In the early 2020s, readers flocked to books to explain political turbulence. But is the world now too grim to read about – and are podcasters taking the place of authors?

In the decade leading up to the pandemic, nonfiction seemed unstoppable. Readers flocked to books that explained a world upended by Brexit, Trump, #MeToo and climate upheaval. Titles such as Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny, Caroline Criado-Perez’s Invisible Women, and Robin D’Angelo’s White Fragility soared up the charts. It felt as though reading itself was part of the civic response, a way to understand what was happening, and perhaps influence what might happen next.

Fast forward to the present day, and the picture is starting to look different: a recent report from NielsenIQ found that trade nonfiction sales have slipped sharply. In volume terms, the category is down 8.4% between last summer and the same period this year – nearly double the decline in paperback fiction – and down 4.7% in value. Though there have been some exceptions, such Chloe Dalton’s Raising Hare and Want by Gillian Anderson, 14 out of 18 nonfiction subcategories have contracted.

MPs from most corners of Commons laughed at the festive gag – but stony-faced Farage failed to see the funny side

Whisper it softly, but Keir Starmer made a joke. A good one at that. MPs from most corners of the Commons even laughed. Genuine laughter. Not the contrived partisan guffaws you usually get at prime minister’s questions that makes the public howl in despair.

OK, we can take issue with the delivery. Starmer has next to no grasp of comic timing. Any gag takes its life in its own hands when Keir is around. Most are dead on arrival. But let’s not be too picky. It was still a black swan event. A genuine rarity.

Choosing the right gift can feel difficult, but it is possible to buy something meaningful that will please your loved ones – and stay out of the trash

My family members are incredible gift-givers. Every birthday and holiday, they manage to select exactly what the recipient wanted – or didn’t know they wanted.

I didn’t inherit this gene.

What do people talk about when they’re not trying to impress you? What are their genuine interests, passions and concerns?

Notice their lifestyle, Maso says: “How they live, what they value, where they unwind.”

Choose something that “reflects their world, not yours”. Did I want a Lego orchid? Yes. Did my father? No.

Add a touch of the unexpected. “The best gifts always have a little, ‘I didn’t know I needed this, but it’s so me!’ moment,” Maso says.

The actor has said Shakespeare’s language can be understood ‘in the body’. I couldn’t disagree more

I want to believe in reincarnation because I want to come back as Paul Mescal. What it must be like to be irresistible. I’m sure it gets wearing, but I’d still like to give it a try, just for research purposes. Not so much for the carnal stuff, but for the way every word he utters is taken to be as beautiful as he is. Intoxicated by their admiration, his admirers leap headfirst into the still waters of his pronouncements apparently certain of hidden depths thereunder.

So it has been with the reaction to how he comforted his director when she confessed, in so many words, that she couldn’t always grasp what Shakespeare was on about. We’ve all been there. At least I have. There there, quoth Mescal: “Listen, if Shakespeare is performed right, you don’t have to understand what they’re saying. You feel it in the body, the language is written like that.”

The Marty Supreme star said the Britain’s Got Talent runner-up is one of the greatest Britons of all time – surely he’s not taking her name in vain for attention

Timothée Chalamet understands the true nature of greatness. In Marty Supreme, he plays a character loosely based on a former two-time US men’s singles table tennis champion. In A Complete Unknown, he played Bob Dylan at the exact moment he decided to reshape all of pop culture in his own image. His upcoming third Dune film is based on a book that is literally called Messiah. So when Timothée Chalamet singles out a figure for greatness, understand that the greatness is warranted.

Which is a roundabout way of saying that Timothée Chalamet thinks Susan Boyle is great. Not only great, but one of the greatest Britons to have ever lived.

Canadian researchers tracking bear known as X33991 noticed she had gained a second cub who likely needed help

Scientists in Canada have documented a rare case of female polar bear adopting a new cub, in an episode of “curious behaviour” that highlights the complex relationships among the apex Arctic predators.

Polar Bears International, a non-profit conservation group, said on Wednesday that when they first placed a GPS collar on a female polar bear in the spring, she had one young cub. But when she was spotted with two cubs of roughly the same age last month, they realized they were witnessing an exceedingly rare case of adoption.

Exclusive: Key figures at frozen assets depository among targets of intimidation campaign, say European intelligence agencies

Belgian politicians and senior finance executives have been subject to a campaign of intimidation orchestrated by Russian intelligence aimed at persuading the country to block the use of €185bn assets for Ukraine, according to European intelligence agencies.

Security officials indicated to the Guardian that there had been deliberate targeting of key figures at Euroclear, the securities depository holding the majority of Russia’s frozen assets, and leaders of the country.

Conciliation service ‘in contact with all the parties involved’ as medics in England strike for 14th time

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The conciliation service Acas has offered to help to try to break the deadlock in the resident doctors’ strike in England.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service has become involved in an effort to find a resolution to the long-running dispute as medics strike for the 14th time over pay and jobs.

Forces say they will ‘recalibrate to be more assertive’ in light of antisemitic attacks in Manchester and Sydney

Police in London and Manchester have pledged a further crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, saying they will arrest anyone chanting the words “globalise the intifada” or holding a placard with the phrase on it.

The protests began in October 2023 after Hamas’s attack on Israel prompted the Israeli invasion of Gaza. London’s Metropolitan police have policed the most protests, followed by Greater Manchester police (GMP). On Wednesday the chiefs of both forces said attacks against Jewish people in Manchester, where two died, and in Sydney, Australia, where 16 died including one of the alleged killers, meant new rules now applied.

Mark Jenner strung along activist who wanted to have children with him in an ‘extremely cruel’ way to infiltrate leftwing circles, Spycops inquiry told

An undercover officer has admitted he “callously and cruelly” deceived a woman into a five-year relationship while infiltrating leftwing campaigns, the spycops inquiry has heard.

Mark Jenner and the leftwing activist, known as Alison, lived as a couple, but he never told her that he was in reality an undercover officer who was spying on anti-racist activists.