[Free to access upon setting up an account] It feels appropriate, a couple of months after the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, to pause and consider whether the world is more, or less, secure from terrorism than in the latter part of the previous century. We inhabit a world where traditional terrorist threats, which tended to be localised and focused on the destruction of property and killing servicemen, policemen and public figures, feel somewhat primitive. Our new world is populated by Jihadis and extremists who buy ‘one-way tickets’ on route to martyrdom and mass casualty events.

The telecoms and technology sector has weathered the coronavirus pandemic better than many others, despite supply-side disruption. Looking ahead, business and investor attention will be focused on the 5G rollout, semiconductor shortages and widespread changes to cyber security regulations.

Shifting views of risk replace capacity as the pre-eminent driver of renewals. The mix of heightened secondary catastrophe perils, rising core inflation, temporarily subdued social inflation and a dislocated cyber market have reset the risk landscape, adding a large dose of complexity to an already complicated underwriting environment.

Journalists, media executives, columnists, commentators, and media critics—from the US and around the world—offered McKinsey their perspectives on what will make the news, from climate change and misinformation to the growing role of artificial intelligence and global supply-chain challenges. And, critically, what is unlikely to merit the headlines we all ought to see more of in the coming months.