Also: How the anti-AfD firewall broke German politics
August 17th 2026
The Economist Today
Our best journalism, handpicked each day
Bo Franklin
Senior digital editor
Standing at your desk is an excellent way to feel virtuous while towering over colleagues lounging on their backsides. But don’t get too high and mighty.
Our latest Well Informed column
finds that evidence for the health benefits of standing desks doesn’t really stand up. (This article is free to read even if you don’t subscribe to The Economist.)
Germany’s big political parties have long maintained a Brandmauer, or firewall, to keep the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right party, out of power. The policy has
only strengthened the AfD.
Next month it may take office for the first time in a German state. Bizarrely, some politicians in other parties quietly hope it does.
Obamacare is becoming even more frail. The dwindling of state subsidies means more Americans are going without coverage. This makes for a more expensive market and for more
personal health risks.
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China’s exorbitant surplus calls for a much stronger yuan. In a guest essay
Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, explains why this would help address global concerns about Chinese reliance on exports for growth.
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How was the world wired? The completion of the first working Atlantic cable in 1866 marked the dawn of the modern information age.
A new book
shows how the technology of one era laid the foundations for the next.
