Six great reads: Swiss bunkers, what Alexa heard and red-pill manosphere hucksters
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Bethan McKernan spent four years as the Guardian's Jerusalem correspondent, a period marked by the horrors of 7 October 2023 and what has followed in Gaza. As she begins her new role as the Guardian's Wales correspondent, she looked back at her period in the Middle East and how it has shaped her and her understanding of the region.
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Switzerland is home to more than 370,000 nuclear bunkers – enough to shelter every member of the population. But, asked Jessi Jezewska Stevens, if the worst should happen, would they actually work?
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'In September 2016, a new presence appears in our house, squatting on the kitchen counter between the kettle and the coffee machine. It is blandly futuristic, a minimal cylinder with an LED ring that glows blue to alert us to the fact that it is ready, poised to answer our questions or carry out our instructions, as long as those instructions are clearly stated and fall within a narrow band of available 'skills'.'
For nearly a decade, Alexa has been listening to Jeremy Ettinghausen and his family's questions and instructions. What had she heard? And what did it tell him about the role Amazon's smart speaker plays in so many of our lives?
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After 380 games and more than 1,000 goals the 2024-25 Premier League season came to an end last weekend. Jonny Weeks told the story of a dramatic (in parts) season via the work of the best sports photographers in the game – including our own brilliant Tom Jenkins. Read more
'When I first met Nick in 2019, at a dating and self-improvement summit in Miami, it wasn't immediately obvious why he was paying so much money to pseudo-authority figures from the manosphere. He had looks, cash and some of the easy swagger of London done good … '
So writes James Bloodworth in his fascinating (and worrying) profile of a friend who went down the digital rabbit hole. Nick's story is a cautionary tale of what happens when someone who feels inadequate listens to the new generation of masculinity salesmen
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Daily Record
8 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Retro gaming expert's verdict on new 'surprisingly affordable' Lego Game Boy
Experts have reviewed the much-anticipated product ahead of its October release, and it is available to pre-order now. Retro game fans are champing at the bit to get their hands on the upcoming Lego Game Boy model building kit, which is currently available to pre-order on Amazon for £54.99. And ahead of its long-awaited release on October 1, experts in the field of old-school gaming have given their verdict on the product. LEGO have teamed up with Nintendo to bring fans the new building set for adults that holds an uncanny resemblance to the original Game Boy. And one expert at GamesRadar wrote that they 'can't get over how accurate' the Lego Game Boy is, drumming up yet more excitement for the upcoming product. The games reviewer was also impressed by the '"surprisingly affordable" £54.99 price tag. The Lego product, which is for adults only (18+), contains 421 pieces and measures over 5.5 inches (14cm) high, 3.5 inches (9cm) wide and 1 inch (3cm) deep- a near 1:1 ratio to the original console. The Lego Game Boy includes all the memorable features from the original console, including the +Control Pad, A and B Buttons, and SELECT and START, alongside other iconic Game Boy details, such as the contrast adjustment and volume dial. And the GamesRader experts were blown away by the Lego version's accuracy to the retro gaming device. They said: "As someone who spends a lot of time fixing old Game Boys, I was also concerned the Lego set would miss the mark. "In theory, recreating the portable console out of blocks should be a challenge since it's practically a grey brick, but the construction toy pioneers have created a model that's smashed my expectations in terms of detail." Those shopping for other Lego Nintendo products that are available now may opt for the Lego Super Mario Piranha Plant Set for £58 on Argos, or the Lego Super Mario Adventures with Interactive Mario for £45, also on Argos. But another show-stopping feature of the Lego console is that it comes with a cartridge slot that users can insert fake games into, which appear on the 'screen' of the console as if the real game was running. The reviewer said: "It's hard to get a proper sense of the lenticular effect from photos, but Lego's example shots already look impressively convincing. "Not only are the inserts the same color of green as the Game Boy's polarizing filter, but the lens helps it catch the light in the same way as the old non-backlit LCD." But while it may look ready to switch on and play, there are no light, sound or display play functions in the set. And although this expert is thrilled with the product, other gaming fans have taken to X to air out their grievances with the un-playable toy. One said: "That stinks. I would rather have a real Gameboy and play the real games." A second wrote on the social media platform: "So, it's not playable for that amount of money?" But other fans are looking forward to the set, with one saying: "Brilliant, I hope this becomes a whole series of portable console Lego sets!" The Lego Game Boy is available to pre-order on Amazon. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
The Sun
8 minutes ago
- The Sun
I had 3 kids under 2 – everyone's baffled when I tell them… it was a shock to me too, but was down to a simple mistake
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Daily Mirror
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Richard Osman left stunned after searching his own book on Amazon
The Thursday Murder Club has been a literary sensation and Richard Osman was left horrified when he searched his book on Amazon and saw the results Richard Osman was left stunned after conducting a search for his bestselling book series on Amazon. The Thursday Murder Club has proved a smash hit with readers since the debut novel launched in 2020. Its success has prompted streaming behemoth Netflix to produce a film adaptation, featuring stars such as Pierce Brosnan, which is set for release next month. It was this upcoming movie that left the author gobsmacked when he looked up his book on Amazon. After discovering his popular novel amongst the top search results, the 54-year-old quickly spotted numerous "companion" books related to the film, reports Wales Online. Richard suspects, however, that the writers behind these publications have utilised AI to generate the content. Speaking on his The Rest is Entertainment podcast, the former Pointless presenter revealed: "Amazon has a real problem with this. If I just give you an example of the sort of thing that happens, if you put Thursday Murder Club into Amazon, firstly Thursday Murder Club turns up first which is great, but there are now about 40 books that are companion books to the movie, that's what they've done". "There's a million things, there's Solving the Movie Mystery The Thursday Murder Club Review, by Kendra G Candelaria - possibly not real. That will cost you £10.18 and you can get it on Amazon Prime. Two people in the world might think that it's a real book about the movie. "It's not someone who knows anything about the movie, hasn't been involved, anything like that. If three people buy that then it's made you some money." Richard pointed out several other books providing reviews or analysis of his forthcoming film, suspecting them to "all be AI generated". Amazon has faced previous difficulties with AI-generated books being sold on the platform. Publications about King Charles ' health issues and SNP politicians have been taken down from the site before. Amazon stated at the time that it maintained "content guidelines" which all books must follow, regardless of whether they are AI-generated or not. The company says it has invested "significant time and resources" to making sure its guidelines are followed as has pledged to investigate the titles mentioned by Richard in his podcast. It also says shoppers can report books they suspect don't comply with its AI policy online. It says this can be done if they believe a book is "inappropriate for sale" on the platform. An Amazon spokesman told WalesOnline: "We have content guidelines governing which books can be listed for sale, and we have proactive and reactive methods that help us detect content that violates our guidelines, whether AI-generated or not. We invest significant time and resources to ensure our guidelines are followed, and remove books that do not adhere to those guidelines. "We aim to provide the best possible shopping, reading, and publishing experience, and we are constantly evaluating developments that impact that experience, which includes the rapid evolution and expansion of generative AI tools. We continue to enhance our protections against non-compliant content, and our process and guidelines will keep evolving as we see changes in publishing.'
