Armed groups are terrorising Colombia’s border with Venezuela
AP
January 2025, The Economist
The Colombian government has declared a “state of internal commotion” in response to the worst humanitarian crisis in decades. Reporting from Cúcuta about the calamity in the region of Catatumbo.
I explain more on “The Intelligence” podcast:
Donald Trump turns an angry gaze south
January 2025, The Economist
I contributed reporting—on the bust-up between Trump and Colombia’s president—to this regional story about why relations with Central America are likely to worsen.
“Gustavo Petro claims a moral victory. To many Colombians he was reckless, risking his country’s prosperity…and regionally, he is on his own.”
US Government
The Colombian powerhouse behind some of streaming’s biggest hits
Ricardo Tomás
December 2024, The Economist
Two of the biggest Latin American television series of recent years have depicted Colombia; “Narcos” and “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” If you enjoyed either, then you have Dynamo to thank.
My profile of the Colombian production company
Digital nomads are a force for good in Latin America
September 2024, The Economist
In Medellín and Mexico City, digital nomads are blamed for raising rents and gentrifying neighbourhoods. Is that fair? Co-reported piece on the new nomad lands of Latin America — and why the remote-work tribe represents an opportunity for the region’s cities.
Read why digital nomads are flocking to Latin America in my edition of the El Boletín newsletter
Reuters
Perfume of the Pacific: the allure of Colombian vanilla
August 2024, The Economist
I was visiting El Valle, a town in the region of Chocó, to watch migrating humpback whales and spot poisonous frogs. Instead, I ended up learning more than I ever thought I would on the labour-intensive and competitive world of vanilla harvesting. For El Boletín, a newsletter
Colombia prepares for a vanilla boom
August 2024, The Economist
Demand for vanilla has outstripped supply for years. Now buyers are looking for new sources, such as Colombia where the vine grows wild in jungles along the Pacific coast
SWISSAID
A battle royal over deep-sea archaeology in the Caribbean
June 2024, The Economist
Colombia begins to explore the San José, one of the world’s most contested shipwrecks. With a present-day value estimated at many billions of dollars, the Spanish galleon is also the most valuable wreck. At the end of May, Colombia sent an underwater robot down to the San José, which lies 600 metres below the waves
Gustavo Petro’s attempts at reform are increasingly infuriating Colombians
June 2024, The Economist
Colombia’s first left-wing president came to power in August 2022 promising to reduce inequality in one of the world’s most unequal countries. Since taking office Gustavo Petro has been pushing through a series of reforms in pursuit of this goal. But almost two years into his term, the bills underpinning his signature reforms have stalled
Getty Images
“The Vortex”, written 100 years ago, anticipated eco-literature
April 2024, The Economist
The novella by the Colombian writer José Eustasio Rivera evokes the region’s colonial history, when conquistadors pillaged jungles and slaughtered indigenous inhabitants in pursuit of riches. Why one of Latin America’s most important books is also timely, a century later
How moussaka made it into the pantheon of Greek gastronomy
March 2024, The Economist
How did moussaka—sloppy squares of richly flavoured mince, potatoes, aubergines and indulgent béchamel sauce—come to be thought of as Greece’s national dish? Its entry into the pantheon of Greek gastronomy came about a century after Greek independence. The country’s embrace of the dish is a lesson in how traditions are forged and how patriotism revolutionised a classic dish
Colombia’s first avowedly left-wing president is mired in scandal
Reuters
January 2024, The Economist
Backpacks full of cash, Caribbean condominiums and 1.1bn unexplained pesos ($281,000): these sound like details in a John le Carré novel, not the stuff of court papers. And yet all three appear in the evidence in a criminal case against Nicolás Petro, son of Gustavo Petro.
Why the president’s son, brother, and former chief of staff are all under investigation
A new era for west African architecture
Ademola Olaniran & Jide Atobatele
November 2023, The Economist
In 2024 several grands projets will be completed in Benin, Nigeria and Senegal, heralding an exciting new era of architecture that represents democracy, modernity and sustainable development
Why films have become so ridiculously long
October 2023, The Economist
Popular films are nearly 50% longer today than in the 1930s. From “Killers of the Flower Moon” to “Oppenheimer”, when did watching a movie become such a slog? Listen to this story on “The Intelligence”. Created in collaboration with The Economist’s data team
Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple
Thanks to Morgan Wallen, country music’s popularity has surged
Getty Images
August 2023, The Economist
The first songs branded “country” were recorded in Atlanta and sold in 1923. In the century since, Americans have danced and sung to country music with gusto, often sporting stetsons and boots. Today, the genre is breaking new records. Listen on “The Intelligence” podcast
How America’s right turned “Rich Men North of Richmond” into a hit
August 2023, The Economist
He sports a red beard fit for a Viking, prays before he performs and strums his guitar with his three hounds slumped by his boots. Oliver Anthony is an unlikely star. How did an unsigned, unknown artist become the minstrel of the moment? Listen on “The Intelligence” podcast
Getty Images
“The Retrievals”, a podcast
about agony and addiction,
makes listeners squirm
July 2023, The Economist
The women remember pain ripping through the most intimate parts of their bodies. One recalls bucking her hips wildly on the operating table. These harrowing experiences at Yale Fertility Centre are the subject of “The Retrievals”, a gripping new podcast from Serial Productions and the New York Times
What the crown jewels reveal about Britain’s colonial past
May 2023, The Economist
A new exhibition at the Tower of London presents the Koh-i-Noor and Cullinan diamonds as symbols of conquest. I unpick the controversies that swirl
around Britain’s royal bling
Eleonora di Toledo understood
the power of her image
Portrait of Eleonora di Toledo with her son Giovanni, Agnolo Bronzino, circa 1545, Uffizi Galleries
April 2023, The Economist
Before social media, there were portraits. This is the story of a Renaissance woman who accrued power despite the constraints imposed on her sex
Is “Satanic panic”
returning to pop music?
April 2023, Plot Twist, The Economist’s culture newsletter
Right-wing voices denounced Sam Smith’s performance as “demonic” and a “satanic ritual”, recalling the “Satanic panic” that ripped through America in the 1980s and 1990s. This backlash reflects how polarising LGBTQ and transgender issues have become
March 2023, Plot Twist, The Economist’s culture newsletter
Zandile Tshabalala is a young painter from Soweto, Johannesburg who uses painting to claim ownership over her body. Her work celebrates and commemorates black women
Zandile Tshabalala is a rising star of South Africa’s art scene
Courtesy the artist and Galerie Nagel Draxler Berlin/Cologne/Munich. Photo: Simon Vogel
At the cutting edge: how Donatello shaped the Renaissance
“Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance” at the V&A in London. Image: V&A Museum
Tall buildings are
transforming Quito
Qorner and IQON. Courtesy of Uribe Schwarzkopf
February 2023, The Economist
A series of blockbuster shows in Florence, Berlin and London reacquaint modern audiences with one of the most important sculptors in Western art history
December 2022, The World Ahead 2023, The Economist
The capital of Ecuador is a new playground for renowned architects such as Bjarke Ingels and Jean Nouvel. I wrote about why Quito is going upwards—to the dismay of some residents
Richard Mosse documents the hidden war in the Brazilian Amazon
Broken Spectre, 2022. Courtesy of the artist, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York and carlier | gebauer, Berlin/Madrid. © Richard Mosse. Installation view by Tom Ross
October 2022, The Economist
In a powerful work of video art, the Irish photographer reveals the systematic destruction of the largest rainforest on Earth
Ukrainian musicians have a stark message for the Kremlin
June 2022, The Economist
As the war in Ukraine grinds one, a new wave of electronic anthems mix comedy with patriotism to boost the country’s morale. I spoke on “The Intelligence” podcast about the bassline music emerging from the conflict
The history of Notre Dame cathedral, in augmented reality
Histovery
April 2022, The Economist
A brilliant new exhibition in Paris, coinciding with the third anniversary of the fire, traverses 850 years of glory and tragedy
September 2022, The Economist Espresso
An old conservatory in The Hague has become a haven for more than 50 ballet dancers forced by war to flee Ukraine. I wrote about a performance of “Giselle” by the United Ukrainian Ballet in London
Ukraine’s pirouettes of patriotism
United Ukrainian Ballet. Alina Cojocaru, Alexandr Trusch, London Coliseum, photo by Mark Senior
Repatriating looted art—as NFTs
Benin bronzes via Flickr
May 2022, The Economist Espresso
I wrote about “Looty”, a project launched by a group of Nigerian and Somali activists. It involves making NFTs from images of African artifacts looted during the colonial era
How environmental damage can lead to new diseases
October 2021, The Economist
Deforestation and intensive farming are linked to outbreaks of zoonotic pathogens.
I spoke on “The Intelligence” podcast about why the number of diseases jumping from animals to humans is set to keep rising
What is being done to tackle “period poverty” in the West?
January 2021, The Economist
Some governments provide free products, others are cutting taxes. Activists urge them to do more
How British family life is going back to the 1950s
January 2021, The Economist
Under lockdown, households
are settling into a way of life that in many ways resembles a timewarp
September 2019, The Economist
A data story: under a bill backed by Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president, they could become even more common
Police killings in the state of Rio de Janeiro are at a 20-year high
Governments subsidise fossil fuels to the tune of $427bn a year
Indonesia has banned marriage for young girls
October 2019, The Economist
Why doing away with such handouts is devilishly difficult
September 2019, The Economist
Indonesia has the eighth-highest number of child brides in the world according to the UN, but this month the country’s parliament raised the minimum age at which girls can marry from 16 to 19. That is encouraging, but many other countries still tolerate or encourage child marriage
.
October 2021,
The Economist Espresso
A hundred often visceral photographs go on display at Wildlife Photographer of the Year, an exhibition produced by the Natural History Museum in London. They are both sublime and sobering: signs of human encroachment on the natural
world are visible throughout
Nature’s finest: Wildlife Photographer of the Year
How art is grappling
with climate change
July 2021,
The Economist Espresso
Storms and flooding have swept in behind temperatures hot enough to melt roads in Britain last week. Climate change is, consequently, at the forefront of many minds. I wrote about the Folkestone Triennial, where several artworks reflect this preoccupation
October 2021, The Economist Espresso
Coral reefs host around one-quarter of the Earth’s marine species. But they are vanishing fast. I wrote about pioneering artificial reef designs that can sustain farmed coral and other marine life
