The firm got in early providing online-payment software to tech startups. Now it’s the most valuable Silicon Valley darling yet. We look at its future prospects. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo faces a <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/02/20/andrew-cuomo-faces-a-reckoning-for-a-pandemic-related-cover-up?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">raft of allegations</a> and widespread calls to quit; our correspondent reckons he will not go anywhere without a fight. And the Kabul <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2021/03/13/plastic-surgery-is-thriving-in-afghanistan-to-the-outrage-of-some?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">beauty trend</a> that keeps growing.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

Earning them: Stripe’s monster valuation

In a province that is home to a massive natural-gas project, a long-simmering insurgency has burst into horrific violence; we ask why the government <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/03/18/america-designates-a-new-branch-of-islamic-state-in-mozambique?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">seems to have lost control</a>. Our correspondent visits Minneapolis, where the police officer accused of murdering George Floyd <a href="https://espresso.economist.com/2255538166d2e6f3c6097c2c4df4e0be?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">goes on trial</a> today. And the existential threat to a bird that has forgotten <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2021/03/17/extinction-looms-for-a-bird-that-has-forgotten-how-to-sing?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">how to sing love songs</a>.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

The smell of gas: insurgency in Mozambique

Western fashion brands are in Chinese consumers’ crosshairs, the victims of political wranglings over sanctions and human-rights issues—a <a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2021/03/27/china-boycotts-western-clothes-brands-over-xinjiang-cotton?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">spat</a> that may soon consume other industries. A striking number of people in the criminal-justice system have had traumatic brain injuries; our correspondent investigates how much <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/03/27/a-huge-share-of-prisoners-have-brain-injuries-they-need-more-help?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">that link</a> has been overlooked. And why the audio app Clubhouse has stormed the Middle East.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

High threat-count: boycotts in China

As the country <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2021/04/03/germanys-management-of-covid-19-is-growing-shakier?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">wrestles</a> with another covid-19 wave, the battle to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel is building. We look at the <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2021/03/14/germanys-ruling-party-takes-a-serious-hit-in-two-state-elections?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">political</a> and epidemiological races. Prince Philip was a loyal consort to Britain’s queen for seven decades; our correspondent <a href="https://www.economist.com/obituary/2021/04/09/prince-philip-duke-of-edinburgh-is-dead?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">recalls</a> meeting him at a difficult time for the family. And why Kenyans are at last <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/04/08/kenyans-are-starting-to-drink-their-own-coffee?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">indulging</a> in their own coffee.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

Plagued by uncertainty: German politics

Few believe President Joe Biden’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2021/04/13/joe-biden-gives-up-on-the-war-in-afghanistan-leaving-a-weak-ally?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">withdrawal plan</a> is wise; it is already prompting allied forces to go. We ask about the risks of that untimely vacuum. Much climate-change angst focuses on carbon dioxide, but addressing sources of methane would be an <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/04/03/governments-should-set-targets-to-reduce-methane-emissions?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">easy way</a> to slow warming—and even to save money. And Bhutan’s world-beating vaccination drive took just <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2021/04/10/bhutan-vaccinated-almost-all-adults-against-covid-19-in-a-week?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=third-party-host&amp;utm_content=show-notes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">one week</a>. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

Boots off the ground: America’s Afghanistan drawdown

Disquiet Junto Project 0466: [ ] Sound Machine. The Assignment: What sort of sound does your city make?

I screwed together a few beats and sounds and added a lot of field recordings. So you will hear Munich (summer) sounds all the time, from birds and beergardens to subways and rainy backyards. The cow at the end is not real Munich, but a bit of a bavarian clichee.

Follow me on Bandcamp: https://krakenkraft.bandcamp.com/

I used own field recordings plus these CC0 recordings:
https://freesound.org/people/sephis/sounds/89965/
https://freesound.org/people/herrbasan/sounds/211662/
https://freesound.org/people/MiLeuthner/sounds/399017/
https://freesound.org/people/Jack_Master/sounds/204920/ the cow!
Thanks to them!

More on this 466th weekly Disquiet Junto project, [ ] Sound Machine (The Assignment: What sort of sound does your city make?), at:

https://disquiet.com/0466/

Project inspired by a December 2, 2020, tweet from George Wallace:

https://twitter.com/MrGeorgeWallace/status/1334274395938832387

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

https://disquiet.com/junto/

Subscribe to project announcements here:

https://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co:

https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0466-sound-machine/

Munich Slacker [disquiet0466]

https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/flute-key-staccato/
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/aanaa-the-unfinished-choir/
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/voxsepulvedae/
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/coffee-can-metallophone/

Pi(Flute Key Staccato & Aanaa – The Unfinished Choir & VoxSepulvedae & Coffee Can Metallophone Demo)

This adds to rhein's track, Safe (https://soundcloud.com/rheinmusic/safe-disquiet0472). And also takes a fairly safe approach. Some piano and later a sequenced Newfangled Audio Gravitate with a little tape effect and some echo and reverb.
---
More on this 473rd weekly Disquiet Junto project — Placebo Effect (2  of 3) / The Assignment: Record the second third of a trio that others  will complete — at:

https://disquiet.com/0473/

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

https://disquiet.com/junto/

Subscribe to project announcements here:

https://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co:

https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0473-placebo-effect/

There’s also a Disquiet Junto Slack. Send your email address to twitter.com/disquiet for Slack inclusion.

safe-ish (disquiet0473)

building on these tracks: https://soundcloud.com/bick-brannigan and https://soundcloud.com/la_el/lonely-late-90s-boy-gets

took it back to the 80s with some ibanez hd1000 as a "hard reverb" recorded to tape, played back through the hd1000 as an octave up effect. tried to sinc up the reverbed and the octaved tracks but the tape didn't play back at the same speed every time (and I did some manual wobbles of the varispeed). Added some flanger with valhalla space modulator to give some stereo width to the pitch shifted track.

Millenial Bop Disquiet0474

The vaccine appears to be working well as long as folks agree to receive it.  If the vaccine continues to work for everyone maybe we'll have a normal Thanksgiving day this year, 

rev.2  = now with high accordion part.
rev 3  = now with high and low accordion.

there-will-be-a-delay

waiting for normal

Original track: https://soundcloud.com/torstengoerke/somebodys-gonna-leave-disquiet0474?in=disquiet/sets/disquiet-junto-project-0474

I basically had 4 tracks with different effects that I switched between kind of haphazardly. one with delay, one pitch shifted down 6 half steps, one with LFO and resonator, and the original track which I was going to leave alone but then I decided to make it sound like a clock radio with saturation and EQ.

More on this 475th weekly Disquiet Junto project — Low End (4 of 3) / The Assignment: Remix a trio by doing forensics on its component parts — at:

https://disquiet.com/0475/

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

https://disquiet.com/junto/

Subscribe to project announcements here:

https://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co:

https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0475-low-end/

There’s also a Disquiet Junto Slack. Send your email address to twitter.com/disquiet for Slack inclusion.

Images associated with this project are by (left to right) Meg Jones, Israel Avila, and orangechallenger, all used thanks to Flickr and a Creative Commons license allowing editing (cropped with text added) for non-commercial purposes:

https://flic.kr/p/mDRT9
https://flic.kr/p/5bFGMU
https://flic.kr/p/cGSjx7

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

Torsten Goerke, Daniel Diaz and David Gibbs - Somebody's Gonna Remix (Disquiet0475)

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High threat-count: boycotts in China

The Economist

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