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.

More and more, voters linger in the echo chambers of social media and television news,

and increasingly they describe their lives as lonely.

We head to America's Midwest, asking whether these parallel trends explain why politics is so angrily partisan.

And blue chip companies are pumping more money and effort into wellness initiatives for their

employees. But it's not just gym memberships and on-site massages. They're providing a lot of

financial wellness, too.

First up, though, according to the Indian government, all is well in the Kashmir Valley. But in reality, life for those who live there, most of whom are Muslim, is far from normal.

There's no internet.

Mobile phones don't work.

Most schools, factories, and offices are closed.

Troops patrol the streets amid frequent demonstrations.

It began on August 5th, when this Indian part of Kashmir was stripped of the special status and autonomy it had enjoyed for the past 70 years.

As part of this radical reorganization of India's most troublesome territory, the state was put on lockdown.

After two months, it's unclear how the situation will end.

The government would like to portray things as being normal, but it's far from normal.

Max Rodenbeck is our South Asia bureau chief.

You've got about 7 million people living in the Kashmir Valley

who've had their internet and mobile phones suspended for the last two months.

There's a heavy, heavy presence of security forces, about half a million in not a very big

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