Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
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Toast
Since Her Majesty’s prison at Lincoln allowed inmates to eat unlimited amounts of toast and jam there has been a dramatic 11% drop in violent prison incidents. Were prisoners responding to a more humane and kinder form of treatment, of which the provision of good food is just one possible expression? And if so, why are the prison authorities more generally, so reluctant to enact such relatively costless and decent reforms?
Liars
A new psychological study has found that 13% of people consider themselves “pathological liars” and tell about 10 lies a day. Should compulsive lying be classified as a diagnostic disorder? Do people lie more now than they used to? And is lying necessary for society to run smoothly?
Pensioners
Greece is cutting its tax rate on foreign pension income to just 7%, in a bid to attract well-off retirees to boost its economy in the wake of the coronavirus. But will the rest of Europe stand for their populations being cherry-picked?
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August 8 editorial cartoonsCartoons Friday's political cartoons include a Greenland rebrand, a presidential eye test, and creeping inflation
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Who owns Gaza? Israel's occupation plansThe Explainer Egypt, Israel and Britain have ruled the beleaguered territory
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The Week Unwrapped: Korean succession, terror by algorithm and German disquietpodcast 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?
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The Week Unwrapped: Chinese chips, the Pope in Africa and podcastingpodcast Is China losing the microchip war? What is the Vatican doing in South Sudan? And has the podcast tide turned?
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The Week Unwrapped: Sex and health, the Earth’s core and another new yearpodcast Is the NHS failing British women? What’s going on at the centre of our planet? And what’s in a date?
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The Week Unwrapped: Antisocial Saudis, hormone therapy and retro techpodcast 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?
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The Week Unwrapped: AI in court, Germans in Taiwan and ghostwriterspodcast Could artificial intelligence replace lawyers? What does Taiwan want from Germany? And are ghostwriters becoming less ghostly?
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The Year Unwrapped: White refugees, Aegean islands and celebrity gossippodcast 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?
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The Week Unwrapped: Tracking apps, BTS and stay-at-home girlfriendspodcast 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?
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The Week Unwrapped: Africa alert, ticket touts and the words of the yearpodcast Is South Africa at risk of terrorist attacks? Why are ticket touts in such high demand? And are we really in a ‘permacrisis’?
