Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Guy Anker, Holden Frith 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.
AI scams
This week the personal finance guru Martin Lewis drew attention to a new fraud threat – the use of fake AI-generated videos to draw people into financial scams. In this case, the clip featured Lewis himself, apparently urging people to put their money into a multi-million-pound investment opportunity – even though he had never said anything of the sort. Should we be preparing for a new and increasingly sophisticated breed of scammer?
Cultural entrance fees
The Pantheon in Rome has started charging tourists a €5 entry fee, leading to a backlash from the city’s tourist industry. In part that’s because the way it has been implemented led to widespread confusion, but it also provoked a debate about the broader principle of whether people should have to pay to see their cultural heritage.
Wooden buildings
In the Sickla district of Stockholm, Sweden, preparations are underway for an ambitious project that aims to erect the world's largest wooden “city”. Known as Wood City, this groundbreaking development will feature 7,000 office spaces and 2,000 homes over 250,000 square metres. But despite architects and developers championing the environmental benefits of using mass timber in construction, can they successfully convince the public of its safety?
-
Moon dust has earthly elements thanks to a magnetic bridgeUnder the radar The substances could help supply a lunar base
-
World’s oldest rock art discovered in IndonesiaUnder the Radar Ancient handprint on Sulawesi cave wall suggests complexity of thought, challenging long-held belief that human intelligence erupted in Europe
-
Claude Code: the viral AI coding app making a splash in techThe Explainer Engineers and noncoders alike are helping the app go viral
-
The Week Unwrapped: What can we learn from a tool-wielding cow?Podcast Plus, have we reached ‘peak billionaire’? When should troops disobey their superiors?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will Uganda’s pop-star politician prevail?Podcast Plus, is dodgy data undermining medical research? And what does a new app reveal about Chinese society?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Is Elon Musk’s AI tool a platform for abuse?Podcast Plus can Mumsnet predict who will be the next PM? And who is still watching Avatar sequels?
-
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?
-
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?
-
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?
-
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?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will US Catholics rebel against the Pope?Podcast Plus what are the ethics of freezing your late partner?
