Spent
Briefing: The Pentagon regrets finding itself out of missiles—until 2030. In India, the ex-prime minister of Bangladesh brushes off her death sentence. + What happened to the “public intellectual”?
Tracks of uncertainty
Feature: What happened to the “public intellectual”? Raymond Geuss on a role that lasted 70 years—and why he won’t really miss it.
Just passing through
Briefing: Sixty thousand over the fence into Spain in two days. Iran decides on a price for reopening the Strait of Hormuz: total control of everything. + What could the defeat of Hezbollah actually settle?
Buying time
The weekend despatch: Engineers from America’s leading AI labs, all asking Washington to help them cool things down. Astronomers listening for alien signals, now opening up beyond a band they’ve been using for decades. + Who is Vini Reilly?
‘The Kingdom … does not seek escalation’
Briefing: Saudi Arabia’s first strikes on Iranian militias, while pushing the U.S. to end the war. A Russian cruise missile in a Polish field, 100 kilometers over the border. + Can Europe’s booming defense industry save its dying factories?
Cars before drones
Feature: Can Europe’s booming defense industry save its dying factories? Sander Tordoir on the problem with the story Germany’s manufacturers are telling themselves.
Arms and the man
Briefing: Why the U.S. is buying its attack drones from Ukraine. A pause in its bombing of Iran, over the objections of Israel’s prime minister. + Why can’t the Pentagon make what Ukraine makes?
Truce after truce
Briefing: War spreads to the Red Sea. Sanctions hit the Russian stock market. + Has politics really killed the humanities in America?
Humboldt’s gift
Feature: Has politics really killed the humanities in America? Chad Wellmon on a red herring in public debate about the universities—and what you see when you start following the money.
