Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Abdulwahab Tahhan, Julia O’Driscoll and Emma Smith.
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
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War trophies
One unexpected side-effect of the war in Ukraine is a brisk online trade in battlefield trophies captured from Russian soldiers. These items, ranging from shell casings to helmets and body armour, are being sold to collectors, mostly in the US. Many of the sellers say the proceeds will go towards funding the war effort. Is this a reasonable exchange in desperate times – or is there something unseemly in putting a monetary value on mementoes taken from dead or captured Russian soldiers?
Red-light row
Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Haslema, has plans to build a new “erotic centre” – and to move 100 of the Wallen district’s red-lit brothels out of the city centre and into the new zone. Sex workers, property developers and local residents have come out strongly against the plans, and are making their stance clear with a widespread campaign to preserve the district.
Barbie on the border
The Vietnamese government has banned Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie”, after it emerged that the film contains a scene depicting a map with the “nine dash line”, a representation of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. Vietnam says the claim violates its sovereignty, and has banned films before for showing maps depicting China’s preferred border. Is this another sign of Beijing’s sway over Hollywood – or an overreaction in Hanoi to an inadvertent error?
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The rise of runcationsThe Week Recommends Lace up your running shoes and hit the trails on your next holiday
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Amorim follows Maresca out of Premier League after ‘awful’ seasonIn the Spotlight Manchester United head coach sacked after dismal results and outburst against leadership, echoing comments by Chelsea boss when he quit last week
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‘Jumping genes': How polar bears are rewiring their DNA to survive the warming ArcticUnder the radar The species is adapting to warmer temperatures
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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?
