It's Monday, the 18th of May, 2020. I'm Zani Minton-Bedos, the economist's editor-in-chief.

Welcome to Editors' Picks, where you can hear three highlights from the paper read aloud.

We have two cover stories this week. In most of our editions, we lead with a lament for globalization.

It was in trouble even before the pandemic. The open system of trade that has dominated

the world economy for decades had been damaged by the financial crash and the Sino-American

trade war. Now it's reeling from its third body blow. World goods trade may shrink by

between 10 and 30% this year. A fractured world will make solving global problems harder,

including finding a vaccine and securing an economic recovery.

In Europe, our cover focuses on the crisis facing the European Union on three fronts, not

just economic, but political and constitutional too. The persistent failure to reform the EU

and its currency is leading to workarounds that provoke challenges to its core institutions.

The EU's members can't agree on what they want nor on how to bring about that change.

Now of all times, when America and China are at loggerheads, that's a tragic missed opportunity.

And writing from Washington, D.C., our Lexington columnist looks at Mike Pompeo.

The Secretary of State, he argues, is confusing global leadership with bashing his opponents.

The stories you're about to hear are just a sample of what's on offer in this week's edition of the paper.

With a subscription, you can read or listen to all of what we do.

To get your first 12 issues for $12 or 12 pounds, go to economist.com slash radio offer.

First up, has Covid-19 killed globalization?

As the flow of people trade and capital slows, the underlying anarchy of global governance is being exposed.

Even before the pandemic, globalization was in trouble.

The open system of trade that had dominated the world economy for decades had been damaged by the financial crash and the Sino-American trade war.

...