group of lawyers and businessmen was able to inflict a high-profile humbling on Mr Putin. The case surely mattered greatly to him. Why else would Russia spend so much on phalanxes of lawyers, including 17 at one hearing? And why would it go to such lengths to intimidate opponents, locking up lawyers, sending death threats through macabre Wikipedia updates and, some speculate, downing a Yukos tax adviser’s helicopter? The book leaves a number of mysteries unsolved, including why Mr Khodorkovsky—now an anti-Putin campaigner in exile, having been set free in 2013—remained in Russia to be made an example of, when the Kremlin had given warning that it was coming for him and his company. Naivety? Stubbornness? A martyr complex? But Mr Sixsmith’s well-paced book, readable in a single sitting, shows that Mr Putin’s vindictive, capricious Russia was no place to invest in long before his bloodthirsty adventurism in Ukraine. And that the best way for those he has wronged to get anything resembling justice is to rely on cool heads, clever minds and other countries’ legal systems. ■ For more on the latest books, films, TV shows, albums and controversies, sign up to Plot Twist, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter This article was downloaded by zlibrary from https://www.economist.com//culture/2026/06/18/what-the-largest-ever-shareholder- judgment-reveals-about-russia
Why Westerners are falling for love scams Romance fraud is driven by poverty in west Africa and loneliness in the West, a new book argues June 18th 2026 It was love at first sleight. As with many relationships, Brian’s and Silvia’s courtship started on Tinder. Brian, a dashing American soldier, sent Silvia, a Spanish dentist, passionate affirmations of love: “I want you to be a happy wonderful woman, someone I would love to share more than my life with.” Brian said he was coming to Spain, and Silvia bought two rings. But Brian was not a real soldier; he was a scammer posing as a suitor. He told Silvia he had found bars of solid gold while on deployment in Syria. Silvia’s son grew suspicious. He thought it might be a scam and that his mother would be asked to send money to cover the shipping. They used an
IP-address tracker to find out where Brian’s emails were coming from: the fraudster was in Lagos, Nigeria. Silvia is not the only lonely Westerner to be wooed by a phoney Romeo. Romance scams are one of the most costly types of fraud in America, according to the Federal Trade Commission: people gave away nearly $1.5bn to so-called “love scammers” in 2025. In Britain reports of romance fraud jumped by nearly a third last year, with people losing as much as £1m ($1.3m). Silvia’s son, Carlos Barragán, was distressed and baffled that his mother had been duped. So in 2022 he flew to Lagos to search for the scammer. Though it proved impossible to find the real Brian, Mr Barragán discovered the “criminal underworld” of romance fraud. In an engrossing new book he takes readers from Kentucky to Lagos to explore how loneliness in the West and poverty in west Africa are “two sides of the same screen”. Many love scams are run by crime syndicates in South-East Asia. Mr Barragán expected to find a “sophisticated network of fraudsters” in Nigeria, too: instead he encountered unemployed young men in rough neighbourhoods, who use copy-and-paste scripts rather than complex manipulation tactics. Many work alone, staying up all night to avoid their parents’ prying eyes.
In Nigeria Yahoo Boys—a nickname that nods to the email addresses scammers once used—say they rely on fraud to survive. Between 2022 and 2025 Mr Barragán spent months in Ikotun, a poor neighbourhood in Lagos, witnessing the effects of high youth unemployment and rampant inflation. He saw that for scammers like Azeez (pictured), a 14-year-old tailor’s apprentice, a $10 gift card from a British victim is worth more than his family pays in rent a month. (With some of their earnings Yahoo Boys prop up local businesses, splashing out at fancy boutiques and nightclubs.) Mr Barragán asks workers, policemen, academics and Yahoo Boys themselves to estimate the share of young men who are involved in such scams in Lagos: their answers range from 45% to 80%. The Yahoo Boys call their victims “clients” to make their work seem legitimate; some see their relationships as transactional, providing companionship in exchange for cash. They share tactics with each other for finding vulnerable victims online, as well as the latest pickup lines and plausible scenarios to ask for money to be wired. Some pretend to have a sick child who needs help; others blackmail victims, threatening to share intimate pictures if they do not pay up. Mr Barragán wonders how credulous Westerners can fall head-over-heels for such smarmy scripts. He looks “for a con so intricate it might justify” his
clever mother believing it. But he finds something alarmingly simple: the scammers are successful because they provide attention to lonely people. AI will complicate love scams. It could make it easier to target a much larger number of victims with personalised correspondence, without relying on teams of boys and men (and growing numbers of women) in Nigeria or elsewhere. But AI could also offer safer ways for people to feel less lonely. Various apps now provide virtual lovers that are even more fawning than fraudsters. As Mr Barragán puts it, AI partners provide “a fake relationship without the betrayal”. Yahoo Boys may struggle to compete with that. ■ For more on the latest books, films, TV shows, albums and controversies, sign up to Plot Twist, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter This article was downloaded by zlibrary from https://www.economist.com//culture/2026/06/17/why-westerners-are-falling-for-love- scams
Adults are going back to summer camp Retreats designed for grown-ups are growing in popularity June 18th 2026 IT IS SATURDAY at Camp Social, and the dining hall is abuzz. The campers chat excitedly about what the weekend might have in store. Will they spend it making friendship bracelets and tie-dyeing t-shirts, or hiking and kayaking? Many are dressed for adventure, sporting trainers and with water bottles in hand. Held in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, Camp Social is a traditional summer camp with an unconventional clientele—for it is one of a growing number of sleepaway camps for adults. Some, such as Camp Social, are aimed at women; others cater to LGBT+ people. Whether you are after festival vibes, a wellness retreat or immersion in nature, someone somewhere has set up a camp for you.
This type of getaway has exploded in popularity in recent years. In 2025 Yelp reported a roughly 350% increase in searches for such weekend breaks. And the trend is not unique to America: similar concepts have popped up across Europe. (Camp Château, for instance, operates across two sites in southern France.) There are several reasons for camps’ success. One is the stresses of the modern world. In decades past, adults sent their boisterous children away to camp to get some respite from parenting. Now, however, adults are signing up for a respite from their own hectic lives. Camp No Counsellors, which operates across America, invites grown-ups to “remember what it feels like to have fun without a schedule, a deadline or a single work email in sight”. With no obligations or pressure to look or act a certain way, plus the beautiful backdrop of nature, campers feel they can truly relax. The pre- planned schedule offers a break from the constant decision-making of adulthood. “I like to think of camp as a reset,” says Liv Schreiber, Camp Social’s founder. “You’re just reconnecting to you and leaving the world behind.” Another reason for the cabin fever is that camps offer the nostalgic pleasures of childhood. Millennials and Gen Z spend their money and free time
“kidulting”, whether playing in a ball pit or with soft toys—and what could be more evocative of carefree bygone summers than marshmallows and bunk beds? “Fun”, Ms Schreiber declares, “is the number-one version of self-care.” You can recharge by charging around an inflatable water park. Finally, the campfires keep burning because adults are yearning for real- world social connections. In America there are fears of a “friendship recession”, as many report having fewer close mates than they once did. Camps, meanwhile, promise meaningful bonds. Camp Social’s website declares that “99% arrive solo, and 100% leave as friends.” Guests often put away their phones, swapping mindless scrolling for conversations with people from different backgrounds and generations. (The fastest-growing age group at Camp Social is 40- to 70-year-olds, Ms Schreiber notes, and the oldest camper to date was 84.) Kim Barbieri says she has struggled to make friends as a young adult, but formed a group of pals at camp last year. “I’ve never felt as much of a sense of belonging as I did that weekend,” Ms Barbieri asserts. “I feel like I’ve known these four other people for my entire life—and really I spent one weekend with them.” Summer camp does not come cheap. Several organisations charge around $1,000 for a long weekend (often with meals, lodging and transport
included). Some see that as a small price to pay for adventure and friendship. The experience has produced a lot of happy campers. ■ For more on the latest books, films, TV shows, albums and controversies, sign up to Plot Twist, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter This article was downloaded by zlibrary from https://www.economist.com//culture/2026/06/18/adults-are-going-back-to-summer-camp
Harry Styles and other megastars now expect you to come to them Artists are visiting fewer cities on their global tours June 18th 2026 “STRAIGHT OFF the plane to a new hotel/Just touched down, you could never tell.” When Harry Styles sang those lyrics in 2014, he was already well accustomed to the glamour and grind of a global concert tour. Across his boyband and solo career he has performed more than 600 gigs on six continents. His previous tour visited 79 cities. But not all is as it was. The 68 concerts on his new tour will be hosted in just seven cities. He is in the midst of a 12-night run at Wembley stadium in London, which ends on July 4th. In August he will go to Madison Square Garden in New York to play 30 concerts.