Entertainment

Perspective: The new Serial is here! Best podcasts of the week

Executive context: M Gessen explores the wild truth about his cousin, who keeps kidnapping his own child. Plus: will the world of porn really be Screwed By AI?

Editorial Staff Mar 30

Perspective: Nicole and Natalie Appleton look back: ‘She was my home away from home during the craziness of All Saints’

Executive context: The singers and sisters on growing up in west London, finding fame in the 90s and relaunching their music as a duo.

Editorial Staff Mar 29

Perspective: Nick Grimshaw Shares His Honest Playlist

Executive context: The presenter reflects on his musical journey and the songs that shaped him.

Editorial Staff Mar 29

Perspective: Fill that Glasto-shaped hole! The 40 best UK festivals you can still book

Executive context: Who needs Worthy Farm? From woodland raves and psych freakouts to fell walks and barbecue hoedowns, there’s a festival for everyone this summer.

Editorial Staff Mar 29

Perspective: ‘I was in the pit of despair’: Non-speaking autistic novelist Woody Brown on his journey from write-off to writer

Executive context: Woody Brown, once underestimated, now shares his story through an acclaimed debut novel that amplifies the voices of those like him.

Editorial Staff Mar 28

Perspective: I thought I’d been coping with my sister’s death – a Taylor Swift song showed me I hadn’t

Executive context: A Taylor Swift song helped me confront the grief I had been suppressing for years.

Editorial Staff Mar 28

Perspective: Pop maverick Robyn on sleaze, snobbery and dating during IVF: ‘When there isn’t as much at stake, sex becomes more fun’

Executive context: The Swedish musician decided to pursue motherhood alone, and found it came with a surprising sexual awakening – a story she lays out on her new album, her first in eight years.

Editorial Staff Mar 28

Perspective: ‘How can a TV show make you feel such emotions?’ The Bluey composer shares the trick to music that ‘hits you in the feels’

Executive context: As the new Bluey album, Up Here, arrives – complete with chamber orchestra – Joff Bush describes how he ‘seeds’ musical elements to draw out powerful emotions.

Perspective: Add to playlist: the coffee-shop pop of Gianna and the week’s best new tracks

Executive context: With her acoustic guitars and trip-hoppy beats, the London musician recalls a particular era of polished 00s boho-pop.

Perspective: Flea: Honora review – Chili Pepper turns piper, taking up trumpet for a soulful jazz odyssey

Executive context: Imaginative interpretations of Funkadelic and Frank Ocean sit alongside starry collaborations and gorgeous instrumentals on the bassist’s brassy side project.

Perspective: ‘A broken heart can turn somebody into a bad Casanova’: breakout R&B star Leon Thomas on defiance, D’Angelo and his ‘doggie’ persona

Executive context: Winning two Grammys last month cemented the New Yorker’s transition from producer for the likes of Drake to guitar-soloing superstar.

Perspective: Alexander Kluge, author and key film-maker in the New German Cinema movement, dies aged 94

Executive context: A winner of the Golden Lion at Venice, Kluge was a committed pacifist and one of the last living torchbearers of the Frankfurt school of neo-Marxist cultural criticism.

Editorial Staff Mar 26

Perspective: Fcukers: Ö review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week

Executive context: (Ninja Tune) The duo’s snotty nonchalance may capture the post-Brat zeitgeist, but their true appeal lies in a talent for turning vintage dance influences into pointed modern pop.

Editorial Staff Mar 26

Perspective: ‘Black music is not a subculture – it is the engine’: Why the Mobo awards matter more than ever, 30 years on

Executive context: Three decades after launching the awards, founder Kanya King reflects on being ahead of the crowd and why Mobo has always been more than music.

Editorial Staff Mar 26

Perspective: First trailer for Harry Potter TV series reveals much-anticipated new take

Executive context: First real look at HBO’s big-budget small screen take on JK Rowling’s best-selling books also reveals that first season will premiere this Christmas.

Perspective: Pretty Lethal review – Amazon’s ballerina action thriller puts on a decent enough show

Executive context: A group of American dancers face off against Hungarian gangsters, and a hammy Uma Thurman, in a cheap and cheerful Friday night adventure.

Perspective: ‘I was shunned, laughed at and underdogged’: Jane McDonald on her wild ride from clubland to cruises to country

Executive context: She has survived heartbreak, death threats and nauseating sexism. In her Mayfair club, the Yorkshire star talks about superfans, viral hits, running away to sea – and her bid to become a Nashville icon.

Perspective: ‘No one’s tried this before’: a new live music roster aims to ensure opportunities for disabled musicians

Executive context: UnMute has been founded to overhaul ableist booking practices, representing artists with specialist access requirements often deemed too costly by venues.