The Week Unwrapped: Blackouts, braces and bronzes
Can we rely on the national grid? What will happen to Smile Direct's customers? And what kind of art can you use to pay your tax bill?
Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Arion McNicoll, Emma Smith and Suchandrika Chakrabarti
You can subscribe to The Week Unwrapped wherever you get your podcasts:
In this week's episode, we discuss:
Subscribe to 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.
Blackouts
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden advised Britons earlier this month to stock up on torchers, battery powered radios and candles to prepare for possible power cuts or cyber attacks. The advice appeared to come from out of the blue, but this week Kenya experienced a serious power outage – which may have been sabotage. How likely is an extended nationwide blackout in the UK? How bad it would be ? And how prepared do we all need to be?
Braces
US-based dentistry firm Smile Direct Club has left thousands of British customers out of pocket and with crooked teeth after the company went bankrupt and collapsed. Why was Smile Direct Club so popular? And what can unhappy customers do next?
Bronzes
One of the finest Italian Renaissance bronzes ever made, a miniature of an ancient Greek marble statue of Apollo, has been donated to the nation in lieu of a £10.5 million inheritance tax bill. The Apollo Belvedere, by Antico, will go on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The acquisition, made under the government’s acceptance in lieu (AiL) scheme, will be formally announced by the Arts Council later this month. What is the acceptance-in-lieu scheme? How does it work? And what kind of art can you use to pay your tax bill?
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Pentagon faces an uncertain future with Trump
Talking Point The president-elect has nominated conservative commentator Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
This is what you should know about State Department travel advisories and warnings
In Depth Stay safe on your international adventures
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
'All Tyson-Paul promised was spectacle and, in the end, that's all we got'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will China's 'robot wolves' change wars?
Podcast Plus, why are Britain's birds in decline? And are sleeper trains making a comeback?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Is the Big Apple drying up?
Podcast Plus, will we benefit from a phone company shake-up? And is marriage good for your mental health?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Should we talk to the voices in our heads?
Podcast Plus Macron charms Morocco, and do Americans really work harder than the rest of us?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Should we send fewer women to prison?
Podcast Plus will fungi get their own kingdom, and what is Meta doing with facial recognition?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: What's behind the Canada-India feud?
Podcast Plus, how would assisted dying change Britain? And are we running out of water?, could discarded gadgets solve the copper shortage? And will employers hire more over-50s?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Are pig-butchering scams taking over the world?
Podcast Plus, could discarded gadgets solve the copper shortage? And will employers hire more over-50s?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Why is Iran texting Swedes?
Podcast Plus can Japan crack its demographic crisis, and what does national debt actually mean?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Are we in the Mattel Cinematic Universe?
Podcast Plus can Japan crack its demographic crisis, and what does national debt actually mean?
By The Week Staff Published