Dear readers, it’s that special time of year when I realise everyone has been listening to different music to me. So once you’ve digested 2025’s penultimate selection of great reads, you’re welcome to join me in playing catch-up.
1. The couple whose twins were stillborn – and the ‘birth keeper’ they blame
Soon-to-be parents Ernesta Chirwa and Chifundo Bingala hired a woman they believed would act as a licensed midwife. But the woman, who referred to herself as a “birth keeper”, belonged to the Free Birth Society, a business that was linked to baby deaths around the world.
When Chirwa went into labour well past her due date, her baby was footling breech – and unknown to the couple, one of a set of twins. Out of her depth, the “birth keeper” that Chirwa had trusted dropped her at the nearest hospital and drove off. Neither child survived and the couple’s legal battle continues.
How long will it take to read: Six minutes.
Further reading: In November, the Guardian published a report based on a year-long investigation which identified 48 cases of late-term stillbirths or neonatal deaths or other forms of serious harm involving mothers or birth attendants who appear to be linked to FBS.
2. Why Bazball is failing
Two matches into the Ashes series and we’ve heard a lot about England’s vibes-based take on Test cricket. But what is right about their approach, dubbed “Bazball” in honour of their coach, Brendon McCullum? And why is it going wrong?
Barney Ronay turned to a “kind of sports science brains trust” to forensically dissect a philosophy that is crumbling under the harshest of scrutiny.
Unclear values: “Entertainment? Positivity? Bravery? Winning? These are cultural traits, not performance values,” says Rob Ferley, the former spin bowler turned professional coach. “Great teams have clear, explicit values that guide behaviour, decision-making and accountability.”
How long will it take to read: Four minutes.
Further reading: Shadi Khan Saif’s lovely meditation on playing street cricket in Karachi, and anointing an Australian bowler as his new hero.
3. From resistance to resignation: the West Bank, 20 years on
Ewen MacAskill visited the West Bank regularly in the early 2000s as a correspondent for the Guardian, in support of Jerusalem-based colleagues covering the second intifada. He returned last month with no plans to write about what he saw.
MacAskill changed his mind when he witnessed how much control Israel and its settlers now exercise over the Palestinian population. “I had expected conditions for Palestinians would be worse,” he writes, “but not this much worse.”
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“The extremists do not want a two-state solution or a one-state solution. The extremists do not want to give us our state or be part of their state. They want the land without the people. They just want us gone.” – Maher Canawati, the mayor of Bethlehem
How long will it take to read: Ten minutes.
4. The woman who conquered El Capitán
Sasha DiGiulian in November became the first woman to scale the Platinum route of El Capitán, the famed granite cliff in Yosemite national park.
DiGiulian and her climbing partner thought they’d found the perfect window to complete the 800-metre ascent – until night 10, when the rain began. It didn’t clear for nine days. And the toughest sections of the climb had to be done on wet rock.
Team work: As they waited for the weather to clear, DiGiulian suggested she and her partner share ledges to keep warm. His response: “No. Then we can’t shit in our own tents.”
How long will it take to read: Three minutes.
5. The duo continuing Matthew Perry’s fight against addiction
Doug Chapin and Lisa Kasteler-Calio knew Matthew Perry before his star-making turn as Chandler Bing on Friends, and beyond the headlines that followed him across 65 attempts to detox from drug and alcohol addiction.
They worked as Perry’s manager and publicist for more than 30 years and are now running the foundation to support addiction treatment and recovery their client signed up to – three days before his death.
Rehab stint #1: While shooting the third season of Friends, Perry was taking 55 pills of the opioid Vicodin a day. Had the series lasted for more than its 25 episodes, he thought it would have killed him.
How long will it take to read: Six minutes.
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