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 you a world.

In 1979 some intrepid explorers set off on the Trans Globe expedition, circling the

planet and crossing both poles. The plan left two of the adventurers overwintering in

Antarctica in mostly dark for months. Luckily there were plenty of books around.

And lots of companies would like you to give genetic test kits to your friends and family

this holiday season. We take a look at the risks to consumers and the benefits to science

that these tests present.

But first, as 2019 draws to a close, our top story takes a step away from the news to examine

a trend that's dominated the year. The world is accustomed to hearing the lies of dictators.

The North Korean leader Kim Jong-lun is a denigod that America caused Venezuela's economic

mess. Or that nothing much happened on June 4th, 1989 in Tiananmen Square.

In democracies too, politicians have always massaged or even mangled the truth.

I'm going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman.

But there's something different about the age we live in today.

What's different now is that there's more brazen and open and repeated political lying

in democracies. John Parker is the economist's editor at large.

So the best example of this is the sort of misleader of the Western world is Trump himself.

Trump keeps saying that we're building the wall.

We're building a wall on the border of New Mexico.

And we're building a wall in Colorado.

We're building a beautiful wall.

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