Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.
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In this week’s episode, we discuss:
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Gender and genes
The double Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya has lost her latest attempt to compete as an athlete without having to lower her testosterone levels, after a ruling by the Swiss Federal Tribunal. The judgement has been fiercely criticised as being discriminatory and infringing Semenya's human rights, as well as being arbitrary and unenforceable. So what does the science say? Can competition ever be truly fair? And what could Semenya do next?
Colombian violence
Four years on from a historic peace agreement between the government and rebel fighters, violence has returned to Colombia in 2020 with factional fighting and massacres happening on a near-daily basis. With FARC out of the picture and a “law-and-order” president in charge, how has the country’s delicately balanced peace come crashing down?
The orca fightback
Over the past couple of months, a pod of orcas living in the Straits of Gibraltar appears to have been targeting shipping. In one case nine killer whales attacked a 46ft boat, breaking off its rudder, disabling its engine and turning it around. Several other incidents have been reported. While researchers don’t know exactly why this is happening now, some have suggested the whales resent the return of boats to their waters after lockdown.
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