The Week Unwrapped: Are we in the Mattel Cinematic Universe?

Plus can Japan crack its demographic crisis, and what does national debt actually mean?

Hot Wheels cars atop their packaging
Hot Wheels is among the dozens of Mattel properties with big screen adaptations in the pipeline
(Image credit: Tiffany Hagler-Geard / Bloomberg / Getty Images)

What does Japan's ever-growing proportion of pensioners mean for the future? Why is the UK's national debt set to treble? And is Polly Pocket the next Barbie? Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.

It makes for a lively, enlightening discussion, ranging from the serious to the offbeat. Previous topics have included whether solar engineering could refreeze the Arctic, why funerals are going out of fashion and what kind of art you can use to pay your tax bill.

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