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3 days ago | 
theguardian.com | Simon Kuper |Andrew McGregor |Iain Chambers |Rachel Porter |Ellie Bury
We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2022: at the Oxford university debating society in the 80s, a generation of aspiring politicians honed the art of winning using jokes, rather than facts
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3 weeks ago | 
theguardian.com | Ian Sample |Rachel Porter |Joel Cox |Ellie Bury
Ian Sample meets Jaap de Roode, professor of biology at Emory University in Atlanta, and author of the book Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes and Other Animals Heal Themselves. De Roode explains how a chance discovery got him interested in animal medicine, the amazing ways that creatures use toxins to fight parasites and pathogens, and what humans have learnt about medicine from the animal world
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2 months ago | 
theguardian.com | Madeleine Finlay |Damien Gayle |Rachel Porter |Joel Cox |Ellie Bury
Just Stop Oil, the climate activism group behind motorway blockades, petrol station disruption and tomato soup attacks on major artworks, has disbanded after staging a final action in London this weekend. To find out why the group has decided to hang up the famous orange high-vis, Madeleine Finlay hears from our environment correspondent Damien Gayle who has been covering Just Stop Oil since its inception.
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2 months ago | 
theguardian.com | Madeleine Finlay |Ian Sample |Rachel Porter |Tony Onuchukwu |Ellie Bury
Madeleine Finlay and Ian Sample discuss three intriguing science stories from the week. From a hint at alien life on a distant planet, to a clue in the search for answers over why colon cancer rates are rising in the under 50’s, and news from a group of scientists who claim to have experienced a colour no one has ever seen before.
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2 months ago | 
theguardian.com | Jessica Glenza |Ian Sample |Rachel Porter |Tony Onuchukwu |Ellie Bury
Presented by Ian Sample with Jessica Glenza, produced by Rachel Porter, sound design by Tony Onuchukwu, the executive producer is Ellie BuryThu 17 Apr 2025 00.00 EDTAs a measles outbreak expands across the US, comments by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr have come under scrutiny.
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2 months ago | 
theguardian.com | Madeleine Finlay |Rachel Porter |Joel Cox |Ellie Bury
While other diet fads come and go, the ultra low carbohydrate Keto diet seems to endure. But as scientists begin to understand how the diet works, more is also being discovered about its risks. To find out more, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Javier Gonzalez, professor in the department of health at the University of Bath, with a special interest in personal nutrition.
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Mar 22, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Savannah Ayoade-Greaves |Marina Hyde |Emma Brockes |Philippa Perry |Rachel Porter |Ellie Bury
Seth Rogen may be known for his stoner vibe and comedies such as Superbad and Knocked Up, but behind the scenes the actor, writer, weed-lover and pottery fan has also become a producing power player. The US stock market is spooked and Trump’s henchmogul’s companies are floundering – has the great dealmaker been building up the wrong nation? And Philippa Perry advises a reader: ‘That voice in your head telling you that you’re saying the wrong things is not telling the truth.’
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Mar 15, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Savannah Ayoade-Greaves |Marina Hyde |Emine Saner |John Harris |Rachel Porter |Silas Gray | +1 more
Marina Hyde on 1,000 grotesque memes of JD Vance – they’re all more likable than the real thing. The actor Michael Sheen grew up poor, got rich, then lost everything backing the 2019 Homeless World Cup. Now he’s giving away more of his money to help 900 total strangers. When John Harris first started noticing that his baby had some unusual quirks, he wasn’t too worried. Then came an autism diagnosis – and a fear of the future. Could a shared passion for music give James a way to shine?
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Mar 8, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Adrienne Matei |Philippa Perry |Rachel Porter |Ellie Bury |Savannah Ayoade-Greaves |Chris Godfrey
Danny Dyer talks about his journey from national joke to national treasure. Fuelled by social media misinformation, anti-vax activism has accelerated – but why are some in the movement becoming disillusioned? And Philippa Perry advises a reader who is ‘struggling to feel like I matter in any area of my life’
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Mar 1, 2025 | 
theguardian.com | Savannah Ayoade-Greaves |Marina Hyde |Zoe Williams |Suzanne O'Sullivan |Rachel Porter |Ellie Bury
With the mothers of Elon’s kids begging for his attention on social media, he makes much of ‘pronatalism’ – but is that just a fancy word for bad parenting? ‘I don’t know whether I’d describe it as fun,’ says Aimee Lou Wood on the intensity of making The White Lotus. And are ordinary life experiences, bodily imperfections and normal differences being unnecessarily pathologised? Neurologist and author Suzanne O’Sullivan argues just that
