Finance doesn't need to be disrupted.

It means people who see the potential for progress,

like faster payments, more transparency, and new ways to meet compliance,

so that finance can move at the speed of business.

This is what our blockchain solutions deliver for financial institutions,

enterprises and central banks around the world.

Progress is a choice, and it's one you can make right now.

Ripple, crypto means business.

Hello and welcome to the Intelligence from the Economist.

I'm Jason Palmer.

And I'm Aura Okambi.

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

As much as epidemiology has progressed,

only one human disease, smallpox, has been completely eradicated.

Many others that seem like distant history continue to spread and flare up.

We investigate the return of leprosy to Florida.

And worries about the burden of animal produce on the climate and our health

is driving a wave of creative innovation in alternative proteins.

We're not just talking nut milks and pea-based cheeses.

We visit a company making ice cream out of thin air.

But first...

In two Latin American countries this weekend, pivotal elections took place.

...