Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Suchandrika Chakrabarti, Rory Reid and Sorcha Bradley.
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
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Russians in Bali
The growing number of Russian tourists on the Indonesian island of Bali has led to growing tensions with the local population. The island’s government has called for Indonesia to cancel it visa-on-arrival policy, claiming that Russians with tourist visas are working illegally – and accusing them of being disrespectful to the Balinese population. But are Russians being unfairly singled out?
ChatGPT gets an upgrade
The AI-powered chat bot ChatGPT was hailed as a breakthrough, for good and ill, when it was introduced to the public last year. Now it’s getting an upgrade, which is intended to make it more powerful – and more nuanced. Should we welcome the news, or fear it? To those people who were worried about the current bot’s ability to propagate misinformation, a subtler version represents an even greater threat.
Seaweed runs riot
The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, a vast seaweed bloom of such immense scale that it can be observed from space, is currently heading towards Florida, where it is predicted to make landfall during the peak summer season. Although harmless in the open ocean, the sargassum seaweed becomes a problem when sizable portions wash up on the shoreline and start to decompose, releasing toxic fumes that damage beaches, disrupt local ecosystems, and drive away tourism. What is behind this year’s seaweed super-bloom and what can be done to protect beaches against it?
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The Week Unwrapped: What’s the cost of PFAs?Podcast Plus why is George Osborne joining OpenAI? And has universal basic income finally come of age?
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The Week Unwrapped: what’s scuppering Bulgaria’s Euro dream?Podcast Plus has Syria changed, a year on from its revolution? And why are humans (mostly) monogamous?
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The Week Unwrapped: Will drought fuel global violence?Podcast Plus why did Trump pardon a drug-trafficking president? And are romantic comedies in terminal decline?
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The Week Unwrapped: Have pedigree dogs had their day?Podcast Plus what can we learn from Slovenia’s rejection of assisted dying? And can politicians admit their weaknesses?
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The Week Unwrapped: Will US Catholics rebel against the Pope?Podcast Plus what are the ethics of freezing your late partner?
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The Week Unwrapped: Can musicians challenge Putin?Podcast Plus who were the ‘human hunters’ of the Bosnian war? And what should happen to captive penguins?
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The Week Unwrapped: Are British rappers the world’s best?Podcast Plus can the Maldives quit smoking? And can whales lead us to immortality?
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The Week Unwrapped: Should we be eating less fat – or more?Podcast Plus who will benefit from the surprise Dutch election result? And how can art improve our health?
