Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio.

I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

In China, a few local governments are running social experiments, giving citizens and businesses a trustworthiness score.

It's a way to encourage good civil behavior and discourage things like paying bills late.

On a visit to one of these cities, we ask if such plans are as Orwellian as they seem.

And in the 1960s, a talented programmer founded a software company Such plans are as Orwellian as they seem.

And in the 1960s, a talented programmer founded a software company that went a bit against the grain,

encouraging flexible working hours among its all-female staff, and not really trying to make much money.

Dame Stephanie Shirley pushed the boundaries for women in computer science and is still doing so today. But first...

Early this morning, many hours after the leaders of the European Union sat down to dinner to discuss its most troublesome member, an agreement was reached on what to do next.

Tonight, the European Council decided to grant the United Kingdom a flexible extension of the Article 50 period until the 31st of October.

European Council President Donald Tusk pulled Britain back from a cliff edge, averting a default no-deal Brexit tomorrow.

But the change in timeline came with a plea.

This extension is as flexible as I expected

and a little bit shorter than I expected.

But it's still enough to find the best possible solution.

Please do not waste this time.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May hadn't been invited to the dinner. Instead, she ate humble pie,

coming back to Brussels once again without a consensus on how to leave the EU,

nearly three years after Brits voted out. Let me conclude by saying this.

I know that there is huge frustration from many people that I had to request this extension.

...