House money
Why are countries around the world developing virtual legal tenders? Roger Huang on the origins, implementation, and implications of central bank digital currencies.
Untouchable
Why has Bitcoin become so popular with dissidents living in dictatorships? Farida Nabourema on what the emerging technology has in common with an old suitcase stuffed with cash.
‘They’re everywhere’
Why are there so many toxic chemicals in food? Rashmi Joglekar on where they come from and what they’re doing to people and the planet.
Lost men
Why do boys keep falling further behind girls in school? Ioakim Boutakidis on a half-century, still-elusive global achievement gap.
Divergence
Why are younger men increasingly voting for the populist right and younger women, the environmental left? Rosie Campbell on a new gender divide in the Western world.
Whisked away
Why are millions of factory jobs leaving China? Victor Shih on the country’s extraordinary self-inflicted loss.
Help wanted
Where have all the workers gone? Matthew Notowidigdo on the transformation of the global labor market.
‘An unplannable environment’
What do the new U.S. tariffs mean for global trade? Martin Wolf on a rapid onset of radical uncertainty.
Moscow rules
How can Russia still be Europe’s biggest natural-gas supplier? Nicholas Kumleben on the Continent’s bad bet on a decades-long economic relationship with the Kremlin.
