Simon Pegg on joining the A-list elite and embracing home life in Blighty (1m32s); Marina Hyde implores us to ignore Lord Lebedev’s links to the KGB and just focus on his successes (16m46s); and writer Joel Snape reveals all you need to know about 2023’s hottest health topic: inflammation (24m48s) This podcast was amended on 2 July 2023. The wrong EP was uploaded. This audio has now been removed and has been replaced with the correct audio.

Actor Simon Pegg, Marina Hyde on the benevolent Lord Lebedev, and the truth about inflammation

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.

News

Rishi Sunak is so convinced he can’t win he’s promising any old mad thing, while the Lib Dems are deliberately falling off paddleboards – Marina Hyde on the election. The couple on a mission to make it easier for everyone to have multiple children – Elon Musk (father of 11) is a supporter. Few of us have the money to take a long pause from work – but, as Anita Chaudhuri discovers, even a day can make a difference

America’s premier pronatalists on having ‘tons of kids’ to save the world, Marina Hyde on the election campaign trail, and is doing nothing the secret of happiness?

Comedian, writer and actor Stephen Merchant on standup, fame and the pressures of cancel culture; testing the ‘world-leading science’ claims behind the Zoe nutrition app; and the point when writer Harriet Tyce realised she didn’t want to be remembered only as a drinker

Stephen Merchant on his ‘preposterous’ trajectory; the trouble with the Zoe nutrition app; and when does drinking become a problem?

Marina Hyde: ‘So Russell Brand was baptised in the Thames, and all his sins were washed away. Cheaper than a lawyer, I suppose’; plus Jenny Kleeman meets Raffaella Spone, the woman accused of creating and circulating a damaging ‘deepfake’ video of teenage cheerleaders. The problem? Nothing was fake after all.

Marina Hyde on Russell Brand’s baptism; plus ‘deepfake’ cheerleaders: the woman wrongly accused over a viral video

Frock horror! The ludicrous spectacle of the Met Gala; reluctant star Josh O’Connor takes the lead in a new film, Challengers; Catherine Carr talks to boys about sex, pornography and feeling isolated and vulnerable; and Philippa Perry responds to a reader who is child-free.

Josh O’Connor on Zendaya and gardening; Marina Hyde on the Met Gala; being a boy in 2024; and Philippa Perry offers advice on leaving a legacy

Sofie Hagen loves sex – so why has it been 3,089 days since she’s had any? (1m27s); A flat white can now set you back up to £5.19 – but should we swallow it? (25m13s); and psychotherapist and Observer columnist Philippa Perry addresses a reader’s personal problem (43m51s).

Actor Simon Pegg, Marina Hyde on the benevolent Lord Lebedev, and the truth about inflammation

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