Saving the NHS doesn’t have to hurt

Adam Kay

Former doctor Adam Kay’s bestselling memoir This Is Going To Hurt has become a TV show starring Ben Whishaw – and its depiction of an overworked NHS chimes with the times. Kay’s still angry that years of chronic underfunding have put the health service in an even more perilous state than when he left.

Lego lost at sea

In 1997 some shipping containers were swept into the sea. One contained 4,756,940 pieces of Lego. They’re still washing up today, and tell a much wider story of plastic pollution.

The evolution of love

Prepare for Valentine’s Day by finding out how humans went from primal procreation to fluffy love hearts and greeting cards.

Also inside

• How Jack Monroe’s influence is challenging pricing structures as the cost of living crisis escalates
• John Bird writes about why strong voices should not take priority over strong arguments (and shares a haiku)
• Monica Ali’s instant success with Brick Lane was followed by crushing self-doubt, but she tells us in a Letter To My Younger Self that she’s fallen back in love with writing
• Plymouth vendor Clive has a big musical moment on Saturday night prime time TV
• The last CIA survivor of the Cold War’s frontline
• Mel Giedroyc says she wants to take her confessional panel show into parliament
• And a reader shares a picture of a coffee table made of old magazines!

Plus much more!