Skin in the Games: Beijing’s nervy Olympics

<p>Our correspondent describes the fraught effort to attend the opening ceremony. It is a pageant <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/02/03/beijings-winter-olympics-symbolise-a-world-divided?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">highlighting a divided world</a>, with party leaders&nbsp;aiming for zero covid, zero mistakes and zero dissent. An investigation reveals the brutal treatment meted out by Libya’s coast guard dealing with Europe-bound migrants—an outfit <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/an-eu-funded-horror-story/21807126?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">bankrolled</a> by the European Union itself. And America’s gun-owners become <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/01/22/gun-ownership-in-america-is-diversifying-because-of-safety-fears?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">surprisingly diverse</a>.</p><p>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></p> &#10;&nbsp;<br /><hr><p style='color: grey; font - size: 0.75em; '>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>