Normal view

Received today — 15 December 2025

A shocking investigation into unaided home births: best podcasts of the week

Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne tread a delicate line between hard-hitting and empathetic in this profile of the Free Birth Society. Plus, an ode to The Gilmore Girls

A shocking Guardian investigation by Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne into the Free Birth Society (FBS), a movement that made millions of dollars from encouraging pregnant women to have unaided home births – even as the deaths of babies mounted. Its empathetic interviews with ex-members make for a sensitive, hugely listenable show, treading a delicate line between hard-hitting and extending empathy to the women who fell under FBS’s spell. Alexi Duggins
Widely available, all episodes out now

Continue reading...

© Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

© Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

© Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

TV tonight: the next chapter of the shocking Salt Path exposé

Chloe Hadjimatheou, who broke the story about the bestselling memoir, continues her investigation. Plus: a silly thriller romp with a fun cast. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Sky Documentaries
It was the literary scandal of the year: the Observer alleged that the author of the bestselling memoir The Salt Path, Raynor Winn, hadn’t been entirely truthful in telling the tale – which was made into a film – of financial ruin, her husband, Moth’s, terminal illness and natural healing. Since then, more people have come forward with their version of events. Reporter Chloe Hadjimatheou continues to piece together the exposé that shocked and saddened a nation. Hollie Richardson

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

Received yesterday — 14 December 2025

TV tonight: Alicia Silverstone’s Irish murder mystery drama

The Clueless icon plays an aggressive lawyer in sinister series Irish Blood. Plus: Ant and Dec’s ridiculous new challenge show. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Sky Witness

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Szymon Lazewski/AcornTV

© Photograph: Szymon Lazewski/AcornTV

© Photograph: Szymon Lazewski/AcornTV

Received before yesterday

Christmas unwrapped! Your bumper festive TV guide 2025

From Judi Dench’s very naughty tea with Kenneth Branagh to the Peep Show Bake Off special – including Olivia Colman! – here’s your definitive guide to the best holiday viewing. Bring it on

***

Continue reading...

© Composite: Guardian Design

© Composite: Guardian Design

© Composite: Guardian Design

TV tonight: who will make it to the Strictly Come Dancing final?

Amber, George, Balvinder and Karen battle it out for a chance at the glitterball trophy. Plus: get in the spirit with some festive bangers. Here’s what to watch this evening

6.35pm, BBC One

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Guy Levy/BBC/PA

© Photograph: Guy Levy/BBC/PA

© Photograph: Guy Levy/BBC/PA

Margot Robbie in red latex, Kate Bush impersonators and a pint of Emily ale: my crash course in Brontëmania

10 December 2025 at 00:00

As Wuthering Heights gets a raunchy Hollywood remake, our writer takes a pilgrimage through Haworth, the village where its author lived – and finds her spirit still electrifying the cobbled streets and windswept moors

It’s a crisp afternoon in Haworth, West Yorkshire, and I’m drinking a pint of Emily Brontë beer in The Kings Arms. Other Brontës are on tap – Anne is a traditional ale, Charlotte an IPA, Branwell a porter – but the barman says Emily, an amber ale with a “malty biscuit flavour”, is the most popular. It’s the obvious choice today, anyway: in a few hours, Oscar-winning film-maker Emerald Fennell will be at the Brontë women’s writing festival in a church just up the road, discussing her adaptation of Emily’s 19th-century gothic masterpiece Wuthering Heights.

The film, to be released just before Valentine’s Day next year, is already scandal-ridden. It all started with Fennell’s casting of Hollywood stars Jacob Elordi and Margot (“Heathcliff, it’s me, it’s Barbie”) Robbie causing uproar. An erotic teaser trailer full of tight bodices, cracking whips and sweaty bodies had the same effect. But heads were really sent spinning by reports of a scene with a public hanging and a nun who “fondles the corpse’s visible erection”.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

❌