Tag Archives: The Guardian Weekly

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

The Guardian Weekly – April 4, 2025 Preview

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THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY (April 3, 2025): The latest issue features ‘The End of Turkish Democracy’ – Inside the anti-government protests...

The detention of the popular Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu last month has sparked Turkey’s largest anti-government protests in years, with people gathering nightly amid violent clashes with police. But after thousands of arrests and with disagreements about how the protests should move forwards, the opposition movement is at a crossroads.

Amid concerns that Turkey may be slipping irretrievably towards full authoritarianism, Ruth Michaelson reports from Istanbul on how the detention of a popular young activist has caused particular anger among opponents of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government. Ruth also weighs up what options now lie ahead for the protest movement amid disagreements about the best way forward.

Spotlight | Myanmar, after the earthquake
With thousands now known to have been killed as a result of last Friday’s earthquake that struck near Mandalay, Rebecca Ratcliffe reports on fading hopes of finding more survivors

Environment | The power of dead seaweed
Rotting sargassum is clogging up Grenada’s beaches – but innovative technology is turning it into fuel, fertiliser and bioplastics. Natricia Duncan and Abigail McIntyre report

Feature | The rapid growth in beard transplants
Demand for beard transplant surgery is soaring – despite the dangers that lurk in unregulated clinics. Are the risks worth it? Simon Usborne investigates

Opinion | How to beat the far right
As a lonely, hate-filled kid in Sydney’s suburbs, Matthew Quinn turned to far-right ideology. Now he reveals how he helps others avoid that path

Culture | The return of FKA twigs
Despite global stardom, FKA twigs has always felt a lack of belonging. The musician opens up to Zoe Williams about f ighting censorship, crying on stage and performing for peanuts

Foreign Affairs, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

The Guardian Weekly – March 28, 2025 Preview

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THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY (March 26, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Ties That Bind’ – Can the West break free from the US?

Spotlight | How the world forgot about Sudan
As territory is won and lost by opposing military forces, people grasp at scraps of normality. But the country is undergoing the world’s most severe humanitarian catastrophe, reports Mark Townsend from Khartoum

Science | The moral question of prolonging a pet’s life
Many cat or dog owners would happily pay for medicines that help their four-legged friends to live longer, and the biotech industry is cashing in. But is it the right thing to do? Joel Snape investigates

Interview | Amanda Knox: ‘This is my story’
Ten years ago, the American was f inally cleared of the brutal murder of her housemate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy. But is Amanda Knox really free? She talks to Simon Hattenstone

Opinion | The broken bond between Canada and the US
With the US president now warmer to Moscow than to Ottawa, it’s little surprise the Canadians Andy Beckett met on a recent visit rolled their eyes at the decline of the special relationship

Culture | Reappraising the reputation of Paul Gauguin
The French artist has been tarred as a colonialist who gave syphilis to underage girls in the South Seas. But author Sue Prideaux has made discoveries that challenge this picture

Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

The Guardian Weekly – March 21, 2025 Preview

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THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY (March 20, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Driven to Fury’ – How Tesla became a target for protest…

 Lauren Gambino examines how growing difficulties for Musk have given heart to Democrats as they see his recognition factor and billionaire status as an easy rallying point to rebuild their own battered political fortunes. 

Spotlight | On the frontline of the tariff wars
Leyland Cecco takes the pulse of Hamilton, Ontario’s steel-making hub, after the Trump administration imposed a 25% levy on imports of Canadian steel and aluminium

Environment | Loess regained
The Loess plateau was the most eroded place on Earth until China took action and reversed decades of damage from grazing and farming, finds Helen Davidson

Feature | A Syrian civil war survivor
Ghaith Abdul-Ahad chronicles the life of Mustafa, determined to succeed in the new Syria even with his past as a forced soldier for the Assad regime

Opinion | Trump’s every misstep brings chaos
The honeymoon is over for a president who seems to personify the law of unintended consequences, says Simon Tisdall

Culture | A painter in her own write
Celia Paul tells Charlotte Higgins about her relationship with Lucian Freud and the struggles of being out of step with the art world

Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

The Guardian Weekly – March 14, 2025 Preview

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THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY (March 13, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Call to Arms’ – The remilitarization of Europe…

With unaccustomed speed, Paris, Berlin and London, along with the European Commission, are stepping up with a new “whatever it takes” mentality to create a framework for their own defence. Our coverage, led by Toby Helm and with contributions from our correspondents in Kyiv, Brussels and Berlin, examines how fiscal shibboleths are being shed to allow for increased military spending, and from Berlin a growing enthusiasm for Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz to consider sheltering under France’s independent nuclear umbrella.

Spotlight | ‘Here you will die’
Mark Townsend reports from Sudan on how the retreat of rebel RSF forces has led to the discovery of a torture centre, evidence of what could be one of the worst atrocities of the civil war

Technology | Roboshop
Can an AI agent prove itself smart enough to help Victoria Turk with her shopping? And, if it can order groceries and a takeaway, what else might it soon be able to do?

Feature | All the young Reform dudes
What is it about Nigel Farage’s Reform party that is attracting young men fed up with establishment politics? Gaby Hinsliff finds out

Opinion | The Sicilian ways of Donald Trump
The US president’s way of doing business is uncomfortably close to the fictional Corleone method, but without the mafia’s sense of honour, says Jonathan Freedland

Culture | Arthouse animation moves on up
Hot on the Academy Awards’ success of Flow, Xan Brooks looks at how independent animators are taking on the big-budget Hollywood studios and finding audiences are falling back in love with stop-go techniques

Foreign Affairs, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

The Guardian Weekly – March 7, 2025 Preview

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THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY (March 6, 2025): The latest issue features ‘An End To Aid?’ – The crushing cost of development fund cuts…

Spotlight | Can Keir Starmer be Europe’s bridge to Trump?
Amid the fallout from Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s catastrophic trip to Washington and efforts to secure a peace plan for Ukraine, is Britain’s prime minister the man for a critical moment? Kiran Stacey reports

Science | Is the world ready for bigger waves?
In some seas, swells are growing noticeably larger. Scientists say coastal communities should be prepared for damaging consequences – but also potential opportunities. By James Bradley

Feature | The savage suburbia of Helen Garner
Over 50 years, the Australian has become one of her country’s most revered and beloved authors, writing as if readers were her friend, party to her most candid thoughts. Is she finally going to get worldwide recognition? By Sophie Elmhirst

Opinion | Defiance, not subservience, is how we resist Trump
The US president has utterly changed the rules of engagement. World leaders must learn this – and quickly, argues Simon Tisdall

Culture | Gracie Abrams, the year’s biggest pop star
The US singer’s unfiltered approach to pop has made her a superstar. She talks to Alexis Petridis about the horror of American politics – and the solace of needlepoint

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

The Guardian Weekly – February 28, 2025 Preview

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THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY (February 27, 2025): The latest issue features ‘The Middle Man’ – Can Friedrich Merz mend Germany?

Can Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting fend off the far right? Plus: Bong Joon-ho interviewed

Diverting our eyes away from Trumpworld for a moment this week, attention shifted to Germany where Friedrich Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU alliance came out on top in the country’s federal elections.

For many though, the story of the night belonged to the far-right Alternative für Deutschland, which received more than a fifth of the vote and came top in virtually the entire eastern side of the country. Merz’s alliance did not win an outright majority so, having previously vowed not to work with the AfD, the chancellor-in-waiting must now try to form a grand coalition with other mainstream parties, which is likely to include Olaf Scholz’s heavily defeated SPD.

Amid surging support for the far right, Ashifa Kassam and Deborah Cole report from Berlin, where many people from immigrant backgrounds feel real fear for the future. Kate Connolly looks at Merz’s bulging in-tray as likely new leader of the EU’s largest economy, while in an opinion piece Musa Okwonga writes powerfully about the extent of anti-migrant feeling and xenophobia in Germany’s “time of the cowards”.

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

The Guardian Weekly – February 14, 2025 Preview

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THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY (February 13, 2025): The latest issue features The Orbánisation of America…

We’re just over three weeks into the second Donald Trump administration, and the pace of events both inside and outside the US has been dizzying and unprecedented.

Many of us have been alarmed by Trump’s shocking pronouncements on the Israel-Gaza war, trade tariffs and territorial claims on Greenland and Panama. But inside America, an equally startling transformation has been taking place.

Aided by the tech billionaire Elon Musk, Trump has moved swiftly to fire critics, reward allies, punish media, gut the federal government and exploit presidential immunity. Yet much of the blueprint comes not from Trump’s own policy team, but from a power-consolidation playbook established over the past decade by the Hungarian authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán.

Foreign Affairs, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

The Guardian Weekly —- January 24, 2025 Preview

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THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY (January 23, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Ready or Not’ – The return of Trump….

He returned much as he had departed (not that he ever really did), beneath a pall of controversy. In a Capitol ceremony drenched with quasi-religious fervour, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th US president, simultaneously pledging a new golden age for America and a radical shake-up of the global order.

Amid a barrage of unnerving executive orders that will surely set the tone for a new era of disruption and division, David Smith was in Washington DC to witness a dark moment for many, while diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour lays out the fears of a world hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

From the Middle East came a moment of hope. Bethan McKernan’s dispatch on the first day of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire encapsulates the emotion and relief felt by millions. But will it lead to lasting peace? Don’t celebrate too soon, warns Peter Beaumont.

Spotlight | Has South Korea witnessed its own January 6 moment?
Protesters who stormed a Seoul court at the weekend may not have worn animal skins, but the similarities are striking, explain Raphael Rashid and Justin McCurry

Environment | Why did LA’s wildfires explode out of control?
A combustible combination of factors laid the groundwork for disaster. Will LA learn the lessons from the fires as it moves forward? Gabrielle Canon and Lois Beckett report

Feature | Can the British Museum survive its omni-crisis?
Beset by colonial controversy, difficult finances and the discovery of a thief on the inside, Britain’s No 1 museum is in deep trouble. Can it restore its reputation? Charlotte Higgins investigates

Opinion | Trump and Musk have launched a new class war
Across the world, societies are reverting to oligarchies. How to resist? Fight for democracy with all we’ve got, argues George Monbiot

Culture | An inside job: the return of Severance
Who is in charge? What are they working on? And why is there livestock in the office? Hannah J Davies meets the cast and creator of Apple’s deliciously weird workplace drama

Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

The Guardian Weekly – January 17, 2025 Preview

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THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY (January 16, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Facing Facts’ – Facebook, Trump and the war on truth…

More than 3 billion people worldwide log on to Meta’s apps every day, the sort of reach most aspiring global megalomaniacs can only dream of. It’s also one of the main reasons why the decision by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta – the company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads – to scrap its third-party factcheckers in the US is so significant.

That Zuckerberg, who has been under huge pressure from US president-elect Donald Trump, made the decision is hardly surprising. But it should be another worrying moment for anyone who is concerned about the survival of objective truth.

Spotlight | The devastation of Los Angeles
Gabrielle Canon reports from Pacific Palisades, where the traumatised and displaced have been picking over the wildfire-ruined remains of beloved homes and communities

Feature | Caroline Darian interview
The daughter of Dominique and Gisèle Pelicot is coming to terms with being the child of both victim and perpetrator in the biggest rape trial in French history. Angelique Chrisafis hears her story

Feature | The deadliest beings on the planet
Microscopic bacteriophages are everywhere – it’s estimated that they can infect and destroy between 20% and 40% of all microbes every day. But some scientists believe phages can help in the f ight against superbugs. By Jackson Ryan

Opinion | We forget Sudan at our peril
Almost two years into a civil war, Sudan is facing anarchy, famine, genocide – and ambivalence from the rest of the world, writes Nesrine Malik

Culture | By a thread – the art of Doris Salcedo
The Colombian artist Doris Salcedo transforms collective grief into art, confronting the scars of conflict and displacement with delicate yet powerful creations. Tim Adams spoke to her

Analysis, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

The Guardian Weekly – January 3, 2025 Preview

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THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY (December 31, 2024): Trump v the world; Global leaders pivot to face Trump 2.0. Plus South Korea latest.

Anticipation for the promise a new year brings is, in 2025, heavily tempered by trepidation about what Donald Trump’s second term will look like. For the big story of our first edition of the new year, diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour surveys how the world from Moscow to London, Tehran to Beijing and Brussels to Kyiv is gearing up for 20 January. Whether they be populists or hard-headed foreign-policy realists, it is clear that leaders are prepared to talk back to Trump in his language of power. Equally true is that despite the incoming White House administration’s preference to concentrate on America first domestic issues, the war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and tensions with China force themselves to the forefront of Trump’s agenda and are unlikely to be solved in either his first day, week or month in office. As the year unfolds, Guardian Weekly will continue to help you make sense of Trump’s return and the biggest global issues of 2025.

1 Spotlight | Air disaster compounds South Korea’s troubles
A major fatal air accident is a tragedy for any nation but as Justin McCurry and Raphael Rashid report, the Jeju Air crash has come against a continued background of political division and instability.

2 Science | Time’s paradox
A timely exploration by Miriam Frankel of recent research has found out about the factors that make life drag or fly by. And, importantly, what you can do to help reset your inner clock to a more satisfactory tempo.

3 Features | The millennium bug that didn’t bite us
A quarter of a century ago, doomsayers thought the world would end as we clicked over to a new century due to malfunctioning computer systems. But, Tom Faber reports, the much-feared bug was always going to be a damp squib.

4 Opinion | Uneasy parallels between the McCarthy era and Trump 2.0
Richard Sennett reflects on how postwar paranoia about the ‘enemy within’ changed his family and what it can teach Americans when a similarly anti-liberal administration is in power.

5 Culture | Another side of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan shuns discussion of his early years, so how did James Mangold, the director of a new biopic, and his creative team approach their script – and what happened when Dylan asked for a meeting? Alexis Petridis finds out.