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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Happiness
The tenth annual survey of world happiness has once again put Nordic countries at the top of the table. Why are the Finns and Danes so content with their lot, and why are no African countries in the top 50. Some analysts have suggested that the result has as much to do with the way in which the survey is compiled as with actual levels of happiness – but in the absence of other measures it seems to be the best guide as to how the world is feeling.
Child Q
Two police officers were withdrawn from frontline duties this week after it emerged that they had strip-searched a 15-year-old girl after her school reported that she might be carrying cannabis. No drugs were found. The case has shed light on the number of children who are strip searched by police in London – and led to allegations that police and teachers are racially profiling youngsters.
School uniforms
Japan has a long history of school uniform rules that seem bafflingly strict to onlookers in the West: it’s not unusual for schools to specify the colour of underwear and require children to dye their hair black. Now, though, public schools in Tokyo are relaxing some of the more stringent rules, after a survey of parents and teachers found that support for them was falling. Are the days of school uniform numbered, in Japan and elsewhere?
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Helsinki's year of zero road fatalitiesUnder the Radar Finland's 'Vision Zero' safety strategy 'shifts responsibility for crashes from road users to the designers of the road system'
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Critics' choice: Outstanding new Japanese restaurantsFeature An all-women sushi team, a 15-seat listening bar, and more
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Why do Dana White and Donald Trump keep pushing for a White House UFC match?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The president and the sports mogul each have their own reasons for wanting a White House spectacle
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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’?
