf of the most vulnerable countries (9:52). And just how much lighter the paycheques are for heavier workers (17:03).

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Tickets for “Nvzizhuyi”—a monthly stand-up comedy show in New York City— often sell out in less than a minute. The show invites Chinese citizens, mostly women, to tell jokes, perform skits and recount the absurd challenges they’ve encountered as feminist activists in China—things they could never utter in public back home. 

This week, Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, reports from the dark basement of a comedy club. Together with David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, they ask: Why are some of China’s exiled feminists doing stand-up comedy abroad? And can their performances have any impact back home?

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The cradle of American technology was once known for its libertarian values—but as law-enforcement agencies seek more means of surveillance, Silicon Valley companies are piling in. Mounting cases in America’s courts reveal a trend of progressives arguing for their religious right to abortion (9:09). And how tourism gone wrong is killing the Dark Hedges that appeared in “Game of Thrones” (16:28).

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As its ground offensive appears to be expanding, Israel is acutely aware that time and international support will run out; we examine its impossible set of aims to achieve before then. Europe has not yet faced the kind of fentanyl crisis that has plagued America—but there are risks that it may soon (10:53). And the power-napping prowess of penguins (18:26).

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The Economist's editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, and our Russia and Eastern Europe editor, Arkady Ostrovsky, return to Kyiv to to find out if cracks are beginning to emerge in the iron shield of Ukrainian unity and to ask how the war with Russia is reshaping a nation living on a knife’s edge.

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Olena Zelenska foresees a time when her family can regain a quiet life. Our editor-in-chief sits down with her to discuss her mental-health campaign and life in an unexpected spotlight. President Xi Jinping wants to improve China’s toilets; we ask why that is proving so difficult (12:20). And why the superyacht industry is just sailing along (19:50).

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Podcast transcripts are available upon request at [email protected]. We are committed to improving accessibility even further and are exploring new ways to expand our podcast-transcript offering.

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An article from The Economist read aloud. We explain why the world must try harder on climate change.

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