Capital gained: a grim turn in Darfur

<p>The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have at last taken El Fasher, the capital of Darfur. Reported atrocities are <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/10/30/darfurs-besieged-capital-falls-to-the-rapid-support-forces?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sharply rising</a>, in a chilling echo of what happened in the region two decades ago. Artificial intelligence is narrowing the information asymmetry between sellers and buyers, spelling an end to the “<a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/10/27/the-end-of-the-rip-off-economy?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rip-off economy</a>”. And why the literary genre of questionnaires <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/10/19/question-1-why-are-questionnaires-in-trouble?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">is fading</a>.</p><br /><p><em>Get a world of insights by </em><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>subscribing to Economist Podcasts+</em></a><em>. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our </em><a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>FAQs page</em></a><em> or watch </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>our video</em></a><em> explaining how to link your account.</em></p><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>