Essay
![](https://web.archive.org./web/20220809201215im_/https://www.economist.com/img/b/1280/720/90/media-assets/image/20220709_ESD001.jpg)
An anatomy of erasure
How a free and open Hong Kong became a police state
It was a long time in the planning
![](https://web.archive.org./web/20220809201215im_/https://www.economist.com/img/b/1280/720/90/sites/default/files/images/print-edition/20200822_ESD001_0.jpg)
The viral universe
Viruses have big impacts on ecology and evolution as well as human health
They are ubiquitous, diverse and very powerful
![](https://web.archive.org./web/20220809201215im_/https://www.economist.com/img/b/1280/720/90/sites/default/files/images/2019/06/articles/main/20190629_esp029.jpg)
A gamble on the rains
The South Asian monsoon, past, present and future
A story of famines and trade, science and cupidity
![](https://web.archive.org./web/20220809201215im_/https://www.economist.com/img/b/1280/720/90/sites/default/files/images/print-edition/20190223_ESP021_0.jpg)
The global centre
The story of China’s economy as told through the world’s biggest building
It is a microcosm that reveals how much China is master of its own fate
![](https://web.archive.org./web/20220809201215im_/https://www.economist.com/img/b/1280/720/90/sites/default/files/images/2017/12/articles/main/20171223_ned003.jpg)
Nationalism: further listening
The Economist’s playlist of national anthems
An accompaniment to our essay on nationalism
![](https://web.archive.org./web/20220809201215im_/https://www.economist.com/img/b/1280/720/90/sites/default/files/images/print-edition/20160618_ESP009_0.jpg)
Europe
Between the borders
The idea of European unity is more complicated than its supporters or critics allow
![](https://web.archive.org./web/20220809201215im_/https://www.economist.com/img/b/1280/720/90/sites/default/files/images/2015/12/articles/main/20151219_esp077.jpg)
Animal minds
Animals think, therefore…
The inner lives of animals are hard to study. But there is evidence that they may be a lot richer than science once thought
![](https://web.archive.org./web/20220809201215im_/https://www.economist.com/img/b/1280/720/90/sites/default/files/images/print-edition/20150815_ESP001_0.jpg)
Asia’s second-world-war ghosts
The unquiet past
Seven decades on from the defeat of Japan, memories of war still divide East Asia