The Economist.
Hello and welcome to The Intelligence from The Economist.
I'm Rosie Blau.
Today on the show: India tries to crush the Gen Z protests.
And why everyone, apart from possibly me, should try singing.
But first,
Joel, rather than asking you what you had for breakfast for the sound check,
could you sing something for me, please?
Yeah. La, la, la, la, la, la, la.
Do you mind that if I use that for the start, please?
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
Singing has provided a soundtrack to human history.
It's central to human life.
Joel Budd is The Economist's social affairs editor.
Songs tell people about their past and about their values.
It's not completely clear, but it seems that ancient epics,
which placed societies in mythic time, were usually sung or chanted.
Virgil's Aeneid in the most common translation begins 'I sing of arms and the man.'
It doesn't begin 'I speak of arms and the man.'
Singing has for a long time been a way to bind ideological communities together.