The Economist.

Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist.

I'm Jason Palmer.

And I'm Rosie Bloor.

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

That's every weekday for seven years to the day. I know. I can't believe it either.

Speaking of birthdays, this year America is celebrating its 250th.

Over the next few months, we're going to look back on some highlights of the American experiment.

Today, the founding fathers, founding documents, and the first attempt to annex Canada.

And something rather curious can be heard in children's playgrounds around the world,

a song with a repetitive beat and catchy lyrics that has a surprising origin. Find out why it's terrifying parents.

But first...

As Iran's protests kept gathering pace earlier this month, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,

Iran's supreme leader had his security forces cut the electricity and fire their guns into the dark.

Only now that the internet blackout has been lifted is the scope of the violence becoming clear. Torched shopping centers, upturned security vehicles, a university museum in ruins.

Opposition sources say as many as 30,000 mostly young people have been killed.

Relatives sift through piles of body bags.

They must pay what's called a bullet tax to recover the corpses of their loved ones.

Paying the regime for the material of murder.

This brutality, this humiliation, is radicalizing a public that had already turned violent.

Ostensibly, the streets are calm, shops have begun to reopen,

but there's a real sense of mourning.

...