What We Learned: Friday 17 May

A round-up of this week’s news stories, including North Korea’s unneighbourly deployment of waste-filled balloons and the ins and outs of the UK’s general-election campaign one week in. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on ‘The Curator’, we speak with contemporary-art legends Gilbert & George and Swedish pop group Ace of Base. Plus: the political situation in New Caledonia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A round-up of this week’s news stories, including the UK’s snap-election announcement, the Vatican tightening rules on supernatural phenomena tackle and France celebrating the baguette with a new stamp.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we look at ways to rebuild Syria, the vibrant food scene in Ho Chi Minh City and the top Swiss songs of all time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A round-up of this week’s news stories, including the sad demise of the New York-Dublin “portal” and the fallout from Eurovision 2024.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EU ambassadors approve a new package of sanctions on Russia, an update on the student protests in the US and might the UK be getting a new Conservative party? Plus: reports from the Eurovision Song Contest and Zagreb’s weird museums.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we speak with the founder of one of America’s leading bookshops, visit a new infrastructure project in Miami and the first Ethiopian pavilion at Venice Biennale. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We interview chef Endo Kazutoshi, look at a new magazine about road trips and learn how Norway is leveraging its soft-power assets to promote its brand abroad.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s whimsical news monologue, Andrew Mueller covers the temperature in the courtroom holding Donald Trump’s trial, Mississippi observing Confederate History Month and the results of this year’s European gull-screeching championship.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world’s largest election begins in India. Then: Russia’s war in Ukraine and the latest on the strikes between Israel and Iran. Plus: reports from our teams at Salone del Mobile and the Venice Biennale.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.