The Week Unwrapped
Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days
Carbon apps, super shoes and VR art
Carbon apps, super shoes and VR art
Can phones measure our carbon footprint? Is tech more important than sporting talent? And could we turn our homes into virtual art galleries?
26 Feb 2021
New news, equality in space and small talk
New news, equality in space and small talk
Will new TV news channels threaten impartiality? Is space the final frontier for disability? And do we really need lessons in chit-chat?
19 Feb 2021
Martial monks, high living and Turks in space
Martial monks, high living and Turks in space
What links monks and Myanmar’s military? Are we past peak skyscraper? And why is Turkey joining the space race?
12 Feb 2021
Culture Unwrapped - art in the age of Covid
Culture Unwrapped - art in the age of Covid
Covid has made the art market more local, inclusive, and socially responsible. But how many of these changes will remain after the pandemic eases?
8 Feb 2021
Snake robots, farm protests and pet food
Snake robots, farm protests and pet food
What can we learn from the skin of sidewinders? Why are farmers descending on Delhi? And would your cat eat lab-grown mouse protein?
5 Feb 2021
Culture Unwrapped - owning digital culture
Culture Unwrapped - owning digital culture
The online age has given rise to new kinds of assets – digital possessions, but do they have any real-world value and what will happen to them when we…
26 Jan 2021
Australia, Egypt and the British Virgin Islands
Australia, Egypt and the British Virgin Islands
Are the BVIs as corrupt as their former governor claims? Is Egypt any closer to democracy? And will the sun set on Australia Day?
22 Jan 2021
Forced labour, virtual bailiffs and Cumbrian coal
Forced labour, virtual bailiffs and Cumbrian coal
Are British companies doing enough about modern slavery? How can we regulate digital repossessions? And why are we still opening new coal mines?
22 Jan 2021
Parks, mindful robots and selfish vaccines
Parks, mindful robots and selfish vaccines
Will offices give way to green spaces? Are robots on the verge of mastering empathy? And what’s gone wrong with the EU’s vaccine plan?
15 Jan 2021
Culture Unwrapped - art and entertainment after the pandemic
Culture Unwrapped - art and entertainment after the pandemic
The Week Unwrapped takes a whirlwind tour through the best art, music, fashion and culture that is yet to come
12 Jan 2021
#PakistanToo, Jack Ma and printing money
#PakistanToo, Jack Ma and printing money
How is the Me Too movement evolving as it spreads? Why is China going after its best-known businessman? And what are the consequences of quantitative …
8 Jan 2021
The Year Unwrapped: Safety, Kenya and Marx reborn
The Year Unwrapped: Safety, Kenya and Marx reborn
Would we rather be safe than free? Is Kenya finally realising its potential? And is Generation Z really dabbling with Marxism?
31 Dec 2020
Culture Unwrapped - how live performance will stage a comeback in 2021
Culture Unwrapped - how live performance will stage a comeback in 2021
New technology and creative thinking will help theatre, music and dance return next year
22 Dec 2020
Sporting peril, boycotting France and farming tomorrow
Sporting peril, boycotting France and farming tomorrow
Will rugby survive a concussion crisis? Why are French goods being recalled across the Arab world? And what’s happening down on the farm?
18 Dec 2020
Cut-price music, Brexit fur and a presidential trio
Cut-price music, Brexit fur and a presidential trio
Why don’t artists make money from streaming? Will Britain ban fur post-Brexit? And how did Peru have three presidents in a week?
11 Dec 2020
Culture Unwrapped - 2020: vintage year for books or literary dud?
Culture Unwrapped - 2020: vintage year for books or literary dud?
A look through the literary highs and lows of 2020 and our predictions for the year ahead
8 Dec 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Kushner, puberty and a telescopic loss
The Week Unwrapped: Kushner, puberty and a telescopic loss
What is Jared Kushner up to? How will a new court ruling affect young trans people? And why was a great telescope left to rot?
4 Dec 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Epilepsy, hydrogen and a retail boom
The Week Unwrapped: Epilepsy, hydrogen and a retail boom
Why are retail sales growing? Should social media companies clamp down on flashing images? And why are German railways turning to hydrogen?
27 Nov 2020
Culture Unwrapped: the future of food
Culture Unwrapped: the future of food
Is posh takeaway the future of fine dining?
24 Nov 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Pacific trade, tracing and a gay paradox
The Week Unwrapped: Pacific trade, tracing and a gay paradox
Can a trade deal unite the Pacific rim? Is Covid making us too willing to hand over data? And why are gay rights under attack?
20 Nov 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Viral faith and mythical prejudice
The Week Unwrapped: Viral faith and mythical prejudice
Is religion helping to spread the pandemic? Why are Armenia and Azerbaijan fighting? And are legends and fairytales inevitably non-PC?
13 Nov 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Afghanistan, the Mafia and mindfulness
The Week Unwrapped: Afghanistan, the Mafia and mindfulness
What can we learn from an attack in Kabul? Why is the Mafia leading anti-lockdown protests? And how can meditation help the army?
6 Nov 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Google wars, passports and Wuhan tours
The Week Unwrapped: Google wars, passports and Wuhan tours
Should courts break up Google’s monopoly? Why do some countries sell citizenship? And would you visit Covid ground zero on holiday?
23 Oct 2020
The Week Unwrapped: German gender, Insta-unions and the Moon
The Week Unwrapped: German gender, Insta-unions and the Moon
Can German pronouns redress inequality? Should social media celebrities unionise? And are we seeing the start of a new space race?
16 Oct 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Banksy, intervention and refugee art
The Week Unwrapped: Banksy, intervention and refugee art
Is Banksy a hypocrite? Could ‘active bystanders’ stop police violence? And are Syrians well served by a theatrical protest?
9 Oct 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Green China, Amnesty and online politics
The Week Unwrapped: Green China, Amnesty and online politics
Will China save us from climate change? Are modern leaders immune to shame? And what can we learn from online party conferences?
2 Oct 2020
Pregnancy pains, electric bubble and killer spies
Pregnancy pains, electric bubble and killer spies
Should doctors monitor mothers’s alcohol intake? Are electric cars an investment bubble? And should spies have a ‘licence to kill’?
25 Sep 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Sporting genes, Colombia and orcas
The Week Unwrapped: Sporting genes, Colombia and orcas
What does Caster Semenya’s latest defeat say about gender? Is Colombia slipping into conflict? And are killer whales turning against us?
18 Sep 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Border spats, office gurus and inflation
The Week Unwrapped: Border spats, office gurus and inflation
Are China and India on the war path? Does your office need spiritual guidance? And what is the Fed up to on inflation?
11 Sep 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Singing dogs, plastic and Covid tech
The Week Unwrapped: Singing dogs, plastic and Covid tech
Where have New Guinea’s dogs been hiding? Is Africa being targeted by Big Plastic? And what will coronavirus do to gadgets?
4 Sep 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Polio, virtual armies and office nomads
The Week Unwrapped: Polio, virtual armies and office nomads
What can we learn from a victory against polio? Why is the MoD building a virtual copy of Britain? And would you work from Bermuda?
28 Aug 2020
Business Unwrapped: fresh start
Business Unwrapped: fresh start
How the coronavirus crisis and our response to it could change business for the better
25 Aug 2020
Author names, Thai protests and galaxies far, far away
Author names, Thai protests and galaxies far, far away
Should George Elliot now be called Mary Ann Evans? Is the Thai monarchy in trouble? What can our twin galaxy tell us?
21 Aug 2020
Business Unwrapped: clean growth
Business Unwrapped: clean growth
How a new breed of battery will help to power a lower-emission economy
18 Aug 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Pet pandemic, peak meat and Covid gigs
The Week Unwrapped: Pet pandemic, peak meat and Covid gigs
Are pets for life or just for lockdown? Is the world losing its taste for meat? And will concert audiences put up with being penned in?
14 Aug 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Sovereign citizens, troops and suits
The Week Unwrapped: Sovereign citizens, troops and suits
Could we all opt out of the legal system? Why does Germany want to keep its US troops? And why are we all giving up on the suit?
7 Aug 2020
