67 m. ago To Cook a Bear review – this daft historical crime drama is like Law & Order: Special Ursine Unit

This six-part adaption of Swedish author Mikael Niemi’s novel is an odd beast. It conjures a fine sense of an isolated 19th-century village but the murder investigation at its heart is risibleA debate recently went viral on social media, after someone posed the question to women: would you rather be lost in the woods with a man or a bear? Like all the best thought experiments, it exposed wildly different worldviews and experiences, illuminated chasms between the sexes, and was likely to induce an existential crisis if you thought about it for too long. There was also the almost inevitable coda in which men of a certain stripe came online to tell women how stupid they were for choosing the bear and proceeded to limn the punishments they deserved for it. This at least allowed the women who had been hesitating over their choice to make it with a new confidence.To Cook a Bear effectively dramatises this nifty little setup. The six-part drama is adapted from Swedish author Mikael Niemi’s...

Events

2 h. ago Humanish by Justin Gregg review – how much of a person is your pet?

From prosthetic testicles for dogs to sociable reptiles, a behavioural scientist explains what we get wrong – and right – about animal mindsIn the 1970s a former Soviet naval officer named Igor Charkovsky popularised a concept which came to be known as dolphin-assisted birth. Likely inspired by New Age theories, he urged expectant mothers to dip in the ice-cold water of the Black Sea, commune with dolphins, and give birth underwater. In the “very near future,” he claimed, “a newborn child would be able to live in the ocean with a pod of dolphins and feed on dolphin milk”.The oddest thing about Charkovsky was not so much his theory, but its remarkable resilience within both Soviet and western culture, as Justin Gregg sets out in his illuminating and lively new book. Gregg’s work is both a dissection and an ode to the irresistible allure of anthropomorphism, our tendency to apply human characteristics to non-humans, whether animals, objects, AI, or God. An expert on ani...

Politics

3 h. ago Murdaugh: Death in the Family review – A totally unnecessary rehashing of a nasty case

This true-crime drama boasts impressive central performances but fails to shed any new light

Events

3 h. ago When did we all stop being able to sleep without endless equipment?

As a devoted eye mask and earplug user, Olivia Petter asks whether our obsession with sleep paraphernalia has got out of hand

Politics

4 h. ago Murdaugh: Death in the Family review – Patricia Arquette is fantastic in this obscene true

The acting may be brilliant in the horrible real-life story of a family whose sordid tale ends in a double murder. But when everything about the subjects is so rotten, why on Earth would you want to watch?How fascinatingly horrible were the Murdaugh family? Very, according to how much true-crime content they’ve generated. There’s already been a hit podcast about them, untangling a narrative that began in enviable luxury and ended with a sordid double murder. There’s already been a TV documentary. Now the Murdaughs complete the set with Murdaugh: Death in the Family, the plush fictionalised drama retelling the same awful tale.At its heart is a trio of strong performances, primed for awards season. Jason Clarke – also currently excellent as a different kind of alpha male in The Last Frontier on Apple TV+ – is Richard Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh, a powerhouse personal injury attorney and member of a South Carolina dynasty whose men have been the biggest beasts in the courtroom for genera...

Events

4 h. ago Haji Wright scores twice as USA come back from a goal down to see off Australia

World Cup 2026 cohosts defeat Socceroos 2-1 in ColoradoUSA captain Christian Pulisic injured; Jordan Bos opens scoringUSA captain Christian Pulisic was forced off early with a lower leg complaint as the World Cup cohosts scrapped to a 2-1 win over Australia at Dick’s Sporting Goods Stadium in Colorado on Wednesday.A double from striker Haji Wright cancelled out a shock opening goal from Socceroos left-back Jordy Bos, handing Tony Popovic his first loss and denying Australia the chance to climb the Fifa rankings and potentially face an easier group at next year’s tournament. Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Ragdoll at Jermyn Street Theatre review: short, snappy and hugely enjoyable

Katherine Moar’s second play touches lightly on questions rather than furnishing decisive answers, but is buzzing with interesting ideas

Politics

10 h. ago Reeves takes aim at ‘blockers’ using judicial review to halt major projects

The Government will cut the amount of time it takes for judicial reviews to move through the system, Rachel Reeves announced.

Politics

15 h. ago 9 best kids bunk beds in 2025, tried and tested for comfort and storage

Save space while still giving kids a place to play and rest

Politics

17 h. ago Albert Herring review – ENO heralds new era with witty staging of Britten’s story of a mummy’s boy

Coliseum, LondonEnglish National Opera’s first shared production between London and Salford is a fluent and finely sung take on Britten’s 1947 comic opera. Antony McDonald’s lively staging gives the slender tale a sitcom feelThis is English National Opera’s first production shared between London and Greater Manchester – where the company has been obliged to plan to move its base, following Arts Council England’s diktat. The choice of a relatively small-scale opera – necessary in the circumstances – means it was never going to be the kind of show to announce the new era with a bang. Albert Herring is Britten’s 1947 work based on a slender 19th-century French story about a mummy’s boy suddenly finding freedom calls for only a small orchestra and no chorus, so the company won’t be heading en masse to Salford next week. It’s regular fare at music colleges thanks to its large and even cast, but this staging, surprisingly, is an ENO first.Billing Antony McDonald’s production as a semi-sta...

Politics

17 h. ago Stephen Colbert HAILS Donald Trump for Gaza peace deal then asks if his doomed show is still canceled

Stephen Colbert gave Donald Trump rare praise during his Monday night before turning it into an attempt to save his show.

Politics

17 h. ago Boots: the Netflix sleeper hit that’s a stunning indictment of military homophobia

This word-of-mouth sensation’s scenes about the US marines’ treatment of homosexuality are incredibly powerful. Until it throws in a weird food fight and starts trying to become an Orange Is the New Black-style comedy dramaOne of the pitfalls of the streaming era is that so many shows seem to go unheralded. Last week, Netflix’s Boots looked likely to be one of them, slipping into the submenus without making a noise. However, thanks to unbelievably positive reviews (“The best new TV show of the fall” said USA Today) and frothing word of mouth, the military drama is now the third most-watched show on the platform. With every passing hour, it seems as though Boots is destined to become the next Squid Game-style breakout. So, with all that said, is it actually any good?The answer: kind of. Boots is an adaptation of Greg Cope White’s 2015 memoir The Pink Marine, detailing his time in the US military in 1990, a few years before Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell became the service’s official position ...

Events

18 h. ago ‘My eyes are stinging, but damn it, they’re open’: surviving a 12

Breaking both dawn and sanity, Twilight fan Jared Richards heads to the cinema to watch all five films for the 20th anniversary of Stephenie Meyer’s vampiric bestsellerGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIt is about 4am on a Saturday morning and a delirious energy is emerging at Randwick Ritz’s dusk-to-dawn, 12-hour marathon of the Twilight Saga. The cinema has the airs of an airport terminal after significant delays; at this point, people no longer care how they look and are doing anything they can to stay comfortable.We’ve reached the night’s 30-minute “breakfast break”, which means we are three of five films into the romantic tale of clumsy, quiet teen Bella Swan, who moves to the foggy forest town of Forks, Washington and falls for Edward Cullen, a (permanently) 17-year-old vampire. Continue reading...

Events

18 h. ago Scotland's most remote pub cancels Harry Potter Halloween party after staff face abuse

JK Rowling’s critics have labelled her transphobic, which she denies.

Events

20 h. ago Only one news outlet has signed on to Hegseth’s media loyalty oath — even Trump

‘Newsmax has no plans to sign the letter,’ the network stated on Monday. ‘We believe the requirements are unnecessary and onerous and hope that the Pentagon with review the matter further’

Politics

20 h. ago The House at Hallow End review – home renovation horror finds emotional heft among the terror

Angela Gulner’s tragi-horror debut trades jump scares for depth, as a family home turns into a mirror of loss and madnessNew mum Harper (Katie Parker) and her baby daughter move in with her mother Sadie (Patricia Heaton) to help finish sorting out an old fixer-upper of a home, bought with intent to flip. Also along for the ride is Bette (Emma Fitzpatrick), a live-in carer who turns out to be pregnant. But the path of property renovation never did run smooth, and soon, the weird noises and shadows and visions of a strange figure with a beak-like face start to take their toll on Harper. But how real is the threat? Is it all simply the projections of a frayed psyche or is something supernatural going on?Initially, it seems that writer and director Angela Gulner’s debut (previously titled The Beldham) is akin to a low-budget version of The Babadook, the breakout hit from 2014 that saw Essie Davis’s young widow living perpetually on the verge of a breakdown. There is indeed a similar int...

Events

21 h. ago Ruben Amorim timeline rubbished as 'ridiculous' Man United comments ripped apart

Ruben Amorim has been backed by Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, but an ex-player has told the Portuguese head coach not to get too comfortable

Politics

21 h. ago RIG R5 Spear Pro HS review: A good wired gaming headset for a budget price

Officially licensed by Sony, these old-school wired 3.5mm plug-in cans deliver booming explosions and clear highs while offering a decent onboard mic for online gaming

Economics

21 h. ago 14 best mattresses, tried and tested by The Independent’s sleep expert

I’ve spent years testing mattresses from Simba, Nectar and more

Politics

21 h. ago Scots holidaymakers warned of travel chaos amid cancelled flights with thousands affected

All departing flights at a major airport have been cancelled, while around half of all arrivals have been scrapped.

Events