The Week Unwrapped: Schoolgirl poisonings, accidental DNA and queer history
What is happening in Afghan schools? Could air pollution monitors help to track DNA? And is LGBTQ+ history joining the mainstream?
Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Harriet Marsden, Jess Hullinger and Emma Smith.
You can subscribe to The Week Unwrapped wherever you get your podcasts:
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
Subscribe to 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.
Afghan school poisonings
Nearly 90 girls at two schools in Afghanistan were hospitalised after being allegedly poisoned by someone with “a personal grudge”. The incident, which echoes a recent spate of what seem like mass poisonings of schoolgirls in Iran, and a series of events in Afghanistan in the 2000s, has intensified fears about sending girls to school in a country where women’s education after primary level has been banned by the Taliban.
Atmospheric DNA
Researchers discovered that ubiquitous air pollution monitors have a second use: monitoring biodiversity by collecting something called eDNA. This is a potential “game changer” for monitoring and perhaps even preventing the decline of plant and animal species across the world. What are the challenges? And why are some experts worried about how eDNA might threaten our privacy?
LGBTQ+ history
Oxford University has appointed the first permanent fellowship in LGBTQ+ history. Professor Matt Cook will become the first Jonathan Cooper Chair of the History of Sexualities, a role he says will help to end the idea that queer history is a “marginal pursuit” in academia. Does Oxford’s decision symbolise a continued shift towards inclusivity in historic institutions?
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump lambasts crime, but his administration is cutting gun violence prevention
The Explainer The DOJ has canceled at least $500 million in public safety grants
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
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?
-
The Week Unwrapped: How do you turn plastics into paracetamol?
Podcast Plus, what is the Wagner Group doing now? And why is it so hard to find a job after university?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Could the Greens ape Reform UK?
Podcast Plus, are more people opting out of public services?