Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Guy Anker, Suchandrika Chakrabarti and Arion McNicoll.
In this week’s episode, we discuss:
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Savings rates
The Financial Conduct Authority, the UK’s banking regulator, says it will take “robust action” if banks fail to pass on rising interest rates to customers with savings as well as mortgages. High-street banks have been accused of being too slow to pay out more on savings accounts, despite raising rates on loans and mortgages almost immediately. What action can the FCA take? And what can we do to make sure we’re getting the best return on our money?
Allergies on the rise
The number of people taken to hospital in the UK suffering from severe allergies has more than doubled in the past two decades, rising from 12,361 to 35,721. The wider availability of foods from around the world is one factor, but an increase in the number of birch trees – which produce large quantities of pollen – has also been blamed. Amena Warner, head of clinical services at Allergy UK, the leading national patient charity for people living with all types of allergy, told The Guardian that the rise was “hugely worrying”.
Talking to strangers
A recent survey has found that people are increasingly unwilling to talk to people they don’t know. Even when we’re in a public place, we’re more likely to insulate ourselves from conversations with strangers by listening to music (or podcasts) or browsing on our phones. Are we denying ourselves the simple pleasure of chance encounters, and could there be a more significant drawbacks to our social retreat?
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October 4 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include the Einstein files, defunding the police, and an odd tribute to Jane Goodall
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Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipeThe Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
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Under siege: Argentina’s president drops his chainsawTalking Point The self-proclaimed ‘first anarcho-capitalist president in world history’ faces mounting troubles
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The Week Unwrapped: Was life sent to Earth by aliens?Podcast Plus why did Nepali voters use a gaming app to pick their next PM? And will a new national park boost the case for Welsh independence?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
