Editor’s Picks: December 19th 2019

<p>A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the holiday issue of The Economist. This week, the phenomenon of <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/12/18/pessimism-v-progress" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">technological pessimism</a> (08:23), how to cut <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/12/21/how-to-cut-homelessness-in-the-worlds-priciest-cities" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">homelessness </a>in the world’s priciest cities (12:51), and how <a href="https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2019/12/21/how-china-made-the-piano-its-own" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">China made the piano</a> it’s own</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions:</p><p><a href="http://www.economist.com/radiooffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/radiooffer</a></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p> &#10;&nbsp;<br /><hr><p style='color: grey; font - size: 0.75em; '>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.</p>