The Economist

How to save humankind (according to James Lovelock)

James Lovelock

Scientist James Lovelock warns that humanity faces an existential climate crisis exceeding Earth's self-regulatory limits and proposes a four-point survival strategy involving mass migration to climate-controlled megacities, a global shift to nuclear energy, active geoengineering to cool the atmosphere, and the transition to artificial intelligence for planetary stewardship. He argues that while Gaia will eventually rebalance itself, humans must abandon fossil fuels and accept a subordinate role to superior machine intelligence to avoid extinction in an increasingly hostile environment. Although Lovelock expresses hope for survival, he acknowledges uncertainty regarding humanity's ability to withstand broader cosmic threats without these drastic interventions.

Who owns the Moon?

Dennis Hope, Vicky Jeong, Oliver Morton, Anna

Driven by geopolitical rivalry and plummeting launch costs, the international community is preparing for a surge of lunar missions targeting the South Pole to secure water and strategic minerals. While the 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits national ownership of the Moon, it leaves the legal status of resource extraction ambiguous, creating a landscape where nations like the US favor "finders keepers" principles over existing international precedents. This legal uncertainty and the potential for disputes mirroring terrestrial conflicts will likely persist until commercial operations, such as mining or tourism, become physically established on the surface.

Who will challenge Donald Trump in 2020?

Donald Trump, John Prideaux

The 2020 Democratic primary acts as a decisive ideological referendum that will narrow a large field to a nominee by September. Vice President Joe Biden leads as the moderate frontrunner focused on electability, while Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren compete for progressive voters with distinct policy platforms. Secondary contenders including Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Senator Cory Booker seek to capitalize on the race's central tension between generational change and broad electoral appeal.

Secrets of the deep ocean

Karl

Scientists aboard the Australian Government's RV *Investigator* are surveying unexplored Tasmanian seamounts to assess deep-sea ecosystems at depths exceeding 1,000 meters. While Marine Protected Areas established in the 1990s show positive signs of recovery with returning urchin populations and anemones, the data reveals that the foundational stony coral matrix damaged by bottom trawling has not reformable over the past two decades. These findings will guide future conservation policies and promote sustainable fishing practices by highlighting the long-term resilience limits of these unique habitats.

Why Jeremy Hunt thinks he'll be Britain's next prime minister

Jeremy Hunt, Donald Trump, Michael Gove, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, Anne

Contender Jeremy Hunt warns that failing to deliver Brexit will lead to a Labour victory and political extinction, arguing that a no-deal outcome remains a necessary negotiation lever to overcome parliamentary blockades. To ensure the EU trusts the UK's delivery capacity, he proposes a unified government team including the DUP and ERG while rejecting a second referendum as undemocratic. Hunt further outlines his economic strategy of corporate tax cuts, asserts that NHS ownership will not be sold in US trade talks, and emphasizes that 5G decisions must prioritize national interest over foreign dependency.

Why India’s election has stoked conflict

Narendra Modi, Anamika, Alam

India's 2019 general election centers on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP party leveraging rising Hindu nationalism and a recent military conflict with Pakistan to reframe the contest as a defense of cultural integrity against terrorism. This political strategy coincides with intensified enforcement of cow protection laws that has fueled communal violence, economically marginalized Muslim communities, and driven a shift in voter sentiment from economic modernization to security-focused nationalism. Consequently, the election serves as a critical juncture determining whether India will sustain its historical secular traditions or pivot toward a state defined by Hindu nationalist governance.

Mandela's legacy: 25 years on

This analysis examines the deepening conflict surrounding Nelson Mandela's legacy and the "Born Free Generation" in South Africa, highlighting how unfulfilled post-1994 promises regarding housing, education, and economic justice have fueled systemic inequality. Decades of ANC rule have intensified these issues through corruption and Black Economic Empowerment policies that critics argue have only entrenched a new elite while failing to dismantle apartheid-era wealth disparities. Consequently, widespread social unrest and plummeting public trust underscore a critical divide between the state's historical pledges and the lived reality of a population facing high unemployment and a severe education crisis.

Why is chicken so cheap? | The Economist

David Speller

Driven by the 1940s "Chicken of Tomorrow" competition, the global poultry industry now sustains a population of 23 billion birds through intensive genetic breeding that compresses broiler lifespans to 38 days. Consultant David Speller exemplifies this scale by managing millions of genetically uniform chickens with automated environmental controls, prioritizing rapid growth over natural maturity to meet high-volume, low-cost consumer demand. While organic and free-range systems offer significantly longer lifespans and better welfare conditions, their higher production costs and lower turnover rates keep them marginal compared to the dominant industrial model.

Fake news v fact: The battle for truth

Alexa Koenig, Eyal Weizman

Open-source investigators have transitioned from relying on witness testimony to deploying digital forensics and big data to expose state crimes in cases ranging from the Myanmar Rohingya crisis to the Skripal poisoning. These high-stakes investigations often challenge official state narratives by analyzing satellite imagery and social media data, as seen when Forensic Architecture disputed Israeli military claims in Gaza. However, the legal system currently lacks the infrastructure to fully validate or reject such digital evidence, creating a critical need for updated judicial standards that prevent both the blind acceptance of slick presentations and the dismissal of verifiable truth.

MH17: can Russia be held to account?

Following the 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine, a Dutch-led investigation utilized digital evidence to identify the Buk missile launch as originating from Russian-controlled territory. The Netherlands and Australia now seek international legal accountability through the European Court of Human Rights or domestic trials, aiming to prosecute specific Russian agents despite the Kremlin's denial and jurisdictional hurdles. While these proceedings face significant enforcement challenges due to the absence of extradition mechanisms, they represent the primary avenue for establishing state responsibility and asserting that the international community rejects the dismissal of the incident.

The future of work: is your job safe?

Samantha, Justin, Frank Boulier, Joseph Kamau, Max Dewhurst

This event examines the complex transition toward a future where automation and artificial intelligence reshape the global workforce by displacing 45% of jobs while simultaneously generating 133 million new roles through human-technology collaboration. It details the surge in location independence driven by a digital nomad population forecast to reach one billion by 2035, alongside the rapid expansion of co-working spaces and the polarized impacts of the $50 billion gig economy on both developing regions and wealthy nations. Furthermore, the presentation analyzes the ethical and operational implications of workplace surveillance technologies, such as sociometric badges and robotic swarms, which are currently redefining employee monitoring and productivity metrics at companies like Ocado.

What will people wear in the future?

Dr Amanda Parkes, Francesca Muston

The fashion industry is undergoing a radical transformation as biofabrication and textile computing replace traditional manufacturing with sustainable, lab-grown materials and embedded electronic sensors. Companies like Bolt Threads and Mayant are leading this shift by producing alternatives to animal-derived fabrics and interactive garments capable of transmitting real-time biological data. Simultaneously, the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning has elevated fashion forecasting from an art to a data-driven science, prompting venture capital firms to invest heavily in startups that merge these technologies with innovative business models.

What will be the biggest stories of 2019? | Part Two

In 2019, global advancements will see augmented reality headsets deployed in major surgical centers like St. Mary's to enhance precision, while Japan launches the Rugby World Cup to stimulate tourism and enacts legislation to admit 345,000 foreign workers amidst demographic decline. Simultaneously, the United States faces heightened political friction as Democrats assume House control to subpoena President Trump, and the European Union navigates a contentious parliamentary election that threatens to deepen fragmentation between populist and established factions. These domestic and international shifts coincide with a renewed surge in space exploration, marked by private and national lunar missions aiming to utilize frozen resources and achieve greater demographic diversity in orbit.

What will be the biggest stories of 2019? | Part One

The 2019 global landscape features significant technological advancements including the market launch of assistive robotic suits for aging workforces, the opening of mega-hubs in Istanbul and Beijing to drive down airfares, and the commercial deployment of driverless car services by companies like GM and Waymo. Concurrently, the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots highlights ongoing legal battles for LGBTQ+ rights in Kenya and other former colonies, while exhibitions commemorating Leonardo da Vinci's 500th death anniversary draw inspiration from his designs to influence modern aviation. Despite projections of massive industry growth, these developments face scrutiny regarding safety risks, environmental costs, and the challenge of transitioning from niche innovation to mass adoption.

The best place to be a woman?

Egill Bjarnson

For nearly a decade, Iceland has led global gender equality rankings through targeted interventions such as single-sex schooling in Reykjavik that encourages non-traditional traits and a 2000 "daddy quota" mandating paid paternity leave used by over 70% of fathers. The nation recently became the first to criminalize pay gaps by requiring companies with more than 25 employees to prove equal pay for work of equal value, a measure Reykjavik Energy has already applied to correct disparities between male and female unskilled roles. Although a 6% residual wage gap remains and critics cite compliance costs, proponents maintain these structural changes are essential to treating equal wages as a fundamental human right.