The Week Unwrapped: Iranian protests, podcast crimes and silences

Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days.

You can subscribe to The Week Unwrapped wherever you get your podcasts:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Global Player

In this week’s episode, we discuss:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Hijab protests

The death of an Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the country’s morality police has led to a resurgence of protest. Women have been at the forefront of the demonstrations, burning their hijabs and calling for an end to religious restrictions. The police have responded with more violence. In such an atmosphere, is there any chance of making progress?

Crime podcasts

This week, Adnan Syed – whose case was the focus of the first series of the game-changing podcast Serial – was released from jail after nearly 23 years. A Baltimore judge ruled that Syed, 41, should have his conviction overturned in “the interests of justice and fairness” following a year-long review which had turned up two alternative suspects for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. What is likely to happen next for Syed, who spent his 20s and 30s behind bars, and how key was Serial to this latest development?

Silent tribute

The minutes of silence and applause at many football matches last weekend, following the death of the Queen, were mostly well respected, but in a few instances fans could be heard booing. Is this to be expected? After all, a football stadium full of people is rarely going to be unanimous in its views. And if so, is there a better way for a crowd to pay its collective respects?