A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. A new crop of right-wing presidents is rapidly aligning Latin America with Donald Trump. Although they promise security, they threaten to erode their countries’ democracies.

Topics covered:

• Latin America
• Civil liberties
• Securitisation

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A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Measures of academic competency are falling among young people in America. In response, universities are dumbing things down. It’s time they raised their standards of both instruction and admission.

Topics covered:

• Higher education
• Grade inflation
• Apprenticeships

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A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. A backlash against artificial intelligence is spreading across the West. Governments must find ways to share the benefits of AI as widely as possible.

Topics covered:

• AI regulation
• Data centres
• Technology sector

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A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. As the American government ramps up deportations, scammers are preying on desperate immigrants. From impersonating lawyers to staging fake hearings, these criminals are swindling migrants out of the American dream.

Topics covered:

• Scams
• Immigrants in America
• Immigration law

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A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. As artificial intelligence models become increasingly sophisticated and capable, they are also becoming more expensive. Some businesses are struggling to cover the skyrocketing cost of computing tokens.

Topics covered:

• Tokenmaxxing
• AI for business
• Tech industry

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A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. India is courting foreign capital to fuel its rapidly growing economy. However, global investors remain wary of the country's dynastic corporate leadership.

Topics covered:

• Indian economy
• Family businesses
• Jio IPO

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The value of Chinese Biotech

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. China has become a global powerhouse for cutting-edge pharmaceutical research. America’s misguided attempts to shut out Chinese biotechnology threaten the worldwide search for new cures.

Topics covered:

• Chinese biotechnology
• Pharmaceutical research
• Medical science

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A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Modern businesses are prone to spreading their resources too thinly across dozens of competing goals. True productivity requires leaders to stop hoarding priorities and actively kill off unnecessary projects.

Topics covered:

• Workplace management
• Psychology
• Business strategy

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