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.

Two crashes of Boeing's 737 Max planes cost hundreds of lives.

The costs to Boeing, to the airlines that depend on its planes, and to the suppliers that depend on its orders, are still being calculated.

Right now, it's about $4 billion a quarter.

Of course, some travelers opt not to fly at all.

Today, the teenage climate activist Greta Tunberg arrives in New York after crossing the Atlantic by sailboat.

She wanted to highlight flying's environmental effects, but she's not the only one.

In her native Sweden, there's even a word for flight shame.

First up, though.

In the waters between South Korea and Japan

lies a cluster of tiny islands,

scattered like sharp pebbles flung into the water.

Almost no one lives there.

Even birds and trees barely cling to life.

But this week, the islands have been at the center of a fight between the countries,

one that's escalated into a row involving trade and national security.

So these islands are called Docto by South Korea and Takashima by Japan, and they're disputed

territory in the sea between the two countries.

They've been disputed since the end of the Second World War when the Japanese Empire was being carved up

and South Korea became an independent country.

Lena Shipper is our sole bureau chief.

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