Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters.
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
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Bird mystery
When hundreds of yellow-headed blackbirds were filmed appearing to fall from the sky in mysterious circumstances in northern Mexico last month, the footage quickly went viral, baffling millions of viewers. This week the phenomenon was finally explained, but in the gap between the event and the explanation, all sorts of rumours and theories were proposed, from climate change to 5G to pollution, mid-air electrocution and even alien activity. What does this tell us about the way we process information and attempt to understand the world.
Pivot to podcasts
This week marked the release of Matt Hancock’s first long-form interview since his career-derailing affair with an aide last year. But this exclusive tell-all with the former health secretary wasn’t granted to a veteran broadcaster. Instead, Hancock appeared on The Diary of a CEO, a podcast said he was “completely hooked” on. The sonic scoop came less than two weeks after the BBC’s Jon Sopel and Emily Maitlis announced they were leaving the corporation to launch “a major new podcast” and co-host a radio show. But why are so many famous figures ditching the small screen for audio – and what does this mean for the future of TV news?
Nostalgia
A new study has found that nostalgia can act as a painkiller, reducing the sensation of pain in a group of patients who were showed images and videos that recalled their childhood. It seems to work not simply by distracting people from pain, but by reducing the activity in the parts of the brain that transmit and perceive pain. What does this tell us about the power of nostalgia? And might it be useful to us in other unexpected psychological ways?
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5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
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Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
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Codeword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
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The Week Unwrapped: Is it time for a new world map?Podcast Plus, why is the pope getting flatmates? And why are seagull 'muggings' on the rise?
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The Week Unwrapped: Has Donald Trump secured his Nobel Peace Prize?Podcast Plus, what does the use of North Korean and Indian labour tell us about the Russian war economy? And why have we all gone crazy for pickles?
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The Week Unwrapped: Why are we watching the ocean floor?Podcast Plus, what can we learn from a football club on the brink? And which jobs will fall to AI first?
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The Week Unwrapped: Could AI replace catwalk models?Podcast Plus, should countries sue each other for climate damage? And what does Grand Theft Auto 6 tell us about the video game industry?
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The Week Unwrapped: Are electric bikes 'invading' London?Podcast Plus, why is Volodymyr Zelenskyy opposing anti-corruption laws? And how will US withdrawal affect Unesco?
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The Week Unwrapped: Should women be conscripted?Podcast Plus, are digital ID cards inevitable? And why do women get more ACL injuries?
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The Week Unwrapped: How do you turn plastics into paracetamol?Podcast Plus, what is the Wagner Group doing now? And why is it so hard to find a job after university?
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The Week Unwrapped: Could the Greens ape Reform UK?Podcast Plus, are more people opting out of public services?
