The Week Unwrapped podcast: Naughty yoga, firewalls and joke leaders
Why is Iran cracking down on yoga? How did a comedian become president of Ukraine? And why is China tightening its Great Firewall?
Olly Mann, The Week and special guest Bassem Youssef delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
Naughty yoga
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.
Thirty people taking part in a yoga session were arrested during a private class in Iran recently, in the latest crackdown by the country’s morality police. This week, the regime also closed 547 restaurants and launched an app for people to report the “moral crimes” of their neighbours. So what is driving the harsh new measures?
Read more about Iran's morality crackdown.
Funny leaders
Ukraine is gearing up for a parliamentary election next month that will decide whether it’s new president - a TV sitcom star with no political experience - will have the clout to push through his vision of sweeping reforms. Why are voters across the world being drawn to anti-establishment newcomers with few policies beyond “not this”?
The Great Firewall
This week China blocked its citizens’ access to major news sites including The Guardian, The Washington Post, NBC and HuffPost. But it isn’t just China that is censoring the internet. As countries around the world shut down websites and collect user data, has the era of online freedom come to an end?
You can get tickets for Youssef's live show in London here.
You can subscribe to The Week Unwrapped on iTunes, SoundCloud or wherever you get your podcasts. It is produced by Matt Hill and the music is by Tom Mawby.
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
-
One great cookbook: 'The Zuni Café Cookbook' by Judy Rodgers
The Week Recommends A tome that teaches you to both recreate recipes and think like a cook
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Stephen Miller is '100% loyal' to Donald Trump
He is also the architect of Trump's mass-deportation plans
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: November 14, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Korean succession, terror by algorithm and German disquiet
podcast Could a 10-year-old girl rule North Korea? Will an Isis victim upend web law? And why is Germany upset with its Oscars contender?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Chinese chips, the Pope in Africa and podcasting
podcast Is China losing the microchip war? What is the Vatican doing in South Sudan? And has the podcast tide turned?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Sex and health, the Earth’s core and another new year
podcast Is the NHS failing British women? What’s going on at the centre of our planet? And what’s in a date?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Antisocial Saudis, hormone therapy and retro tech
podcast Why is Saudi Arabia investing in – and banning – social networks? Will new research make life easier for trans women? And is the future of technology dumb?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: AI in court, Germans in Taiwan and ghostwriters
podcast Could artificial intelligence replace lawyers? What does Taiwan want from Germany? And are ghostwriters becoming less ghostly?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Year Unwrapped: White refugees, Aegean islands and celebrity gossip
podcast Was 2022 the year of the white refugees? What’s really going on in the Aegean sea? And why are we so obsessed with showbiz scandals?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Tracking apps, BTS and stay-at-home girlfriends
podcast Does China’s U-turn mark the end of Covid-tracking apps? Has South Korean pop passed its peak? And are we really seeing the rise of the stay-at-home girlfriend?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Africa alert, ticket touts and the words of the year
podcast Is South Africa at risk of terrorist attacks? Why are ticket touts in such high demand? And are we really in a ‘permacrisis’?
By The Week Staff Published