The Week Unwrapped
Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days
The Week Unwrapped: sad doctors, paedophile hunters & crypto

The Week Unwrapped: sad doctors, paedophile hunters & crypto
Why are UK doctors depressed? Why is a paedophile claiming vigilantes violated his rights? And will China have a future without cash?
5 Jun 2020
Why everyone’s talking about Newcastle’s Saudi takeover

Why everyone’s talking about Newcastle’s Saudi takeover
Controversial £300m deal hangs in balance as WTO rules kingdom is behind pirate TV channel
29 May 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Gucci, sacred land and Saudi Magpies

The Week Unwrapped: Gucci, sacred land and Saudi Magpies
Why is Gucci renouncing seasons? Why has an Aboriginal heritage site been blown up? And who are Newcastle Utd’s prospective new owners?
29 May 2020
The Week Unwrapped bonus episode: 25 Years of The Week

The Week Unwrapped bonus episode: 25 Years of The Week
How did the magazine begin? How has it developed its unique approach to the news? And what did a British spy have to do with it?
27 May 2020
How coronavirus has bolstered Taiwan’s independence movement

How coronavirus has bolstered Taiwan’s independence movement
Taipei’s swift response to pandemic has saved lives - and boosted support to challenge China
22 May 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Skin hunger, Taiwan and Zoom University

The Week Unwrapped: Skin hunger, Taiwan and Zoom University
How long can we live without touch? Has coronavirus advanced Taiwanese independence? And will virtual education take off?
22 May 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Salaries, sorties and dropshippers

The Week Unwrapped: Salaries, sorties and dropshippers
How did the US women’s football team lose their equal pay case? Why isn’t the RAF on lockdown? And what is dropshipping?
8 May 2020
Saudi Arabia ends executions of minors

Saudi Arabia ends executions of minors
Kingdom to commute sentences of convicts facing death for offences committed under the age of 18
1 May 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Dreams, Zooms and executions

The Week Unwrapped: Dreams, Zooms and executions
Why are so many people having vivid dreams? Are Zoom weddings the new norm? And why has Saudi Arabia stopped executing minors?
1 May 2020
The best and worst countries for press freedom

The best and worst countries for press freedom
UK slips to 35th in global index after violence against Northern Irish journalists
24 Apr 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Food, free speech and gold

The Week Unwrapped: Food, free speech and gold
Is counting calories unhealthy? Why has the UK fallen down the press freedom index? And is the price of gold headed for an all-time high?
24 Apr 2020
Behind the Beatles’s breakup

Behind the Beatles’s breakup
Handwritten lyrics to Hey Jude sell for £730,000 in auction to mark 50 years since the band broke up
17 Apr 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Beatles, hunting and ‘Cinderella’ abuse

The Week Unwrapped: Beatles, hunting and ‘Cinderella’ abuse
Are the handwritten lyrics to Hey Jude worth $910,000? Has Prince Harry shot his last pheasant? And why is sororal violence on the rise?
17 Apr 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Radiation, Rwanda and revisionism

The Week Unwrapped: Radiation, Rwanda and revisionism
Why is radiation spiking near Chernobyl? How many bodies are yet to be found in Rwanda? And why has Prague removed a Soviet statue?
10 Apr 2020
Chernobyl forest fire: is the public at risk?

Chernobyl forest fire: is the public at risk?
Atmospheric radiation spikes in exclusion zone following suspected arson blaze
8 Apr 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Happiness, coral and gay Singapore

The Week Unwrapped: Happiness, coral and gay Singapore
Can we learn to be more joyful? Are the world’s coral reefs doomed? And why is gay sex still illegal in Singapore?
3 Apr 2020
The countries where homosexuality is illegal

The countries where homosexuality is illegal
Singapore court upholds law criminalising gay sex
3 Apr 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Virtual protest, RuPaul and rhinos

The Week Unwrapped: Virtual protest, RuPaul and rhinos
How do you march if you’re in self-isolation? Is RuPaul really an oil baron? And are rhino numbers heading in the right direction?
27 Mar 2020
Are we seeing the rise of the virtual protest?

Are we seeing the rise of the virtual protest?
Demonstrators from Israel to Spain are migrating onto the internet to spread their messages
27 Mar 2020
Why is Canada’s black-market cannabis market booming?

Why is Canada’s black-market cannabis market booming?
Many users still buy from unlicensed dealers despite legalisation of the drug
20 Mar 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Tree power, official weed and skywriting

The Week Unwrapped: Tree power, official weed and skywriting
Could leaves power the homes of the future? Why isn’t legal cannabis catching on? And will British skies soon fill with messages?
20 Mar 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Arctic chlamydia, oil and ‘nolo’ beer

The Week Unwrapped: Arctic chlamydia, oil and ‘nolo’ beer
How did an STI get to the Arctic seabed? What’s going on with the price of oil? And why are we drinking more low-alcohol beer?
13 Mar 2020
How has chlamydia infected the Arctic seafloor?

How has chlamydia infected the Arctic seafloor?
Scientists discover previously unknown bacterial strains related to the STI in mud at bottom of ocean
10 Mar 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Nudism, Hugo Boss and no shades of grey

The Week Unwrapped: Nudism, Hugo Boss and no shades of grey
Is making fun of naturists a hate crime? Is Hugo Boss a brand bully? And is it time to update our laws on domestic abuse?
6 Mar 2020
Week Unwrapped wins Best News and Current Affairs Podcast

Week Unwrapped wins Best News and Current Affairs Podcast
5 Mar 2020
Nudists call for protection against hate crimes

Nudists call for protection against hate crimes
British Naturism says abuse of recreational nudists should be outlawed
2 Mar 2020
Lesotho scandal: how the PM’s murder charges unfolded

Lesotho scandal: how the PM’s murder charges unfolded
Thomas Thabane is seeking immunity over killing of estranged wife
28 Feb 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Swearing, treason and a murder mystery

The Week Unwrapped: Swearing, treason and a murder mystery
Should swearing be banned? Why is Cambodia trying people for treason? And how does the PM of Lesotho connect to a murder trial?
28 Feb 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Cyborg insects, pacifists and satellites

The Week Unwrapped: Cyborg insects, pacifists and satellites
Why are locusts being used as bomb sniffers? Are video games becoming less violent? And are there too many satellites?
21 Feb 2020
Bomb-sniffing grasshoppers: the next frontier for security?

Bomb-sniffing grasshoppers: the next frontier for security?
Scientists ‘hijack’ insects’ brains to detect chemical explosives
20 Feb 2020
Business Unwrapped: beyond zero carbon

Business Unwrapped: beyond zero carbon
Will businesses of the future have to be carbon-negative, not just carbon-neutral?
18 Feb 2020
The Week Unwrapped: Reincarnation, refugees and BP

The Week Unwrapped: Reincarnation, refugees and BP
Can VR bring loved ones back from the dead? Could refugee camps cause a pandemic? And can BP reinvent itself for the green era?
14 Feb 2020
Can BP become carbon neutral?

Can BP become carbon neutral?
The oil giant has said it’s aiming for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050
13 Feb 2020
Moria refugee camp in Lesbos: a pandemic ‘waiting to happen’

Moria refugee camp in Lesbos: a pandemic ‘waiting to happen’
Doctor warns conditions in overcrowded camp mirror those that first spread Spanish flu in 1918
11 Feb 2020
Why the Malawi election annulment is a big deal

Why the Malawi election annulment is a big deal
Judges overturn 2019 election result, citing ‘widespread irregularities’
7 Feb 2020