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:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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?
-
September 7 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include stressing about Powerball, and a busy FBI schedule
-
Nvidia: unstoppable force, or powering down?Talking Point Sales of firm's AI-powering chips have surged above market expectations –but China is the elephant in the room
-
5 hard-working cartoons about Labor Day celebrationsCartoons Artists take on creation of AI, spelling mistakes, and more
-
The Week Unwrapped: What does Bake Off say about Channel 4?Podcast Plus, why are Scottish drug deaths so stubbornly high? And are women in their 30s too anxious about their eggs?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Could robotic dogs help clear landmines?Podcast Plus, what can we learn from a new approach to urban renewal? And how much power rests with political spouses?
-
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?
-
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?
-
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?
-
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?
-
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?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Should women be conscripted?Podcast Plus, are digital ID cards inevitable? And why do women get more ACL injuries?
