So long, imagination engine
Briefing: Six months, a billion-dollar Disney deal, and falling downloads. What Meta told parents about Instagram versus what it knew. + Why did the Mexicans kill El Mencho?
Productive conversations
Briefing: The U.S. may or may not be talking to Iran; the Iranian regime may or may not be turning on itself. Lebanon shows out the ambassador from Tehran. + A Category Four cyclone is about to cross northern Australia twice. Why twice?
Beyond the lost city
The weekend despatch: A dollar a gallon higher in three weeks. A 2,300-year-old metropolis, 15 kilometers from Iran. + Who are Autechre?
Who knows better about surprise
Briefing: The war hits the gas fields that power half the world. Three central banks hold rates—and cite the war. + Will Ukrainian democracy survive the Russian assault?
‘No imminent threat’
Briefing: The first senior U.S. official to quit over the Iran war is from Trump’s inner circle. The man running Iran since Khamenei’s death is dead. + Why is Kazakhstan so warm right now?
Seeing things
The weekend despatch: Deep-faking the war in the Middle East. An MC’s election in Nepal. + Who are Tomorrow’s Warriors?
Below the waterline
Briefing: The price of oil as Iran mines the Strait of Hormuz. Two terror attacks hours apart on American soil. + How did a criminal industry worth tens of billions entrench itself in Cambodia?
The ayatollah sends his regrets
Briefing: Iran names a supreme leader who hasn’t appeared in public since the U.S. and Israel started bombing. A deleted tweet moves oil prices 17 percent. + Why’s it getting so hot in West Africa?
Theaters of war
The weekend despatch: The many faces of Operation Epic Fury. An Oscar-nominated screenwriter under bombardment picks up the phone. + What does it mean when the beat answers back?
‘Quiet death’
Briefing: The U.S. Navy sinks an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. The U.S. Senate votes to keep the war going. + What held the post–World War II order together—and what’s coming apart?
