Should you blame yourself for your bad habits? (1m53s); author and teacher, Michael Donkor, on the dilemma of whether to come out to his pupils (7m50s); and missed connections: four extraordinary stories of couples who found love via small ads (26m05s)
It’s the Christian Horner paradox, according to Marina Hyde: F1 is now hideously dull, but it’s never been more dramatic (1m53s); if you kill someone in your sleep, is it murder? (9m33s); and ‘What a ridiculous question!’ How fawning, and inanity ruined the red carpet (23m02s)
We wanted to bring you this episode from our new series, Black Box. In it, Michael Safi explores seven stories and the thread that ties them together: artificial intelligence. In this prologue, Hannah (not her real name) has met Noah and he has changed her life for the better. So why does she have concerns about him? If you like what you hear, make sure to search and subscribe to Black Box, with new episodes every Monday and Thursday.
John Crace watches the Tories tie themselves in knots to avoid calling Lee Anderson the ‘R’ word (1m48s); a Ted Bundy survivor tells Anna Moore how the moment changed her life (8m59s); and Fergal Kinney looks at how Sex Lives of the Potato Men broke the British cinema industry (25m59s)
From Tucker Carlson to Johnny Depp, a celebrity bromance is the must-have accessory for modern dictators, says Marina Hyde (1m50); the Libertines on feuds, friendship and their tortured reunion by Simon Hattenstone (9m03); and how habituation, a simple behavioural trick, can help you experience less pain and more pleasure by Cass Sunstein and Tali Sharot (35m49).
John Crace on Rishi Sunak using his Big Break on GB News to remind us he can’t connect with people (1m27s); Annie Rice on burn out and exploitation – when yoga turns toxic (8m34s); and on the 10th anniversary of Hollie Gazzard’s murder, Anna Moore speaks to her father about how he has not let anger destroy him (28m20s)
Marina Hyde reviews ‘Liz Truss and the PopCons’, the Tory tribute act sounding a death knell for irony (1m28s); Catherine Shoard interviews Michael J Fox on pity, Parkinson’s – and a potential cure (9m40s); and Poor Things’ intimacy coordinator, Elle McAlpine, discusses consent, orgies and Emma Stone with Elle Hunt (25m27s)
Marina Hyde asks what now for Laurence Fox after the sad clown of the culture wars circus loses high court libel case (1m21s); Hugh Hefner’s wife on mind games in the Playboy Mansion (9m05s); and the difference between memory loss and dementia – and how to keep your brain sharp (28m20s)
Long live the Tory Fringe! John Crace reviews last week’s conservative ‘comedy hour’ (1m22s); Johannes Radebe on how he fought the bullies - and became a Strictly superstar (9m22s); and Zoe Williams reveals how to spot a liar in ten easy steps (26m14s)
So Prince Harry is a living legend of aviation? Why not, says Marina Hyde (1m21s); Bernie Sanders on what happens if Trump wins – and how to stop him (8m32s); and mushroom macchiato, anyone? Are the new boosted coffees worth the hype? (34m37s)
As the Post Office scandal continues to unfold, Marina Hyde urges us to keep watching and stay angry (1m24s); what one man learned after 30 days of rejection therapy (9m40s); and double Oscar-winner Jodie Foster on beauty, bravery and raising feminist sons (26m49s)
Weekend is taking a little break. So this week, we’ve picked some of our favourite pieces from the last few months, just in case you missed them… Two stories about secrets, lies, and what happens when the people we trust turn out to have hidden motives: first, Joe Gibson reveals a troubling affair he had with his teacher that changed his life (1m48s); and comedian Michelle Brasier explains why she befriended her scammer (41m46s)
For the next two weeks, we’re picking some of our favourite pieces from the last few months, just in case you missed them… Two tales of coming of age and finding out what matters most: in this episode, Heartstopper’s Kit Connor confronts the aftermath of being forced to come out under the gaze of millions (1m44s); and how food helped the Guardian’s restaurant critic Grace Dent create small, meaningful moments amid immense loss (25m20s)
Marina Hyde mulls over Lady Mone’s PPE farrago, car crash interview and fight with the PM (1m26s); Victoria Mary Clarke on the excess, addiction and love that bound her and Shane MacGowan together (10m20s); and Anita Chaudhuri on being shut out by loved ones for 40 years (27m46s)
Actor Toby Jones on class, character and the cost of fame (1m26s); John Crace on Rishi Sunak’s break from a feral Tory party with a spa day at the Covid inquiry (23m00s); and the weird world of celebrity training – how Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Madonna get in shape for their shows (30ms58)
Marina Hyde ponders the small slip that sent Omid Scobie’s Harry and Meghan book into orbit (1m18s); and an English couple, a Ukrainian surrogate and a baby: the extraordinary story of how war united two unlikely families (8m51s).
Rishi Sunak loses his marbles and causes a diplomatic spat in the process (1m18s); Gareth Gates on bullying, resilience and tabloid gossip (7m32s); and the nature cure: how time outdoors transforms our memory, imagination and logic (21m06s).
How The Crown went from prestige drama to TV disaster (1m26s); what happened when one man’s boat sank in the dead of night – and he had to save his seven-year-old son (11m19s); how discount supermarkets changed the way we shop (25m21); and Philippa Perry shares advice on how to overcome loneliness and isolation (40m08s)
Is Rishi Sunak rewarding failure? With David Cameron back it’s being celebrated like never before, says Marina Hyde (1m28s); Nicolas Cage on dreams, fame and his two-headed snake (10m25s); why one woman flew across the world to win back her ex (22m51s); and four cardiologists share 20 simple steps to a healthy heart (27m37s)
Marina Hyde asks: What’s in Nadine Dorries’s book? A pile of dead cats big enough to kill that phrase for good (1m18s); and writer Simon Hattenstone finds out what happened next after Harry Potter’s stunt double broke his neck on set, changing his life forever (8m18s).
Marina Hyde reports on the not-so-shocking incompetence laid bare by the Covid inquiry (1m20s); Zoe Williams turns the tables on avuncular interviewer Louis Theroux (9m58s); and Elle Hunt reflects on Matthew Perry’s troubled life and foreshadowed death (28m48s).
Marina Hyde wonders if anything will change, as GB News is found to have breached Ofcom rules yet again (1m26s); American writer Kenny Biddle, reveals how he became a full-time paranormal investigator…and sceptic…(10m03s); and Olympic champion Caster Semenya talks labels, leaked medical records and how lowering her hormones took its toll on her body (15m58s).
Marina Hyde is impressed by Princess Diana, the ‘hardest working spectre in showbiz’ (1m22s); Bella Ramsey talks football, rapping and why fame is ‘silly’ (9m44s); and Elle Hunt meets a woman who was crushed by an elephant (20m32s).
John Crace watches a glitter-covered Keir Starmer get down to business with a game-changing speech (1m21s); Dolly Parton on style, stardom and sexism (9m51s); plus one man’s leap of faith into the world of hair transplants (26m46s)
John Crace watches Rishi Sunak veer between dull and delusional in his conference speech (1m23s); actor Julia Fox unpacks abuse, fame, and dating Kanye (9m12s); plus the bizarre story of how an advert for a reality show led to a British TV mystery (35m01s)
Marina Hyde asks: who gains from Rishi’s ‘longterm’ thinking? (1m21s) ; and journalist Simon Hattenstone meets the illustrious Joan Collins to discuss love, loss and lust at 90 (8m43s).
Marina Hyde appeals for us all to do the right thing by the victims of Russell Brand’s misogyny (1m23s); and writer and professor David Runciman reveals what happened when he followed all the same Twitter accounts as Elon Musk to try to get inside his head (11m9s).
Marina Hyde ponders a government so tedious, even the ‘shocking’ revelation of an alleged spy can’t sex things up (1m20s); Grace Dent delves into ‘the great social leveller’, cheese, and what our love for this foodstuff says about us (8m8s); and a male escort reveals what women want when they pay for sex (34m56s).
Marina Hyde on why crumbling concrete is just the latest phase in Rishi’s doom loop (1m26s); Maggie Smith on why her marriage disintegrated as her career took off (10m01s); and Richard Osman reveals how he conquered both TV and publishing (25m24s)
Marina Hyde on Prince Andrew being chauffeured back into the royal fold by Prince William (1m24s); how Shallow Hal almost broke Gwyneth Paltrow’s body double (8m29s); and pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo contemplates overnight pop superstardom, plagiarism and growing up in public (21m17s)
