Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Arion McNicoll, Guy Anker and Suchandrika Chakrabarti.
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
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Ghost tankers
Reports this week have shed light on the network of sanctions-busting oil tankers that are ferrying oil around illicitly. Known as "shadow tankers" or "ghost tankers", they ply their trade between Iran, China and Ukraine – making up a fifth of the overall global crude oil tanker fleet. What does this tell us about the effectiveness, or otherwise, of sanctions – and what could be done to seal some of the loopholes?
Supermarket loyalty cards
According to research by the consumer magazine Which?, big supermarkets are fiddling with prices to make discounts for loyalty cards look better than they actually are. At a time when food prices are still rising, many of us are looking for ways to save money – but are we being misled? And since many loyalty card points are now worth less than they used to be, are we still getting good value for the data we hand over in return?
Court protests
A women who stood outside a court with a sign telling jurors that they have "an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to your conscience" will be prosecuted under contempt of court laws, it emerged this week, leading to protests from civil liberties campaigners. Trudi Warner, 68, displayed the sign outside the trial of a group of climate campaigners. What law did she transgress, and what does mean for the right to protest?
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Political cartoons for January 18Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include cost of living, endless supply of greed, and more
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Exploring ancient forests on three continentsThe Week Recommends Reconnecting with historic nature across the world
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How oil tankers have been weaponisedThe Explainer The seizure of a Russian tanker in the Atlantic last week has drawn attention to the country’s clandestine shipping network
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The Week Unwrapped: Will Uganda’s pop-star politician prevail?Podcast Plus, is dodgy data undermining medical research? And what does a new app reveal about Chinese society?
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The Week Unwrapped: Is Elon Musk’s AI tool a platform for abuse?Podcast Plus can Mumsnet predict who will be the next PM? And who is still watching Avatar sequels?
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The Week Unwrapped: What’s the cost of PFAs?Podcast Plus why is George Osborne joining OpenAI? And has universal basic income finally come of age?
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The Week Unwrapped: what’s scuppering Bulgaria’s Euro dream?Podcast Plus has Syria changed, a year on from its revolution? And why are humans (mostly) monogamous?
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The Week Unwrapped: Will drought fuel global violence?Podcast Plus why did Trump pardon a drug-trafficking president? And are romantic comedies in terminal decline?
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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?
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The Week Unwrapped: Will US Catholics rebel against the Pope?Podcast Plus what are the ethics of freezing your late partner?
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The Week Unwrapped: Can musicians challenge Putin?Podcast Plus who were the ‘human hunters’ of the Bosnian war? And what should happen to captive penguins?
