Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Arion McNicoll, Abdulwahab Tahhan and Kate Samuelson.
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
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Egypt’s political prisoners
Alaa Abdulfattah, a British-Egyptian activist imprisoned in Egypt, ended his hunger strike this week, as the Cop27 climate summit came to a conclusion. He is one of an estimated 65,000 political prisoners in the country, few of whose plight ever reaches international headlines. What could and should the international community do in response, and why are so few governments willing to confront Egypt’s leaders?
Teenagers in retreat
A new study conducted in north-west England has revealed that half of youngsters in the region spend their free-time alone. This appears to be a shift from the recent norm, in which teenage years mark a shift towards people spending most of their free time with friends, after the parent-heavy years of childhood. But have digital networks done away with the distinction between socialising and spending time alone? And could anyone blame today’s teens for retreating from the real world.
Tattoos
This week, a report made headlines about a New York mother who was arrested after she gave her ten-year-old son permission to get a tattoo of his name on his arm. The story is indicative of a wider trend of young people going under the needle in greater numbers than their parents. But why have tattoos moved from counterculture to the mainstream – and what role have workplace attitudes, inked-up celebrities and social media played in this?
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August 9 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include snake oil salesmen, Ghislaine Maxwell's new residence, and more
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5 hastily redrawn cartoons about redistrictingCartoons Artists take on Donald Trump's draughtsmanship, the White House ballroom, and more
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Bonnie Blue: taking clickbait to extremesTalking Point Channel 4 claims documentary on the adult performer's attention-grabbing sex stunts is opening up a debate
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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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Andrew Tate and the radicalisation of teenage boysTalking Point Teachers say male students are being sucked into former kickboxer’s ultra- macho world where they are exposed to his disturbing views
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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?
