The Week Unwrapped: far-right espionage, sports embargo and gasoline poisoning

Olly Mann and The Week dive into headlines and debate what really matters.

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In this week’s episode, we will discuss:

Scout far right

A German court has ruled that the far-right Alternative to Germany (AfD) can be classified as a suspected threat to democracy, paving the way for domestic intelligence agencies to opposition party scout. So is this a slippery slope to continue studying outside political movements? Or an unethical measure to preserve liberal values?

Sports embargo

The government has moved to impose sanctions on Owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovitch after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The measures come after a series of players and clubs moved to demand Russian sponsors on the orders of Vladimir Putin about an invasion. So has football finally woken up to the impact of sport?

Toxic gasoline

A US study found that exposure to leaded gasoline reduced the intelligence quotient of about half of the US population. For people born in the 1960s and 1970s, when lead gas use was on the rise, the decline in IQ was estimated to be up to 6 points and for some people more than 7 points. Given that the last stocks of leaded fuel were depleted only last year, could this be the first insight into global trends?