Front lines
What has money from Gulf autocrats done to the global football? David Goldblatt on the supporters, the clubs, and what exactly these governments now own.
Saturday, in Budapest
Briefing: The Champions League final, brought to you from 3,000 kilometers away. Talks and strikes over the strait. + Why did the Gulf states pour billions into global sports?
Total ownership
In global football, how’s a dictator’s money any different? Sarath K. Ganji on what the Gulf states are up to with the beautiful game.
‘The culture of power’
Briefing: A tech leader’s mission to the Vatican. A new strike on Iran as the U.S. president says “time is on our side.” + What would it take to build AI that serves human beings?
The color of law
The weekend despatch: An unusual disturbance in the U.S. Senate. Sparta’s founding myth, undone. + What was the Neue Slowenische Kunst?
Their man in Tehran
Briefing: A failed plan to install the next supreme leader in Iran. A court picks the opposition leader in Turkey. + Why have Americans lost faith in higher education?
Mission drift
Feature: Why have Americans lost faith in higher education? Julia Adams and Sarath Sanga on what’s gone wrong—and what universities can do about it.
Three kings, one call
Briefing: How to delay a massive American airstrike. The U.S. Justice Department takes care of the Trump family. + How have governments become some of the biggest investors in the global economy?
The state’s return
Feature: How have governments become some of the biggest investors in the global economy? Adam Dixon on a new era of state capitalism.
The most dangerous relationship
The weekend despatch: “Incredible” times in Beijing. Monuments older than the pyramids in the Atbai Desert. + Who is the Tone Poet?
