Issue
Issue of September 5, 2026
Issue of September 5, 2026
Headlines
The love of money is the root of quite a lot of good
International · How work makes families more equal
The Bible said it was the root of all evil; The Economist begs to differ, one working wife at a time.
●●●●●
A hair-raising heir
Middle East & Africa · What will happen to Uganda when Yoweri Museveni goes?
“Hair-raising” (alarming) meets “heir” (successor to power) — the near-homophones do the heavy lifting while Uganda’s future does the alarming.
●●●●○
Opening the glass door
Leaders · In many countries, the biggest barrier to prosperity is in the home
The glass ceiling gets a demotion — in many countries the barrier isn’t advancement within the workplace but being allowed through the front door at all.
●●●●○
Of listings and listlessness
Finance & Economics · IPO booms can spell trouble for the markets
Hong Kong’s IPO market is booming while its secondary market yawns — the two words share a root but part company in meaning, just like the two markets.
●●●○○
The Bayeux tapestry: quite the yarn
Leaders · What the Bayeux tapestry teaches about surviving against the odds
“Yarn” as in thread and fabric, and “yarn” as in a tall tale — the 70-metre embroidery is literally both.
●●●○○
Dogfight diplomacy
China · The lengthening reach of China’s armed forces
China’s fighter jets doing joint exercises with Egypt — a riff on “gunboat diplomacy” updated for the aerial age, where the dogfights are both literal and diplomatic.
●●●○○
Buried in the text
The fallout has made its successor party, the CDP, radioactive
Asia · Japan’s mainstream political opposition is a shambles
After Fukushima’s literal meltdown, the governing party suffered nuclear fallout in both the physical and political senses — making its successor toxic on all frequencies.
●●●●○
Land, however smoothly graded, has always been a lumpy investment
Finance & Economics · China tries to look past the property slump
“Graded” as in levelled terrain and investment grade; “lumpy” as in uneven ground and irregular capital outlays — two real-estate puns working double shifts in one sentence.
●●●●○
The Harris Ciceronic Universe
Culture · With “Agrippa” Robert Harris is back to roaming in ancient Rome
The MCU for classicists — swap “Cinematic” for “Ciceronic” and Marvel for Robert Harris, whose Roman novels have become their own sprawling franchise.
●●●○○
Let Data Reign
United States · How data centres became one of America’s hottest political issues
Trump’s rallying cry for AI infrastructure, where “reign” (dominance) is a homophone of “rain” — let the data pour.
●●●○○
Qiqihar’s real beef is not with Texas brisket
China · The serious, rivalrous business of Chinese barbecue
A barbecue-capital article where “beef” (grievance) meets beef (the literal product on the grill).
●●●○○
Physical sports are in the relegation zone
Business · LIV Golf’s failure shows how not to invest in sport
Saudi Arabia’s sports investments being demoted — the football term for dropping to a lower league, applied to the PIF dropping sports from its strategy.
●●●○○