Radio enthusiast finds lost Desert Island Discs recordings
Good news stories from the past seven days
More than 90 lost recordings of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs have been found by a radio enthusiast from Suffolk. The episodes, which date back to the 1960s, were unearthed by Richard Harrison, who buys boxes of old reels and cassettes at car boot sales and auctions, and listens to them to find out what’s on them. Margot Fonteyn and Bing Crosby were among the castaways he found, but he said he’d been “most excited” by a 1964 episode featuring Dirk Bogarde. “The neighbours must have wondered what was up. I let out a huge yell of triumph.
Parkour athletes address energy crisis
Parkour athletes in Paris are using their talent for scaling high walls to flip the light switches of signs that have been left on overnight, in defiance of energy saving rules. Since 2013, shops in the city have been required to turn off their signs and displays between 1am and 6am, but enforcement is lax – hence the “Lights Off” operation. “Everyone can contribute [to energy saving] in their own way,” said Kevin Ha, who leads a group. “We put our physical abilities to good use.”
Couple rescue babies from burning daycare centre
An American couple have been praised for rescuing more than a dozen babies from a burning daycare centre. David Squillante and Doran Smith were visiting Barcelona on their honeymoon when they passed a building that had smoke pouring out of a doorway. Squillante ran in, and stumbled across “a bunch of babies” in a room that was rapidly filling up with smoke. Aided by his wife, he picked them up, put them into their cots, and dragged them all out into the street. “It felt like we watched it in a movie,” he recalled. “It just didn’t feel real.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures Ready for lift-off, the odd one out, and more
-
The Week Unwrapped: Have pedigree dogs had their day?Podcast Plus what can we learn from Slovenia’s rejection of assisted dying? And can politicians admit their weaknesses?
-
4 often overlooked home maintenance tasks that could cost you laterThe Explainer A little upkeep now can save you money down the road
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
The Mushroom Tapes: a compelling deep dive into the trial that gripped AustraliaThe Week Recommends Acclaimed authors team up for a ‘sensitive and insightful’ examination of what led a seemingly ordinary woman to poison four people
-
‘Chess’feature Imperial Theatre, New York City
-
‘Notes on Being a Man’ by Scott Galloway and ‘Bread of Angels: A Memoir’ by Patti Smithfeature A self-help guide for lonely young men and a new memoir from the godmother of punk
-
6 homes built in the 1700sFeature Featuring a restored Federal-style estate in Virginia and quaint farm in Connecticut
-
Film reviews: 'Wicked: For Good' and 'Rental Family'Feature Glinda the Good is forced to choose sides and an actor takes work filling holes in strangers' lives
-
Nick Clegg picks his favourite booksThe Week Recommends The former deputy prime minister shares works by J.M. Coetzee, Marcel Theroux and Conrad Russell
-
Park Avenue: New York family drama with a ‘staggeringly good’ castThe Week Recommends Fiona Shaw and Katherine Waterston have a ‘combative chemistry’ as a mother and daughter at a crossroads