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.

Climate debates tend to be dominated by talk of big countries and big carbon emitters.

But the world's thousands of tiny islands, which climate change might swallow whole,

have banded together to form a potent negotiating force.

And India produces some of the world's finest scientists and engineers.

Earlier this month, its space agency very nearly pulled off an incredible low-budget moon landing.

So why does so much of Indian science funding involve mysticism and cow dung?

But first...

Much of Donald Trump's tenure as president has been marked by slow-motion drip-feed scandals,

allegation, denial, investigation, and then a slow fade from the news. But the controversy

surrounding his phone call with Ukraine's president, Vladimir Zelensky, is unfolding like

a pacey thriller. Today, the acting director of National Intelligence, Joseph McGuire,

will be grilled about a whistleblower's report of the call. For months, talk of impeachment hasn't risen

above a murmur. This week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a change of heart. I'm announcing the House of

Representatives moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. The president must be held accountable.

No one is above the law.

Mr. Trump has admitted that he spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart about investigating Joe Biden,

his probable rival in next year's election.

The question now is whether the president used hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid

as leverage to get his bidding done.

A majority of the House seems to think so.

In the Senate, so does top Democrat Chuck Schumer.

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