Social trends

Esther Rantzen: ‘I’ve become one of the funny old ladies I used to talk to in the street'

As she eases into her 80s, the That’s Life! presenter is slowing down – but only slightly. She talks about misbehaving, getting older and her new podcast, That’s After Life!

Sam Wollaston

16, Mar, 2021 @10:00 AM

Apply liberally: the TikTok teens fighting political battles with makeup

Teenagers on TikTok are giving themselves makeovers based on their Republican or Democratic alter egos

Laura Pitcher

01, Mar, 2021 @10:05 PM

Snakes and Ladders by Selina Todd review – down with the meritocracy

Is social mobility possible or even desirable in Britain today? In a timely polemic, an Oxford historian sets out her egalitarian vision

Andrew Anthony

21, Feb, 2021 @11:30 AM

Waves breaking, the soft snip of scissors – these soothing sounds calm my brain | Hannah Jane Parkinson

Listening to ASMR recordings of soothing daily sounds is the perfect tranquilliser

Hannah Jane Parkinson

12, Feb, 2021 @7:00 AM

Bulldoze the high street and build a giant park: is Stockton the future of Britain?

What do you do when M&S, Debenhams and New Look are all gone? Knock down the shopping centre and replace it with green space. Could the ‘visionary’ plan of Stockton-on-Tees spark a revolution?

Oliver Wainwright

11, Feb, 2021 @8:00 AM

Lockdown-fuelled novelty of domestic chores wanes for men

Increased sharing of childcare and housework was seemingly temporary, research suggests

Alexandra Topping and Pamela Duncan

09, Dec, 2020 @5:58 PM

Singapore to offer baby bonus as people put plans on hold in Covid crisis

It comes as data shows pandemic influencing birthrates in different ways around world

Rebecca Ratcliffe, South-east Asia correspondent

07, Oct, 2020 @1:28 PM

Noel Gallagher says he refuses to wear a 'pointless' mask despite UK laws

Singer-songwriter argues ‘if I get the virus it’s on me, it’s not on anyone else’, as Ian Brown calls for ‘no masks no vax’

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

15, Sep, 2020 @4:00 PM

From CND to Hollywood: the ruthlessly brilliant designs of Ken Garland

The graphic designer who decried consumerism with a call-to-arms manifesto has won a lifetime achievement award. He talks about his career highs – and why so much modern design is ‘utterly mindless’

Oliver Wainwright

07, Sep, 2020 @11:48 AM

Let the BBC's new boss do his worst – with comedy, I'd rather be offended than bored | Suzanne Moore

New director-general Tim Davie will reportedly steer TV comedy to the right to correct years of perceived anti-Tory bias. But it was Brexit, not the BBC, that put a spanner in British humour

Suzanne Moore

02, Sep, 2020 @10:37 AM

Tokyo's public toilets may be transparent – but at least they're building some

Going to the toilet used to be a public activity. Will Japan’s see-through stalls take us back to the days before the S-bend brought lavatories indoors?

Rose George

18, Aug, 2020 @2:16 PM

Giant elephants and Hull naked: we can't let Covid kill off mass cultural gatherings

From the Olympics opening to a three-storey elephant and Hull unclothed, mass events have blown standard notions of art away. The UK government admits the health risks are low – so why won’t it back them?

Helen Marriage

17, Aug, 2020 @10:58 AM