Judge dread: the fight for Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a liberal icon. Her death last week opens a Supreme Court vacancy for Donald Trump to fill, which could tip <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/09/19/a-battle-for-the-supreme-court-looms-after-the-death-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the court further right</a> ahead of what might be a legally fraught election. And there is nothing that Democrats can do about it. The majority of land in Africa is <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2020/09/12/the-quest-for-secure-property-rights-in-africa?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">neither mapped nor documented</a>. People who can’t prove that they own their land, cannot unlock its value. That is holding back the continent’s economies. And Japan may be famous for its slick and speedy bullet trains. But the country’s rural railways have <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/09/12/japans-rural-railways-are-disappearing?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reached the end of the line</a>. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>