The wizard of Tehran
Briefing: Iran’s supreme leader, missing from his father’s funeral—as from everything. The first Western leader in post-dictatorship Syria, with two bombs, a block from the hotel. + Do America’s biggest media platforms really change minds?
‘There is no road’
The weekend despatch: A Maya city found after 11 centuries, intact in the rainforest. A glow at the center of the galaxy that could be dark matter. + What are Boards of Canada doing in hell?
At the neighbor’s pleasure
Briefing: The trade pact America won’t renew—or give up on. In South Africa, migrants driven out by a deadline with no force of law. + Why is Turkey’s government moving so hard to kill off its opposition?
No tanks required
Feature: Why is Turkey’s government moving so hard to kill off its opposition? Ezgi Başaran on the weakness behind a new show of strength.
No good options
Briefing: Two Talibans vs. Pakistan. An Ebola strain with no vaccine. + What are Pakistan’s ruling generals getting from a war they can’t win, anyway?
A 10-day peace
The weekend despatch: Tanker crews back to dodging fire in Hormuz, days after it officially reopens. Bronze Age correspondence, X-rayed through the envelope. + How does FIFA end up with its World Cup anthems?
An order from no one
Briefing: An unofficial deadline to empty South Africa of migrants. The U.S. Supreme Court’s clearance to deport 350,000 Haitians and Syrians. + Has Iran ended America’s dominance in economic warfare?
‘Shells within shells’
Feature: Has Iran ended America’s dominance in economic warfare? Nicholas Mulder on why the Americans can still squeeze their allies but not their rivals.
The only suspect
Briefing: A knife-edge election in Colombia, and a defeated president who says Israel hacked it. Communist Cuba opens its economy to foreign capital, and the Americans move to scare it off. + What’s extreme heat do to you?
The art of not losing
The weekend despatch: A war to disarm Iran ends with a pledge to build it up again. Nature, it turns out, is still selecting. + What’s Rock Action Records?
