3 d. ago I finally managed to impress the gen Z of my household – by admitting I skived out of an open day | Zoe Williams

Back in 1990, my sister and I pretended we were looking at universities when we were, in fact, roaming around shopping malls. This astounded my teensWhen you book your kid on a university open day, places tend to have a pretty strict specification: no more than one guest. Me and the middle teen kicked this around a bit, planning her trip to Bristol. Her friends could book their own place; it definitely wasn’t a cocktail party; so what kind of guest, exactly, did they have in mind? “They mean a parent. Didn’t you go with your parents?” Oh boy, no, we did not.My sister and I used to tell our mum that one of us had to go to, say, Newcastle, and the other one should go too, in case she got lost. Then we’d trouser the train fare – even in 1990, it was a lot – and spend the day in the Arndale centre in Wandsworth. Sometimes we went to the cinema. We never did anything lavish, like go out for lunch. We spent an awesome amount of time and a not negligible amount of money in the Body Shop. C...

Politics

8 d. ago After 35 years, the Menendez brothers have a chance for parole. Was that the Netflix effect? | Zoe Williams

It is hard to prove the judicial impact of two shows inspired by the notorious double murder case. But undoubtedly, they heightened public scrutinyWhen the true-crime documentary Menendez Brothers: Misjudged? aired in 2022 on Discovery+, its impact was not immediate, except on TikTok, where – chicken and egg-style – it was hard to determine whether people were talking about the case because of the show or because a general cultural osmosis had brought the topic to the fore.Erik and Lyle killed their parents in 1989, when they were 18 and 21. They alleged a childhood of sexual, psychological and physical abuse by their father, which their mother knew about but didn’t act on. The judge disallowed what was called the “abuse excuse” at the time, and the prosecution successfully landed the argument that they had murdered their parents for their inheritance, resulting in whole-life sentences without the possibility of parole. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago The toxic debate about obesity rages on. But at least we know if Mounjaro or Wegovy is better for weight loss | Zoe Williams

I was recently asked to explain the media’s attitude to weight loss drugs. And the more I tried, the more sheepish I became‘Why you might be given the ‘second-best’ weight-loss drug”, ran the i’s coverage of the most recent research findings: Mounjaro is officially more effective than Wegovy. And there are plenty of perfectly sensible reasons. Wegovy, which produces an average weight loss of 14%, might suit you fine. It’s the only drug approved for reducing the risk of a major cardiovascular event because it’s been on the market for longer. Mounjaro, reducing weight by 20%, might end up on top in the long run. The media often takes a scandalised tone about pharmacological innovation: whether it’s the NHS trying to palm you off with second best, or big pharma selling snake oil, someone is always out to get you. “This seems OK; let’s see how it goes” is a peculiarly difficult editorial line to take.I was part of a panel discussion last week at “Ozempic Nation”, part of the British Lib...

Politics

2 w. ago I won’t be taking exam leave to support my teens – just hovering, worrying and driving them mad | Zoe Williams

Exam pressures on both kids and parents are at an all-time high, but I’m glad that at least parents are more engaged these daysWhen I was doing GCSEs and my sister was doing A-levels, we were on our way to school for my physics and her maths exams when we had a huge fight at the bus stop. I can’t remember what it was about, but she definitely started it. I took a different route and was 20 minutes late for my exam while she took the original bus and spent the first quarter of her paper getting asked by teachers if she knew where I was. The beauty of this story is that I got an A and she got a B, but the relevant bit is that our mum didn’t know any of this – didn’t know we’d fought, didn’t know I’d been late, didn’t know my sister had got distracted, didn’t know why I was laughing so hard on the third Thursday of August.Parents are now asking for “exam leave” from work to get through their children’s GCSEs and A-levels. The sheer emotional investment – never mind the time, energy and...

Politics

2 w. ago Harry’s TV interview told us everything – and nothing. Why are the royals such terrible communicators? | Zoe Williams

Is their motto ‘never complain, never explain’ or ‘never stop complaining, never stop explaining’? Either way, it’s not working for themThe royal family’s motto has been “never complain, never explain” for as long as anyone asking anything as tedious as a question can remember. Royal watchers trot it out as a devilish smart move by a public relations master-breed. They’ve cracked the code of how to retain their dignity, their mystery, their effortless superiority and, maybe in a fair wind, even divinity: simply never say anything.Personally, I always found it a bit of an impediment to having any feelings for them. Sure, don’t explain if you don’t want to, but complaining to each other is 90% of human intimacy. It’s hard to have a relationship without it, even an imaginary one. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago My mum died in A&E last month – and the place was like a war zone | Zoe Williams

Amid the debate about trans people on hospital wards we have lost sight of dignity, respect and the horrifying reality of a health service in meltdownAnother morning, another absolutely bananas conversation about transgender people, without any trans people involved, following the supreme court ruling that permits the exclusion from single-sex spaces of anyone not born into that sex. On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Emma Barnett was asking care minister Stephen Kinnock about wards in hospitals, and came out with the immortal line: “Do you think it’s right for trans people to be segregated from other patients, as an interim measure, or for the future?”Great save, that “for the future” – because if you’re going to interpret this ruling as a requirement to exclude trans people, what does that mean in practice? Trans women on men’s wards, trans men on women’s wards? This delivers dignity and respect to precisely no one; so, sure, “segregate” away, and it would have to be for ever, beca...

Events

3 w. ago Even Tesla drivers seem to hate Elon Musk. Their honking protest warms the heart | Zoe Williams

The demonstration outside the Tesla showroom in west London was one of the smallest I have seen. But everyone who passed by was keen to show their supportPark Royal is the worst underground station in London and therefore the world. You come out of a stubby 1930s entrance hall that must have been cute once, right on to a dual carriageway. There’s a hotel on the other side of the road, and a tourist will most likely approach you, asking how she’s supposed to cross, and your answer will be just a sub-verbal collapse into nothingness. There is no obvious way to cross the road. This place was built for cars, and if you’re not a car, you’re stuck in a tube station now. There is actually an underpass, but that’s no excuse for dystopian urban planning.I was there helping the Stop Trump Coalition make a video before the US president’s state visit, whenever that might be, and they were there to see Tesla Takedown, which is not as antagonistic as it sounds, just a score of people, one dressed...

Events

3 w. ago I went to a Tesla protest this weekend – here’s what I learned | Zoe Williams

The demonstration outside the Tesla showroom in west London was one of the smallest I have seen. But everyone who passed by was keen to show their supportPark Royal is the worst underground station in London and therefore the world. You come out of a stubby 1930s entrance hall that must have been cute once, right on to a dual carriageway. There’s a hotel on the other side of the road, and a tourist will most likely approach you, asking how she’s supposed to cross, and your answer will be just a sub-verbal collapse into nothingness. There is no obvious way to cross the road. This place was built for cars, and if you’re not a car, you’re stuck in a tube station now. There is actually an underpass, but that’s no excuse for dystopian urban planning.I was there helping the Stop Trump Coalition make a video before the US president’s state visit, whenever that might be, and they were there to see Tesla Takedown, which is not as antagonistic as it sounds, just a score of people, one dressed...

Politics