This week's selection of essential reads from the past seven days includes a dispatch from a disaster zone in Nepal, a feature on leaving the Maga movement, a look at Freddie Mercury's untold story, an exploration of sex doll ethics, and a story about an endurance athlete who ran for a week straight.
After the Flood in Nepal
In the aftermath of the Nepal-Tibet flood disaster, thousands remain missing and access to aid is hindered by treacherous conditions. On the ground in some of the worst-hit areas, south Asia correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen and journalist Gaurav Pokharel report that while the scale of the damage is unfathomable, so too is the human suffering as communities almost wiped out of existence reckon with what comes next.
Notable quote: “Even now, I cannot believe that she is gone. That’s why I keep walking around looking for her. I still feel as if she might be walking around somewhere here. I keep getting this feeling that she might still be here, looking after the chickens and the goats.”
The ruins of the lives of thousands are now buried in and among the debris. “Kettles, teddy bears, a record-keeping book, saucepans, medicine packets, a pair of glasses” remind rescue teams of the hundreds still missing. Reading time: three-and-a-half minutes. Further reading: Trapped workers could still be alive, families hope DNA can be used to find their loved ones, and desperate relatives of the missing fear attention is already drifting away.
Walking Away from the Cult of Trump
Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” (Maga) base have come to dominate American politics. For many followers, the movement built on lies and conspiracy theories offered a shared identity. For others, it became something closer to religion. But after more than 10 years, some devotees are finally walking away, making amends, and offering support to others reckoning with their role.
Rich Logis, founder of Leaving Maga, found a second family in the community—belonging, camaraderie, and a common enemy. But after the politicians he lionised platformed Covid anti-vaxxers, he started to diversify his news sources and slowly realised what he believed was false, and that he had been “complicit in dividing this country”. Notable quote: “My loyalty wasn’t to Trump. My loyalty was to God and the church.” Reading time: four-and-a-half minutes. Further reading: Learn more about Life after Maga and how the non-profit Leaving Maga is fighting Trumpism like a disease.
Freddie Mercury's Untold Story
Mary Austin was the quiet girlfriend of Queen's flamboyant figurehead. They dreamed of marriage until they both finally spoke the unspoken. Thirty-five years after his death, Austin's new book lays out Mercury's life in lyrics. Austin and Mercury had been living together for four years when they both realised Mercury was only attracted to men. Rather than destroying their relationship, Austin says the revelation felt like a relief. They continued living together for the next 18 months, and as Queen became a global phenomenon, they became better friends.
Austin has inherited half of Mercury's estate (now estimated at about £150m). Asked where the money will go when she dies, she said, “It’s going to go to my children.” Reading time: just over 13 minutes. Further reading: Check out Freddie Mercury's “splendid things” or pick up a copy of Mary Austin's book.
The Ethics of Sex Dolls
On a quiet country road south of Sydney, two distressed citizens stumbled across what they assumed was the mangled corpse of a woman stuffed into a suitcase. But after forensic analysis revealed it was a sex doll, questions about the booming sex doll industry have garnered global attention. Estimates show the global sex doll market is valued at more than US$6bn. As the industry grows, Madison Griffiths asks, does it matter how these dolls get treated?
Lifelike sex dolls are now increasingly customisable and you can walk away with one for about US$1,790. But Caitlin Roper, author of Sex Dolls, Robots and Woman Hating: The Case for Resistance, calls these kinds of dolls “replica female sex slaves”. Prof Kelly Richards of the Queensland University of Technology says, “In a global context, where I believe gender equality has gone backwards, sex dolls are actually just the extreme end of that.” Reading time: just under four minutes. Further reading: The rise of “sex robots”, how police mistook a sex doll for a “body”, and what we can learn about male desire in a sex doll factory.
A Week-Long Run in the Park
Australian endurance athlete Phil Gore ran 6.71km every hour for an entire week just to see how far he could push himself. Having already set the world record in 2025, Gore knew he had “a lot more left to give”. But the rules of backyard ultra running require the final runner to stop one lap after the second-place runner drops out, limiting the potential boundaries of the winner. This time, competing only against his own body and mind, Gore says, “that’s what I’ve done. Maybe [there is] a little bit of disappointment that I wanted my limit to be a bit further away.”
Running for a week straight requires calories. A steady stream of “speckled snakes and Nerd clusters, jelly cups, custard pouches, simple sugars like that” kept Gore going for days. Reading time: just over two minutes. Further reading: What happens when you don’t finish a race, and why would anyone run an ultramarathon anyway?
