Covid has put academics like Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance at the heart of policymaking, but electing better politicians could be the answerHow many lives would have been saved in the pandemic if the UK government had truly “followed the science”? …
‘They wanted to end masculinity’: the artist inspired by anti-sexist men’s groups
Albert Potrony’s exhibition turns Gatehead’s Baltic into a giant creche, inspired by a radical Dutch playground architect and the forgotten feminist men’s movement of the early 70sFor most parents, the ritual of pushing your child on a swing or kicking…
‘It’ll kill me’: Zimbabwe counts cost of rise in illicit alcohol use
Lack of jobs and Covid lockdowns fuel boom in cheap but lethal hooch made in backyard stillsIt is 7pm and inside the shebeen, or unlicensed bar, in Harare, men and women clutch small bottles of “whisky” and talk animatedly as they dance to loud music.O…
Online child abuse survey finds third of viewers attempt contact with children
Largest major survey of its kind finds 70% of respondents first saw child sexual abuse material when they were under 18The largest major survey of people who watch online child sexual abuse has found that one-third of respondents attempted to directly …
The Guardian view on Starmer’s Labour: time to take on the Tories | Editorial
The Labour leader must know his party faces existential implications if it suffers a historic fifth election defeatBritons usually eat more than 10m turkeys during the festive season. If the country were to run short of the yuletide bird then that may …
Guardian angel: a Hackney hero takes his team bowling
In our new column, in which we make nice things happen for nice people, we meet Marvin Birch, who turned his life around – and now spreads the community loveMarvin Birch has lived on the Kingsmead estate in Hackney his entire life. It’s never had a goo…
Bernardine Evaristo on a childhood shaped by racism: ‘I was never going to give up’
My creativity can be traced back to my heritage, to the skin colour that defined how I was perceived. But, like my ancestors, I wouldn’t accept defeatWhen I won the Booker prize in 2019 for my novel Girl, Woman, Other, I became an “overnight success”, …
Coronavirus live news: Covid cases in South Korea top 3,000; Northern Ireland to ease travel rules
Further 3,273 infections added to South Korea’s tally; fully vaccinated travellers in Northern Ireland will no longer need pre-departure test from 4 OctoberSee all our coronavirus coverage 11.18am BST The Netherlands ended social distancing measures on…
Dining across the divide: ‘She didn’t call me an insensitive buffoon – but I was armed and ready’
Two strangers, on opposite sides of the left-right political divide and with very different lives – can they find common ground over dinner?Click here to take partAbby, 45, London Continue reading…
The great sperm heist: ‘They were playing with people’s lives’
Paul was in his 80s when someone called to say she was his daughter, conceived in a fertility clinic with his sperm. The only problem? He’d never donated anyFor 40 years, Catherine Simpson thought she knew who she was: a nurse, a mother of three, a dau…