Happy Saturday! Ted Talks are apparently getting shorter because of our attention spans, so I’d better make this brief. I’m here to take you through the good stuff from the week – and ever so quickly spare a moment for Lorde, who crashed a Lorde-themed-party here in Sydney.
1. Alan Alda: the poster boy for marriage
There are many interesting things the US actor, director and writer Alan Alda shares in his G2 interview with Simon Hattenstone – and being married for 68 years (in a divorce-ridden industry) is just one of them.
The Four Seasons: the 80-year-old is back in the spotlight thanks to a Tina Fey revamp of his 1981 movie, which he marvels at.
Record for a scripted TV series: Alda is best known for his role as Hawkeye in M*A*S*H. Its final episode was watched by 106 million people in the US, “still a record for a scripted TV series”, Hattenstone writes.
How long will it take to read: six minutes.
2. ‘I worried I might start finding it normal. But I never did’
After four years reporting from Israel and Palestine, Bethan McKernan is returning to the UK. The Guardian correspondent reveals the grief, horror and hope that defined her time there, including in the immediate aftermath of the 7 October 2023 attacks – when “nothing was clear at that point except that many, many more people were going to die”.
The article that never was written: Three days before 7 October, McKernan was in Gaza to interview people about “the revival of beekeeping”, when she spotted what looked like a Hamas military drill in the distance.
The story that ended up being covered: “No one with an internet connection can say they don’t know the truth of what has happened in Israel and Palestine over the past 18 months,” McKernan writes.
How long will it take to read: six minutes.
3. ‘Alexa, do jellyfish have bottoms?’
I remember the first time I encountered Alexa. I was in high school, and my friend was cooking us breakfast. We asked the Amazon device for a banana pancakes recipe. Instead, rather cheekily, Alexa played Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson.
But what would happen if you asked the same device (which has significantly improved since my high school days): “what do you know about us?” It’s a question Jeremy Ettinghausen put to his Alexa, which has been his family’s on-call vet, DJ, teacher, parent and therapist for years.
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“Our requests ranged from prosaic to troubling and downright bizarre – there was very little we didn’t ask Alexa” – Jeremy Ettinghausen
How long will it take to read: six minutes.
4. ‘My sister was found dead. Then I discovered her search history’
Last month the Guardian reported on an online suicide forum being investigated under new UK digital safety laws. Then followed a story on Adele Zeynep Walton’s family experience: how after the death of their daughter and sister Aimee, they came to learn she had been lured into a dangerous online community, and fell victim to it.
The Human Cost of Our Digital World: “Until we lost Aimee, I didn’t know what ‘online harm’ meant,” Walton says, who has since written a book partially on what led to her sister’s death.
• In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
How long will it take to read: four and a half minutes.
5. The boy who came back: my son Max
Archie Bland’s longer read on the time leading up to, during and after the near death, and changed life, of his son Max, is what I leave you with today. There are some stories that stay with you for ever. This is one of them.
How long will it take to read: 15 minutes. Yes, it’s worth it.
Further listening: or you can listen to it, if you’re on the move.
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