Digested week: new words, extrovert propaganda and a perfect train journey
Cambridge Dictionary’s annual release of its new entrants is a great measure of how functionally old you are
I share all my deepest thoughts and feelings with ChatGPT – but our friendship is doomed
At the moment, the AI chatbot never remembers me, so I can ask it the same questions over and over and enjoy its non-judgmental replies. The Online Safety Act, though well-intentioned, will change all that, writes Coco Khan
Love as a business deal? Whales, unicorns and why Materialists and Anora have a lot in common
Both films explore the forfeiting of love for the financial security of a rich man. Sadly, the theme resonates for many in these straitened economic times
The secret life of a child star: how Alyson Stoner survived stalkers, starvation and sexualisation
Stoner was a small child when they began acting professionally – and their experience included extreme pressure, dangerous diets, rehab, dashed hopes and self-doubt. Now, with a new memoir, they consider how they escaped ‘the toddler to train-wreck pipeline’
Would an ‘Unsexiest Women Alive’ list be published today? Maybe not – but body-shaming is definitely back
The 90s and 00s were a toxic time to be a woman in the public eye, as Victoria Beckham has recently reminded us. Trouble is, spite and cruelty towards women never went out of fashion, writes Arwa Mahdawi
‘You’re gonna need a bigger bank account’: how a Jaws child actor turned a fleeting appearance into a fortune
The cheques keep rolling in for Jeffrey Voorhees, who played short-lived shark victim Alex Kintner when he was 12 – and he’s not the only one
Does James Bond have to be played by a man? Helen Mirren seems to think so
The actor says she is ‘such a feminist’ but that it doesn’t work to have a woman as the next 007. She may find that Amazon, which has taken creative control of the franchise, agrees, writes Zoe Williams
‘My buyer’s guilt is insane. It’s $1,300 on trash’: the adults addicted to blind box toys like Labubus
Grownups get thrills from opening these collectibles they buy without knowing what they’re getting – but experts warn the craze is akin to gambling
A new start after 60: I read out my old diaries online – and my youthful secrets went viral
When Betsy Lerner began her unfiltered readings, she found an unexpected following and a new sense of connection
Blockbuster, board games and boredom: why everyone’s parenting like it’s 1999
Nostalgic millennial parents are increasingly keen to replicate their own childhoods. But were the 90s as blissful as we remember?
From cosmopolitans to vibrators, the cultural heft of Sex and the City
Just some of the ways that SATC helped to revolutionise the way we dress, eat, date, exercise and work
I tested 42 water bottles to find the best for leaks, looks and sustainability: here are my favourites
Ditched single-use plastic bottles but can’t find a good reusable one? I spent two months putting dozens through their paces – these are the ones worth buying
Oslo Stories Trilogy: Love review – gracefully grownup and breezy relationships drama
Doctor Marianne wonders if her gay colleague Tor’s approach to dating would work for her, in the second film of Dag Johan Haugerud’s absorbing trilogy
A moment that changed me: I resolved to reduce my screen time – and it was a big mistake
I was looking for liberation from the apps, but quitting them only made my life harder and turned me into a man obsessed