September 11th 2026

The Economist Today Our best journalism, handpicked each day

Lane Greene Senior digital editor

An old Soviet joke was “we pretend to work, and they pretend to pay us.” In today’s Russian schools it might be “they pretend to teach, and we pretend to learn”: Russia has introduced error-ridden, propaganda-laden “patriotic” education that makes many parents and students quietly sigh and check out. And today marks 25 years since the attacks that changed the world. We look back on the post-9/11 tools that Congress gave the presidency to fight the war on terror. Most of those are still on the books, and Donald Trump has misused them to attack non-terrorist enemies (like drug smugglers) and persecute phantom foes (like “antifa”) at will.

Editor’s picks A selection of must-read articles

Putin’s war on children’s minds Russia has turned its schools into indoctrination machines Soviet-style educational propaganda is back

→ Ukraine is bracing for Russia’s hardest winter blitz yet

Anniversary politics How counterterrorism has empowered Donald Trump’s imperial presidency After 25 years, it may be time to reform the policies 9/11 inspired

→ The day the world changed [2001] → The wounds are healing slowly—but they are healing [10th anniversary]  → How America wasted its unipolar moment [20th anniversary] → Two books assess the impact of September 11th on America

Silicon dunes War has not halted the Gulf’s data-centre boom Investors see plenty of reasons to continue pouring money into the region

A theory of the leisure class Can China finally relax? The hard-working society wants to kick back more, but faces constraints

Bigger fish to fry Brexit has disappointed British fishermen But they have greater things to worry about

More of our coverage ▸ When the defenders of democracy turn their backs on it instead. Brazilians used to trust their top court. Now, at the centre of an ugly, ever-expanding corruption scandal, that trust is fraying.  ▸ “Black gold” is pouring out of Myanmar. The war-torn country is again the world’s main known source of illicit opium, according to the UN. We explain why its poppy growers are back in business.  ▸ The forgotten contraption that gave birth to mass media. A perceptive new book, “Hot Type”, recounts the entertaining history of a device whose name is unknown to many, but which changed the world.

Podcast The Intelligence