Weekend

The Guardian

Every Saturday, the Weekend podcast brings some of the best Guardian writing from the week, read by talented narrators. Listen to celebrity interviews, lifestyle features, and opinions from our most popular columnists including Marina Hyde and John Crace. Weekend is the perfect way to relax.

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184 episodes
Updated May 23

Episodes184

Newest first

Aug 24, 2024 · 45 min
Actor Gillian Anderson on female desire, singer Chappell Roan’s slow and steady rise, and how to stop people-pleasing
Actor Gillian Anderson on prudes, powerful women, and hitting her prime; How singer-songwriter Chappell Roan slow-burned her way to stardom; and writer, Oliver Burkeman, tells you how to shed the load of people-pleasing.
Aug 17, 2024 · 46 min
Growing up in a utopian commune - and the dangers that came with it; Marina Hyde on the Trump-Musk interview; and the power of embracing selfishness
Susanna Crossman describes her childhood in a utopian commune where children ran wild – and the trouble that came with that freedom; Marina Hyde assesses Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s glitch-ridden chat; and Moya Sarner reveals the life-changing power of selfishness, with the help of a simple phrase.
Aug 10, 2024 · 32 min
Marina Hyde on the ‘brave’ inciters of Britain’s race riots; lightning struck my plane and I plunged 3,000m; the delights of the dead hang
Where are you Tommy and Elon? Marina Hyde finds that those provoking the race riots are far, far away; the dead hang delight – how this quick, surprisingly simple exercise can change your life; and ‘A bolt of lightning struck my plane’ – one woman’s incredible story of survival
Aug 3, 2024 · 48 min
Jeff Goldblum, eccentric as ever at 71; the fallacy of ‘tradwives’; and ‘My dying wife found me a girlfriend’
Actor Jeff Goldblum on vanity, mortality and becoming a father in his 60s; sundresses and rugged self-sufficiency: the ‘tradwives’ trend touts a conservative American past that didn’t exist; and one man’s extraordinary story of embracing the dating world with the help of his terminally partner.
Jul 27, 2024 · 40 min
Bullied, belittled but indisputably brilliant: how Victoria Pendleton became a cycling legend; and what’s missing from Twisters?
Victoria Pendleton is one of Britain’s greatest ever athletes, but has often felt like a failure and fraud. She tells Simon Hattenstone about her Olympic golds, the misery that came with them, and the joy she has found since she retired. And Twisters is the tornado blockbuster that almost has it all. But its two hot stars – Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones – avoid a climactic smooch. Is Steven Spielberg to blame?
Jul 20, 2024 · 47 min
Is this the Brat girl summer? Marina Hyde predicts a sticky end for Trump-Vance, how to be a Norwegian parent, and Ask Philippa on sibling rivalry
Never doubt the instincts of Donald Trump, warns Marina Hyde, who just appointed a ‘never Trump guy’ as his running mate. Let your kids roam free, stay home alone, have fun – and fail – Norwegian style. Charli xcx’s new album, Brat, highlights how many young women now aspire to live – dirty, hedonistic, happy and bra-less. And ‘My brother’s mental illness hovers over my family life’ – Philippa Perry answers a reader.
Jul 13, 2024 · 46 min
Marina Hyde’s career advice for Joe Biden, the world’s smallest stuntman, Philippa Perry on ‘failure’, and could you forgive your childhood bully?
Marina Hyde advises the US president: ‘Walk to podium, smile, wave goodbye’; ‘I’m a failure, in debt and my partner is pregnant’ – Philippa Perry helps one man open up; Superman, Frodo and Star Wars: the stunning life and career of Kiran Shah; actor Katy Wix confronts a painful memory when she gets a message out of the blue
Jul 6, 2024 · 37 min
Actor Kevin Bacon on learning selflessness, the secret lives of porn addicts, and what’s it like to be a private tutor for the rich?
The actor Kevin Bacon, Hollywood’s great survivor, discusses his band, politics, family, embracing change and learning selflessness; as pornography use soars, some men feel their behaviour is moving from a compulsion to an addiction; and, last week, a job advert emerged for a private tutor to an architecture student with potential earnings of more than £2m: one man who has worked with wealthy families describes what it takes.
Jun 29, 2024 · 50 min
Keir Starmer’s most personal interview yet, the woman who gave birth to her granddaughter, and why do we have the dreams we do?– podcast
Charlotte Edwardes interviews the Labour leader as he closes in on power. Plus the extraordinary story of the woman who stepped in as a surrogate for her daughter’s baby, and Sam Pyrah examines the latest scientific understanding about why we dream what we do
Jun 22, 2024 · 50 min
Marina Hyde on Sunak and class, my parachute failed at at 4,000ft, my gaming-addicted son, and a new approach to quitting smoking
Marina Hyde on poor Rishi, who had to go without a Sky subscription as a teenager; Chris Godfrey spent a decade trying to quit smoking, then he tried hypnotherapy and it changed his life; when Jordan Hatmaker pulled the string of her parachute, she realised something was very wrong; and ‘My grownup son is gaming all day and lives on takeaways’ - Philippa Perry offers advice to a mother
Jun 15, 2024 · 47 min
Azeem Rafiq talks racism, cricket, and leaving Britain; Philippa Perry offers advice on a painful crush; why Rory Stewart quit politics; and the big British bamboo crisis
The former cricketer discusses the ramifications of his decision to speak out about racism at Yorkshire; a reader has developed an intense crush on an unavailable work colleague; Boris Johnson and Brexit weren’t the only reasons Rory Stewart left politics; and Simon Usborne on the destructive impact of bamboo
Jun 10, 2024 · 24 min
New series – Pop Culture with Chanté Joseph: Taylor Swift cultural icon or turbo-capitalist?
As Taylor Swift brings her billion-pound era tour tho the UK, Chanté (not a Swift fan) is joined by the writer Elle Hunt (is a Swift fan) to talk about how Swift is not merely a pop sensation but a business icon, too
Jun 8, 2024 · 41 min
A Guardian Blind Date happy ending, the boy who fled the Nazis, and Philippa Perry’s advice on an alcoholic father
The Guardian lockdown love story that ended in ‘I do’; the incredible story of Maxwell Smart, who lost his family in the Holocaust at 10 and avoided detection from the Nazis for two years; and Philippa Perry advises a reader not to invite his alcoholic father to his wedding.
Jun 1, 2024 · 55 min
America’s premier pronatalists on having ‘tons of kids’ to save the world, Marina Hyde on the election campaign trail, and is doing nothing the secret of happiness?
Rishi Sunak is so convinced he can’t win he’s promising any old mad thing, while the Lib Dems are deliberately falling off paddleboards – Marina Hyde on the election. The couple on a mission to make it easier for everyone to have multiple children – Elon Musk (father of 11) is a supporter. Few of us have the money to take a long pause from work – but, as Anita Chaudhuri discovers, even a day can make a difference
May 25, 2024 · 41 min
Stephen Merchant on his ‘preposterous’ trajectory; the trouble with the Zoe nutrition app; and when does drinking become a problem?
Comedian, writer and actor Stephen Merchant on standup, fame and the pressures of cancel culture; testing the ‘world-leading science’ claims behind the Zoe nutrition app; and the point when writer Harriet Tyce realised she didn’t want to be remembered only as a drinker
May 18, 2024 · 46 min
Marina Hyde on Russell Brand’s baptism; plus ‘deepfake’ cheerleaders: the woman wrongly accused over a viral video
Marina Hyde on Russell Brand’s journey to Christianity, and Jenny Kleeman meets the woman accused of circulating a damaging ‘deepfake’ video. The problem? Nothing was fake after all.
May 11, 2024 · 44 min
Josh O’Connor on Zendaya and gardening; Marina Hyde on the Met Gala; being a boy in 2024; and Philippa Perry offers advice on leaving a legacy
Frock horror! The ludicrous spectacle of the Met Gala; reluctant star Josh O’Connor takes the lead in a new film, Challengers; Catherine Carr talks to boys about sex, pornography and feeling isolated and vulnerable; and Philippa Perry responds to a reader who is child-free.
May 4, 2024 · 51 min
Comedian Sofie Hagen on eight years of celibacy, the £5 coffee is coming, and Philippa Perry offers advice on reconnecting with a sibling
A flat white can set you back £5.19 in London – but should we swallow it?; Sofie Hagen loves sex – so why has it been 3,089 days since she’s had any?; and psychotherapist and Observer columnist Philippa Perry addresses a reader’s personal problem .
Apr 27, 2024 · 48 min
‘I was hammered on stage’ – David Harewood on racism and success; John Crace on ‘tetchy’ Rishi; the answer to insomnia hell; and Baby Reindeer fall out – podcast
Beware of ‘Tetchy Rishi’ – the prime minister struggles to control his anger during the Rwanda bill press briefing; David Harewood on acting, racism and mental health; the surprisingly simple solution to insomnia hell; and the dangerous fallout from Netflix’s Baby Reindeer
Apr 20, 2024 · 42 min
The extraordinary story of the biggest art fraud in American history, plus Zoe Williams on Liz Truss
Zoe Williams explores the greatest mystery of modern politics: Liz Truss’ self belief, and Charlotte Edwardes delves into the extraordinary inside story of the biggest art fraud in American history.