Explainers
Explainer
Sovereign wealth
Trillion-dollar piggy banks: Inside the world of sovereign wealth
Norway’s is famously huge. Qatar used its to buy Harrods. How do sovereign wealth funds work? And why isn’t ours as big as Norway’s?
- by Angus Holland
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Explainer
US Votes 2024
‘I screwed up’: When is a leader too old to lead?
Joe Biden’s recent halting debate against a blustering rival caused panic in some quarters. But does it mean he should throw in the re-election towel?
- by Angus Holland and Jackson Graham
Explainer
Housing crisis
‘A diabolical mess’: How did we get into this housing crisis, and how do we get out?
Hard-won deposits, soaring rents, crippling mortgages, capital gains, negative gearing … What’s to blame, and how do other countries do housing?
- by Angus Holland and Josh Gordon
Explainer
World elections
‘Le TikTok king’: How a 28-year-old could be France’s new prime minister
Snap elections in France have put a spotlight on the leader of its major far-right party. Who is he? And why is French politics in turmoil?
- by Angus Holland and Jackson Graham
Explainer
Science
They ‘see’ music, smell colours, feel flavour. What’s it like to have synaesthesia?
Zinia is a composer who literally sees her music take shape. But it’s not just artists who experience this rare “crossover of the senses”. How does it work?
- by Jackson Graham
Explainer
World politics
Why is North Korea sending trash balloons into the South?
K-pop is blasting into North Korea once more as bizarre tactics ratchet up tensions on the peninsula. We explore what’s behind this “tit-for-tat” in an Explainer updated from earlier this year.
- by Angus Holland and Jackson Graham
Explainer
United Nations
Why can’t the world’s peacekeeper stop the fighting in Gaza and Ukraine?
Two regional conflicts are threatening global peace. Could the United Nations step in – and, if so, why hasn’t it?
- by Angus Holland
Explainer
US election
Trump jokes he will be dictator for a day. But could it happen?
They can pardon a turkey and order a nuclear strike – but could a sitting US president really sweep away all checks and balances on power and rule unchallenged?
- by Jackson Graham and Angus Holland
Explainer
Evolution
No more ‘Homo stupidus’: Why Neanderthals are getting a makeover
They were shrewd, complex and creative, and we shared the planet with them (and other types of humans) for thousands of years. So why did the Neanderthals die out and not us?
- by Angus Holland
Explainer
Healthcare
‘Disorders of consciousness’: The million-dollar question and the mysteries of coma
An “acute brain failure” jettisons a patient, their doctors and families into an anxious twilight zone. How aware is a person in a coma? And how are decisions made in the face of uncertainty?
- by Jackson Graham
Explainer
Quantum Computing
Chandeliers, ‘qubits’ and Schrödinger’s cat: Inside the bizarre world of quantum computing
In the quantum realm, the laws of physics are different. Now its mind-bending tech could soon transform our lives. How does it work?
- by Angus Holland, Jackson Graham and Angus Dalton