

Weekend
The Guardian
Every Saturday, the Weekend podcast brings some of the best Guardian writing from the week, read by talented narrators. Listen to celebrity interviews, lifestyle features, and opinions from our most popular columnists including Marina Hyde and John Crace. Weekend is the perfect way to relax.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 15, 2022 • 56min
Actor Viola Davis, Marina Hyde on John Cleese, botox, burnout
This week, Marina Hyde on the plight of a constantly aggrieved, and very particular, subsection of male “celebrity” (1m28s); Zoe Williams asks, why has Britain fallen in love with Botox? (8m38s); Gaby Hinsliff explores the big British Burnout (24m42s); and Ellen E Jones meets Oscar-winning actor Violas Davis to talk about her new film, The Woman King (40m12s).

Oct 8, 2022 • 50min
Comedian Lenny Henry , Marina Hyde at the Tory conference, the wild world of chess
This week, Marina Hyde picks over the rubble of this week’s decision-making by the Tories (1m25s), Sean Ingle delves into the wild world of chess (10m52s), and Tom Lamont sits down with comedian, writer and actor Lenny Henry (25m57s).

Oct 1, 2022 • 53min
Marina Hyde, comedian Jayde Adams, and the obsession with pumpkin spice
This week, columnist Marina Hyde examines how Kwasi Kwarteng responds to the chaos he creates (1:22), Aimee Levitt investigates why Americans like adding pumpkin spice to things (8:08), Emine Saner interviews Jayde Adams about her hopes for Strictly Come Dancing (19:00), and Will Coldwell looks back at the business of the smiley symbol (34:38)

Sep 24, 2022 • 48min
Actor Jeff Bridges, Welcome to ‘First Blokes’ Club, the secret to happiness
This week, columnist Zoe Williams on the curious political role of the ‘First Bloke’, writer Tom Lamont meets the Oscar-winning actor and all-round ‘dude’ Jeff Bridges, and finally, journalist Bronwyn Adcock gains a little insight from a radical Buddhist nun on the secret to happiness.

Sep 23, 2022 • 34min
Can I tell you a secret: episode one of a new podcast
In this new six-episode podcast, Guardian journalist Sirin Kale investigates the story of a cyberstalker who terrified people in his hometown and beyond for over a decade. Episode one begins in his hometown, Northwich, where Sirin meets some of his earliest victims - Andrea Yuile, Amber and Amy Bailey. They tell us how he infiltrated their lives and talk about the horrendous fallout of what he did

Sep 17, 2022 • 52min
Willow Smith, Marina Hyde on hecklers, the Queen in film
This week, columnist Marina Hyde on heckling the royal family and the fallacy of ‘free speech’, fashion editor Jess Cartner-Morley talks to Willow Smith about her complicated relationship with the limelight, film critic Peter Bradshaw reviews the many fictional iterations of the Queen, and, finally, writer Niloufar Haidari on why Kourtney Kardashian’s new sustainable fashion line will do far more harm than good.

Sep 10, 2022 • 53min
Hadley Freeman on psychedelics, the value of small talk, Jennette McCurdy
This week, Yvonne Roberts on the importance of small talk, Emine Saner meets Nickelodeon actor Jennette McCurdy to discuss her explosive new memoir, and Hadley Freeman has an out of body experience with shoe designer-turned-psychedelic-guide Patrick Cox.

Sep 9, 2022 • 32min
From Today in Focus: the life and death of Queen Elizabeth II
The Queen has died aged 96 at her Scottish home of Balmoral. In this episode of our Today in Focus podcast, Polly Toynbee joins Nosheen Iqbal to look back on her life

Sep 3, 2022 • 53min
Movie legend Pam Grier, Rory Stewart, the price of heartbreak
This week, Sirin Kale meets former Tory MP and hit podcaster Rory Stewart, columnist Eva Wiseman counts the clinical cost of heartbreak, and Ryan Gilbey sits down with the queen of Blaxploitation Pam Grier.

Aug 27, 2022 • 53min
The ‘disappearance’ of Agatha Christie, Marina Hyde on the sewage scandal, animal emotions
This week, columnist Marina Hyde asks why all the blame for the sewage dumping scandal is pointed towards politicians and not the water company bosses, writer Sam Parker on the Gen Z entrepreneurs who are turning their backs on office nine to fives and turning their personal passions into full-time jobs, historian Lucy Worsley on whether best-selling author, Agatha Christie, really did go into hiding to frame her husband for murder, and finally, neuroscientist and psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett asks: can we really tell what animals are feeling, or are we merely projecting?