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.

South Africa's president has a lot on his plate after his first year in office.

Unemployment is rising, international investment is falling, and he's promised to tackle the

corruption that runs rampant in his party.

Oh, and there's an election coming up.

Also, it's the elephant in the room, the smoking gun, sometimes it's the straw that breaks the

camel's back.

Metaphors can go too far, and our language columnist declares war.

First up though.

Last week Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a new congresswoman with big policy ambitions, revealed

her green new deal.

It's a proposal for sweeping new legislation on the environment and much more.

I'm a change in our environmental challenges are one of the biggest existential threats

to our way of life, not just as a nation but as a world.

And in order for us to combat that threat, we must be as ambitious and innovative in our

solution as possible.

That ambition is evident in the plan's name, harking back to Franklin Roosevelt's new

deal, itself a radical set of policies to repair and rebuild the country racked by the

depression.

It is time for courageous action, and the recovery bill gives us the meaning.

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