Many users of the app were shocked, this week, by this addition to the Spotify Wrapped roundup – especially twentysomethings who were judged to be 100 “Age is just a number. So don’t take this personally.” Those words were the first inkling I had that I was about to receive some very bad news. I woke up on Wednesday with a mild hangover after celebrating my 44th birthday. Unfortunately for me, this was the day Spotify released “Spotify Wrapped”, its analysis of (in my case) the 4,863 minutes I had spent listening to music on its platform over the past year. And this year, for the first time, they are calculating the “listening age” of all their users. Continue reading...

Pulled by Steam and Epic Games Store, indie horror Horses shook up the industry before it was even released. Now it’s out, all the drama surrounding it seems superfluous On 25 November, award-winning Italian developer Santa Ragione, responsible for acclaimed titles such as MirrorMoon EP and Saturnalia, revealed that its latest project, Horses, had been banned from Steam - the largest digital store for PC games. A week later, another popular storefront, Epic Games Store, also pulled Horses, right before its 2 December launch date. The game was also briefly removed from the Humble Store, but was reinstated a day later. The controversy has helped the game rocket to the top of the digital stores that are selling it, namely itch.io and GOG. But the question remains – why was it banned? Horses certainly delves into some intensely controversial topics (a content warning at the start details, “physical violence, psychological abuse, gory imagery, depiction of slavery, physical and psychological torture, domestic abuse, sexual assault, suicide, and misogyny”) and is upsetting and unnerving. Continue reading...

Designer Michael Schmidt’s 36-piece collection was made from the wool of rams who have shown same-sex attraction When a ram tips its head back, curls its upper lip, and takes a deep breath – what is known in the world of animal husbandry as a “flehmen response” – it is often a sign of arousal. Sheep have a small sensory organ located above the roof of the mouth, and the flehmen response helps to flood it with any sex pheromones wafting about. Usually, rams flehmen when they encounter ewes during the mating period, according to Michael Stücke, a farmer with 30 years of experience raising sheep in Westphalia, Germany. But on Stücke’s farm, the rams flehmen “all the time”. Continue reading...

Whether it’s hair rollers, giant ice cubes or beer mats, your festive favourites make one thing clear: it’s party time • The best Christmas gifts for 2025 Ever wish you could read people’s minds when giving them their Christmas presents? Working for the Filter is like having that wish granted, only without the emotional fallout. You see, we get to find out which of our gift guide recommendations you’ve really loved – as opposed to the ones that make you say, “Oh, you really shouldn’t have.” Continue reading...

Ministers want to secure deal by end of 2026 as part of a broader reset of Britain’s relationship with Europe UK politics live – latest updates Tens of thousands of young British and European citizens would be given the right to live and work in each other’s countries under plans for a scheme that ministers are aiming to finalise within the next year. Ministers want to secure a youth mobility scheme with the EU by the end of 2026, as part of a broader reset of Britain’s relationship with Europe six years after leaving the bloc. Continue reading...

The director’s two-part revenge saga has now been released as one mammoth movie with tweaks and additions here and there Quentin Tarantino and his epic revenge saga Kill Bill had, as the vengeful lead character in the movie keeps saying, unfinished business. Actually, Tarantino mostly finished the business of re-integrating two volumes of Kill Bill into a single feature as early as 2006, just a couple of years after the release of Kill Bill: Vol 2. But while that version played at Cannes and had a few more recent runs at Tarantino-owned theaters in Los Angeles, it never reached home video (though some bootlegs attempted to recreate it) or a wide theatrical release. That’s all changed with this weekend’s debut of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, a four-and-a-half-hour version of the movie hitting over 1,000 screens across North America. Tarantino made long movies before and after Kill Bill; features that run over two-and-a-half hours make up the vast majority of his filmography. But in the early 2000s, Kill Bill represented a major pivot for the film-maker, away from his then-signature crime dramas with healthy helpings of black comedy. Tarantino and his Pulp Fiction star Uma Thurman cooked up the character of the Bride – “Q & U” are named as providers of the source material in the credits – as a pregnant ex-assassin who becomes the victim of a vicious wedding-eve attack from her ex-boss/lover (that would be Bill) and their lethal colleagues (those would be the other four on her “death list five”, a phrase whose rhythm recalls Fox Force Five, the fictional TV pilot Thurman’s character in Pulp Fiction once starred in). The Bride unexpectedly survives the shooting, goes into a coma, and wakes up years later desperate for revenge, forming the backbone of a movie that pays extensive tribute to the kung fu, exploitation, and revenge movies of Tarantino’s youth – and his dreams, if the vividly colorful look of the film is any indication. Continue reading...

Robbie addresses backlash to casting Elordi as a character described by Brontë as ‘dark-skinned’, while Fennell praises her female star’s ‘big dick energy’ Margot Robbie has come out in defence of Emerald Fennell’s new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, in which she is playing Cathy opposite Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff. Despite being months away from release, the film has attracted criticism for its casting as well as alterations that Fennell has made to the characters. In an interview with Vogue magazine, Robbie said: “I get it … there’s nothing else to go off at this point until people see the movie.” Continue reading...

All 18-year-old men to be screened for suitability for armed forces, but proposal falls short of conscription The German parliament has rubberstamped a new model for military service that aims to boost its armed forces, as thousands of school pupils demonstrated across the country against the plans. The change will include the obligatory screening of all 18-year-old men to gauge their suitability to serve in the military from 1 January, but does not include conscription, as favoured by some conservative politicians. Continue reading...

Old Fire Station, Oxford Things get tense when a newcomer seems to know too much in Karim Khan’s absorbing play Karim Khan’s absorbing Christmas play offers warmth, doubt, uncanny strangers and a generous handful of sweets from the Pic ’n’ Mix. It all makes for a smartly unexpected festive story. It’s 1999, ticking down to the millennium. At the Woolworths staff party in Oxford (paper hats, sensible shop-floor shoes), Zoya (Gurjot Dhaliwal) chirrups about the wonder of Woolies and her scathing colleague Iqra (Prabhleen Oberoi) scoffs that she has been radicalised. Both Pakistani-born – Iqra is a politics student, Zoya a young wife – they bop and plan their futures, until they are joined by Faiza (Hannah Khalique-Brown), a mysterious holiday temp who knows more about them than seems plausible. Iqra initially describes the newcomer as “BBCD” (“British-born confused desi”). “British Pakistanis are fascinating specimens,” she sighs. But who is Faiza? A management stooge or spy for Zoya’s in-laws? Or something far stranger? Even as the friends share secrets of the Pic ’n’ Mix, simple questions open up a chasm of anxiety – on the tight square stage, the space between the three actors is tense and watchful. Secrets and surprises start to spill like a scatter of toffees. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Out there in the extended WhatsApp metaverse, an exclusive group of footballers send each other memes, jokes and probably much else besides. What goes encrypted stays encrypted but it was only last week that Christian Fuchs, reliable left-back turned Newport County manager, revealed his appointment to the Welsh club had set the notifications buzzing on the “Champions” group, made up of the 2015-16 Leicester City players. Ten years ago today, a Riyad Mahrez hat-trick at Swansea sent the Foxes to the Premier League summit. Jamie Vardy was denied a goal but had just completed a record-breaking streak of scoring in 11 consecutive matches. The following Monday, a 2-1 win over Chelsea sent José Mourinho through the Stamford Bridge door marked Do One. “I want to stay and I hope Mr Abramovich and the board want me to stay because I want to stay,” squealed José. “All at Chelsea thank José for his immense contribution …” came the reply. That season, everyone trailed in the wake of a Vardy, Mahrez and N’Golo Kanté-charged wrecking ball. Next summer there will doubtless be a 10th anniversary celebration. Their story continues to defy belief. No tactical manual or chalkboard wonk ever divined the sheer inspiration of Claudio Ranieri’s “dilly ding dilly dong” motivational techniques. The problem with football is that you can never truly bask in the past. Just look at Manchester United’s constipations or the deleterious fall of Liverpool, actual champions whose performances have turned even the cheeriest Anfield fan into a Samuel Beckett tragicomedy. Though if you are mining for misery look no further than Leicester in 2025. There is the possibility that the 10th anniversary party will take place in League One. Did the downfall begin the very next season? Where did it all go wrong, Mr Vardy? An opening-day loss at Hull, a team with no manager, was soon followed by Ranieri’s defenestration: dilly ding, dilly gone. Since then, there’s been tragedy in the 2018 helicopter crash that killed Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the club’s owner. And good money thrown after bad: Leicester have walked a financial tightrope that may lead to docked points soon, plunging them into the Championship’s relegation zone. When Vardy departed for Cremonese last summer, the last of the immortals departed the tower. The doom has doubled. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s failure to find any fight against relegation last season has been replicated by Martí Cifuentes. Continue reading...

Liverpool Playhouse The story becomes less and less relevant as this slapstick monster pastiche leads to an irresistible sense of chaos When a film as perfect as Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein exists, you might well be forgiven for asking what need is there for a live version? As the opening night of this production hysterically demonstrated, the possibility for chaos thanks to the ephemeral nature of live theatre is reason enough. That ephemerality created a sequence of events that saw: a cast member (Simeon Truby as Inspector Kemp) join the audience to watch the show, a stage manager announce there would be a pause in the action – leaving Inspector Kemp ad-libbing for all he was worth – and then another member of stage management arrive to tell the audience, “just wait here and … entertain yourselves”. Someone did eventually remember a cast member had been left adrift and Truby was rescued. Then we were told that Inga (Julie Yammanee) had suffered an injury and that Jessica Wright, from the ensemble, would be stepping into Inga’s shoes. Within minutes she performed an astoundingly accomplished tap dance routine. What other medium gives you such moments? Continue reading...

Official text, signed by Donald Trump, outlines plan to ‘cultivate resistance’ in EU nations to their ‘current trajectory’ Donald Trump’s administration has said that Europe faces “civilisational erasure” within the next two decades as a result of migration and EU integration. In a policy document, it argues that the US must “cultivate resistance” within the continent to “Europe’s current trajectory”. Billed as “a roadmap to ensure America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history and the home of freedom on earth”, the US National Security Strategy makes explicit Washington’s support for Europe’s far-right parties. Continue reading...

Perhaps you started Christmas earlier or are making extra special efforts to enjoy the festive season Are you leaning in to Christmas this year, determined to make the most of the festive season? Perhaps you put your Christmas tree up earlier than usual? Or, for the first time in years? Maybe you’re embracing Christmas jumper wearing with unusual zeal? Or perhaps you’re listening to Christmas songs earlier than usual? Maybe you’re making more effort to enjoy time with friends and loved ones in the run-up to 25 December. Continue reading...

RSPB says growing trend for honouring species that are in decline is not matched by action on conservation Britain’s street names are being inspired by skylarks, lapwings and starlings, even as bird populations decline. According to a report by the RSPB, names such as Skylark Lane and Swift Avenue are increasingly common. Using OS Open Names data from 2004 to 2024, the conservation charity found that road names featuring bird species had risen by 350% for skylarks, 156% for starlings and 104% for lapwings, despite populations of these having fallen in the wild. Continue reading...

From an enraging indictment of Spotify to Del Amitri frontman Justin Currie’s account of Parkinson’s and a compelling biography of Tupac Shakur, here are five titles that strike a chord Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist Liz Pelly (Hodder & Stoughton) Enraging, thoroughly depressing, but entirely necessary, Mood Music offers a timely, forensically researched demolition of Spotify. In Pelly’s account, the music streaming giant views music as a kind of nondescript sonic wallpaper, artists as an unnecessary encumbrance to the business of making more money and its target market not as music fans, but mindless drones who don’t really care what they’re listening to, ripe for manipulation by its algorithm. Sharp business practices and evidence of its deleterious effect on the quality and variety of new music abound: the worst thing is that Pelly can’t really come up with a viable alternative in a world where convenience trumps all. Men of a Certain Age: My Encounters With Rock Royalty Kate Mossman (Bonnier) There’s no doubt that Men of a Certain Age is a hard sell, a semi-autobiographical book in which the New Statesman’s arts editor traces her obsession with often wildly unfashionable, ageing male artists – Queen’s Roger Taylor, Bruce Hornsby, Steve Perry of Journey, Jon Bon Jovi among them – through a series of interviews variously absurd, insightful, hair-raising and weirdly touching. But it’s elevated to unmissable status by Mossman’s writing, which is so sparkling, witty and shrewd that your personal feelings about her subjects are rendered irrelevant amid the cocktail of self-awareness, affection and sharp analysis she brings to every encounter. In a world of music books retelling tired legends, Men of a Certain Age offers that rare thing: an entirely original take on rock history. Continue reading...

As it turns out, not that much See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here Continue reading...

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...

The writer of the Tony award-nominated Slave Play remains in custody after authorities say they found MDMA in his bag American actor and playwright Jeremy O Harris, known for the Tony-nominated Slave Play, was arrested last month at an airport in Japan on suspicion of attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into the country, local authorities said late on Thursday. Harris, 36, was stopped on 16 November at Naha airport on Okinawa island after a customs officer discovered 0.78 grams of crystal containing the synthetic narcotic MDMA in his tote bag, an Okinawa regional customs spokesperson said. Continue reading...

Everyone’s favourite former PM is back! Her mission? To save Britain from its current ‘doomloop’ with, you guessed it, a YouTube talkshow Will you be seeing a pantomime this year? Birmingham’s got Gok Wan and Biggins in Robin Hood, Bradford has Sinitta in Snow White, while Bromley landed Su Pollard for Beauty and the Beast. And at the end of YouTube’s infinite pier, there’s The Liz Truss Show, staring She’s-Behind-You herself. Curtain up on that one is tonight at 6pm. According to the producers, Liz’s show “confronts the issues that others tiptoe around”. Wow. The lives, loves, and clinical explanations? Let’s just say I’d watch that. Sadly, this doesn’t seem to be the format. Instead, like all seasonal entertainment, The Liz Truss Show is based on a fairytale. “The deep state and their allies in the media and politics tried to destroy me,” madam explains in a statement, “now I’m back.” Are the gilt markets the deep state now? Honestly, I can’t keep up. You’ll remember that the irony of Truss’s flameout at the hands of market forces was particularly acute given that she had spent an entire career explaining that free markets were the greatest judge of absolutely everything. Small ideological adjustment: free markets are now the greatest judge of everything except the ideas and personage of Liz Truss. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Kristi Noem said the list of countries from which travel to the US is prohibited will increase to an unspecified number US politics live – latest updates The US plans to expand the number of countries covered by its travel ban to more than 30, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem, has announced. Noem, in an interview on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle on Thursday evening, was asked to confirm whether the Trump administration would be increasing the number of countries on the travel ban list to 32. Continue reading...

Mainoo has not started in Premier League this season Amorim: ‘I try to put the best players on the pitch’ Ruben Amorim has denied not trusting Manchester United’s academy by pointing to his selection of Kobbie Mainoo in the matchday squad. Mainoo was an unused substitute in Thursday’s 1-1 draw at home to West Ham. The 20-year-old midfielder, who has been at the club since he was six, has made 10 appearances this season but only one start, against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup. Continue reading...

How elite gamblers buy betting accounts of losing punters to bamboozle bookmakers The world of professional gambling is secretive by design. Successful punters find an edge wherever possible and seldom show their hand to rivals when they spot an opportunity to make a killing. Continue reading...

French president’s remarks come a day after a report claimed he had warned Washington could betray Kyiv Emmanuel Macron has said there is “no mistrust” between Europe and the US, a day after a report claimed the French president had warned privately there was a risk Washington could betray Ukraine. “Unity between Americans and Europeans on the Ukrainian issue is essential. And I say it again and again, we need to work together,” Macron told reporters during a visit to China. Continue reading...

As Australia’s batting linchpin helps hosts pull away, England’s premier paceman is yet to get him out in a Test Jofra Archer versus Steve Smith in 2019 is already Ashes folklore. The atmosphere at Lord’s that afternoon was charged in all senses, a huge slab of cloud bringing darkness to the day. Fresh off a match-winning World Cup final, Archer marked his Test debut with what was then the fastest spell recorded for England. Smith was in the middle of a Bradman-hued streak of 774 runs in seven innings. All that could pause him was a short-pitched attack of building ferocity, one that finally dropped Smith with a bouncer to the neck. It was a pure duel, the kind that cause spectators genuine fear. In the immediate aftermath, and again as Archer took six-fors in wins at Headingley and the Oval, one principal idea came up in every discussion: imagine, what might he be able to do in Australia? Imagine him on a fast and bouncy track in Perth or Brisbane. It was “I can’t wait to get you to the Gabba,” but born of admiration rather than antagonism. The show, we all imagined, might be a spectacle. Continue reading...

The 92-year-old actor made the announcement again as he received an award at the Red Sea international film festival in Saudi Arabia Michael Caine has offered an update on his possible retirement from acting at the Red Sea international film festival in Saudi Arabia, appearing to call time on his career for the fourth time. Taking to the stage to accept a lifetime achievement award, the actor said: “I kept going until I was 90, which was two years ago, and I thought to myself I’m not going to do anything else because I’ve had all the luck you can get.” Continue reading...