Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Arion McNicoll, Arion McNicoll and Felicity Capon.
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.
Fuelling Bitcoin
Most Bitcoin mining used to be done in China, until the government closed down the banks of computers used to mint the cyber-currency because of the immense power they were using. Since about 2021, the US has become the industry’s global leader. And their energy needs are astonishing: 34 Bitcoin “mines” are using as much energy as three million homes. According to a recent New York Times investigation, Bitcoin mining worldwide now “emits around the same amount of CO2 annually as a country the size of Greece”.
A Grenfell deal
Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, and relatives of those who died, have reached a civil settlement with a number of companies, including the construction company Arconic. The deal involves about 900 claimants, who will receive compensation – but is unconnected with a police investigation and public inquiry, both of which are ongoing. As are attempts to pursue the government and housing developers to rectify other buildings which are clad in potentially flammable material.
Vaccine side-effects
While side-effects from Covid vaccinations were exceedingly rare, a small number of people died or suffered serious injuries after the mass immunisation campaign. The widower of a 44-year-old woman whose death was caused by the Astra-Zeneca vaccine now says that his only recourse is to sue the company, after it and the government failed to respond to his pleas for help. Does the UK need to improve the way it deals with these rare cases of vaccine-related injury – and could the current impasse undermine public faith in the system?
-
‘The problem isn’t solved by simply swapping out the faces on screen’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
3 officers killed in Pennsylvania shootingSpeed Read Police did not share the identities of the officers or the slain suspect, nor the motive or the focus of the still-active investigation
-
Fed cuts interest rates a quarter pointSpeed Read ‘The cut suggests a broader shift toward concern about cracks forming in the job market’
-
The Week Unwrapped: Why is horse-racing going on strike?Podcast Plus, will the South Korean women who worked in state-run brothels set up for US soldiers succeed? And what’s behind a surge in leg-lengthening surgery?
-
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?
