[alkank]

I read The Economist. Reasons and benefits I have seen so far are:

1. It's weekly. "World this week" section is more than enough to have a summary of what has happened throughout the globe and I can get this information in less than 5 minutes. If you are interested in being more up-to-date, you can also try Economist Espresso, which is daily.

2. It's not only about world news, but also has different sections such as Technology, International, Book & Arts which gives me a wider range of topics to digest on a weekly basis.

3. This is, in my opinion, the most important bit: Because I'm digesting a wider array of topics but only spending an hour or two every week, I have observed a surprising benefit on human relationships as well:

Kick-starting a conversation with a person I don't know.

As a not-so-social person I have always struggled finding a topic to chat about with a person I have met recently. Now, first thing I do is to ask this person where he/she is from, or what their hobbies are, and all of a sudden I make a connection with an article I have recently read on the magazine and try to learn more from that person. This is a wonderful way of building a relationship as well as learning quite interesting facts about the culture or the hobbies of that person.

[benjaminjosephw]

I started regularly reading The Economist a few months ago and it's absolutely transformed my relationship with media and the news. I had previously given up on consuming any media other than HN. One of my close friends challenged me to think more about my relationship with others in the world outside of my small circle of friends and family which led to me deciding to subscribe to The Economist. It has been one of the best decisions I've made all year.

In addition to the points mentioned I'd also add:

1. It's clear about it's own bias and doesn't pretend to be completely neutral in its reporting (though it is generally quite balanced). That gives me a chance to read certain articles a little more carefully when I know they are likely to clash with my own world-view and biases (i.e. the controversial article "Inequality could be lower than you think").

2. They are absolutely fantastic at injecting a little humour in otherwise quite serious journalism. For example, this headline: "Soaring pork prices hog headlines and sow discontent in China"

3. It has a good amount of intelligent comment and debate on a massive range of topics that has opened my thinking up to ideas and perspectives I hadn't previously encountered or wrestled with in any meaningful way.

I hadn't expected regularly reading a newspaper would be as enjoyable and as challenging as it has been. It's been a lot more valuable than I would have thought. I'd highly recommend it.

[sfifs]

While the Economist is often recommended, somehow I increasingly find articles posted from the Economist to be very shallow takes - as if a high school literature student was asked to turn in an essay on a given topic. I have rarely felt satisfied after reading any Economist article in last couple of years through I don't know if this represents a growing understanding of the world on my part as I grow older or standards in the Economist declining. I don't necessarily feel the same issue though for NYT or WaPo articles.

[jesterson]

Exactly this. Made me unsubscribe to paper issue few months ago.

Also noticed that they often display clear unjustified political bias, which didn't happen before. Not sure if it is intentionally or not.

Nonetheless, it remains one of the best sources for me.

[baron816]

Have long read The Economist and it has definitely influenced my world view probably more than anything. +1 to everything you said—it’s a huge help in conversations.

Recently, their app has included audio recordings of all their articles the day a new issue is released. That’s made it much easier for me to digest nearly the whole thing each week.

[crocodiletears]

I'm similarly attached to the WSJ's weekend edition. It's a good highlight reel for the week's news, and avoids most of the hyperventilation the NYT seems prone to.

If you've read both, how would you compare the two?

[trykondev]

Over the past few months I've been consciously reducing my time spent on news sites/reddit/social media. It's been a huge benefit to my available time & overall level of focus, but that change has definitely left me craving some more legitimate & compelling articles to read and I've been feeling a bit "out of the loop". The Economist sounds like a wonderful recommendation & I've just subscribed based on reading your comment -- thanks so much for the suggestion!

[ljw1001]

IDK Reasons, but the Economist is a great news source.

[hrez]

The Economist podcasts.