That’s actually a better headline. “SUVs do exponentially greater damage to roads” …

I know better than most to be a jerk about headlines, which it often falls to me to write. Don’t be a jerk, ever. Still, I’d tweak this one….

Heavier vehicles exert greater forces on the surface below them, say scientists

Our own unscientific poll of our subscribers: who won?

YouGov survey results by political party for the question, Who do you think benefits more from the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran?

Apr 9 poll of 2,837 U.S. adults (+/-2.6 points)
% who think [the U.S. | Iran] benefits more from their ceasefire
U.S. adults 14% | 29%
Democrats 13% | 29%
Independents 12% | 25%
Republicans 17% | 32%
yougov.com/en-us/daily-...

Susie Dent: why German made her fall in love with English YouTube video by Word For Word with Sophia Smith Galer

I *gulp* tried to guess Susie Dent 3 language facts that she didn’t know before. Want to see how I did?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMrY...

When emigration helps bad rulers survive A new book finds links between mass migration and democratic backsliding worldwide

What happens when liberal-minded voters emigrate from their enshittifying countries? Sadly the evidence confirms that this usually strengthens the autocrats back home.

www.economist.com/internationa...

Georgia House Special Runoff Election 2026 Live Results See live results from the 2026 Georgia House Special Runoff election as votes are counted.

Link here.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

In Marjorie Taylor Greene's Georgia district last night, the 11-point Democratic loss is a huge outperformance. Greene won it by 30 points last time, and Trump won it by 37 points.

Thanks!
There's a Tiktok playlist, which is easiest.
www.tiktok.com/@theeconomis...
They're all on The Economist's Instagram but not as easily organised, and ditto on our own app.

Their shingle: copymight.org

Does anyone know about the Copymight Coalition, purporting to represent authors whose works have been sucked up into AIs? On one hand, interested; on the other I have been getting relentless e-mails despite my non-replies. And about half Mike Hodson's (re-)posts (on X) are for a sports-betting site

Today, April 7, is Kwibuka32, the commemoration of the 32d anniversary of the first full day of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda.
Past US presidents marked the date with stock statements of “never again.” Today the president instead echoed the language & threats of the perpetrators.

Thrilled to be nominated for a Webby for Animation, for the shorts based on my language columns. Huge thanks to my brilliant Economist Video colleagues.
We're up against the Death Star: help us beat Disney! Stick your vote right up the old exhaust port.
vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...

Just started reading Kory Stamper's book on defining colors, and it's as much a delight as I expected. This will be a joy to read, and if I'm not careful, is gonna distract me until I miss my bus.

Oh man, just love this song so much, and Willie's guitar criminally underrated only because he's such an amazing singer and songwriter.

And then turns out to be the world's most decent dude.

How China hopes to win from the war Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake

Total triumph from our picdesk.

www.economist.com/leaders/2026...

Screenshot of a 14 Dec 2023 tweet from @SenMarcoRubio reading "No U.S. President should be able to withdraw from NATO without Senate approval. Thankful my colleagues in Congress passed this bipartisan measure."

Marco Rubio in 2023

That and the fact that Trump told voters, in exactly these words “I will immediately bring prices down”. Not slow their rate of increase. So while I share the financial journo’s wonderment that people aren’t more chill with 2.4% inflation, I don’t feel bad for Trump or the voters who believed this.

Paris' extended café terraces return for summer 2026 Originally brought in a temporary Covid-related measure, expanded café terraces have now become a fixture of Paris in the summer, and this year once again return on April 1st.

In 2020, Paris allowed cafés to expand terraces into the street & parking spaces
Then people realised that sitting chatting with pals while drinking beer is a much better use of the public space than storing a car there
Now temporary terraces come back every summer (with some form-filling). Santé 🍻

“The worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it. That makes the other guy smell blood, and then you’re dead.”

Donald Trump and the art of bad diplomacy Donald Trump's confrontation with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz has led to soaring oil prices, market volatility and growing domestic opposition to the conflict.

Trump didn't write Art of the Deal (ghostwriters do that for the rich and famous). But did he even read it?

Our analysis of his dealmaking skills:

www.economist.com/united-state...

"The White House maintains that it doesn't need the help of any country."

I will just remind anyone struggling this that "I Hate You, Don't Leave Me" is a classic book on being in a relationship with someone with borderline personality disorder.

A more thought-through argument than what I tried to say the other day: governments shouldn't blunt the price signal for consumers when genergy prices surge. It expensive, un-green and pushes the pain on countries that can't afford to do so.

www.economist.com/leaders/2026...

Christine Lagarde’s sober tone on the Gulf war energy shock Christine Lagarde warns that risks from the Iran war are underestimated, with energy disruption potentially lasting years and limited fiscal space for response.

In an interview with The Economist, Christine Lagarde says expectations of a swift return to normal may be “overly optimistic” and that there is “no way” the Gulf’s lost energy supply can be restored within months

Because if there's one thing I saw in the cross-tabs after 2024 it's that people didn't care about prices so much as they did about the threat from Iran.

That this argument would even occur to an elderly bishop—who seems to really feel he was "provoked" by 13- and 14-year-olds—is about the clearest argument I can think of that celibacy warps the normal development of a human being.

There are a lot of bad excuses for the pedophilia epidemic: Vatican II, the 60s, homosexuality. But "the sexy kids made me do it" is the most contemptible of all.

Go on, pretend a 13yo sexually "provoked" a priest. In what universe does the powerless priest give in and fondle him or her?

“Chicos de 13 años me han provocado”: las palabras del obispo Bernardo Álvarez a una víctima para justificar el encubrimiento y los abusos El Vaticano recibe una grabación de un afectado que muestra cómo la diócesis de Tenerife protegió a un sacerdote durante los años 2000

The former bishop of Tenerife tells a victim: "I have experience of this, as a priest--boys and girls of 13 or 14 that provoked me..."

elpais.com/sociedad/202...

The Revolutionary Guards are taking over Iran They now appear to run both the state and the war

I suppose it’s technically a sort of regime change.

The Revolutionary Guards are taking over Iran
economist.com/middle-east-...
from The Economist