Monday, 19 October 2026

  • illustration of a person shouting silhouetted against flames.

    EnvironmentWhy hope may work better than shock tactics at driving action

TheOptimist

The Optimist — front page for Monday, 19 October 2026

News

What’s going right

  • World newsThe Sardinian village where sisterhood could be the secret to a long life

  • World newsPope Leo pledges gradual return to duties after lung cancer surgery

  • EnvironmentUS workers win new heat protections by targeting brands' reputations

  • EnvironmentMark Cocker nears 1,000th article for the Guardian's country diary

  • World newsMexican court sentences three men to 158 years over killing of Australian, US surfers

In focus

  • View across blue infinity pool on a cliff edge towards a white hotel building with the sea to one side.

    MediaHow hotels, restaurants and beauty spots are reclaiming space from influencers

  • Amine Kessaci, activist, poses against a red wall at campaign headquarters

    World newsAmine Kessaci defies France’s biggest drug cartel as trial becomes national crime-fight focus

  • Jane Harrison and husband Shaun Fitzgerald at home in Diamond Harbour near Christchurch

    World newsNew Zealand election gives voters a say on healthcare strains

Features

  • A person doing yoga on a beach with their arms in the air

    Life and styleYogis weigh in on the push to make yoga an Olympic sport

More features

  • Elizabeth Holmes

    FilmElizabeth Holmes documentary scores huge $15m opening weekend

  • Kate O'Flynn, in character, speaks at a podium with two microphones

    StageCaryl Churchill’s explosive new play imagines an apologist for a cruel, unnamed ruler

  • Ed Harris and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Other Desert Cities

    StageJulia Louis-Dreyfus and Ed Harris shine in a sharp Broadway family drama

  • Supermarket shelves display crates of apples, pears, and melons with yellow price labels

    FoodHeirloom apple varieties get fresh start in Austrian trial

  • illustration of a person shouting silhouetted against flames.

    EnvironmentWhy hope may work better than shock tactics at driving action

Naza

  • A person on an electric scooter crosses a street at night as cars queue at traffic lights

    FilmNAZA documentary on Gaza killings wins widespread critical praise

Opinion

  • Polly Hudson

    OpinionThe five signs someone dislikes you – and why it's best to ignore them

  • Alex South

    OpinionOur prisons need the focus on rehabilitation this drama leaves out

  • Dave Schilling

    OpinionWashington's public spaces deserve protection from Trump's golf course ambitions

More opinion

  • anger graphic

    OpinionBeing angry can be an act of compassion, writer argues

  • Oliver Haynes

    OpinionMore violence will not heal the sense of betrayal driving France's unrest

Letters

  • FootballEd Miliband could unlock £2.5bn fund to help children worldwide

  • SocietyReaders speak out on the barriers to prisoners' rehabilitation

  • CultureLetters: lifelong support is needed for people with cerebral palsy

  • US newsHospitals can prepare now for Medicaid reductions, letter argues

Sport

  • Crystal Palace's Walter Benítez tries to stop Diego Gómez’s halfway-line shot

    FootballGómez's wondergoal fires Brighton to 5-0 win over Crystal Palace

  • Noni Madueke celebrates the winning goal for Arsenal

    FootballMadueke's late strike earns Arsenal narrow win over resilient Forest

  • Evanilson shows his delight after scoring Bournemouth’s second goal against Sunderland.

    FootballEvanilson seals Bournemouth's first league win of the season against 10-man Sunderland

  • George Hendy after touching down to score for Northampton

    SportNorthampton edge past Cardiff to break England's Champions Cup duck

  • Michael Carrick (right) speaks with Carlos Baleba during the Premier League match between Leeds and Manchester United

    FootballManchester United need structural change, not another manager sacking

More sport

  • Lauren James celebrates her second and Chelsea’s third at Stamford Bridge

    FootballJames and Carpenter lead Chelsea to another big WSL win over Spurs

  • Daniel Dubois (left) punches Fabio Wardley during their WBO heavyweight title rematch

    SportDubois stops Wardley in second round to retain WBO heavyweight title

Climate crisis & environment

  • Rows of residential houses with solar panels fill a hillside view of Kirkcaldy, Fife

    EnvironmentHeat pumps and insulation could create 50,000 UK jobs, study suggests

  • A puffin sitting on a cliff with daisies and grass

    EnvironmentHow the quirky puffin became a symbol of climate hope

  • waves crash along a shore

    US newsCalifornia town looks for ways to slow beach erosion

UK news

  • Ed Davey speaking at the Liberal Democrats' party conference.

    PoliticsLib Dems unite behind Davey as leadership grumbles fail to escalate

  • Ahmed Iqbal Ullah

    NewsActivists build new multiracial alliance to fight the far right

  • Shabana Mahmood smiles in a blue blazer, carrying a red ministerial folder outdoors.

    World newsPM wants UK to rejoin EU crime databases as Mahmood holds Brussels talks

Business & technology

  • TechnologySmall AI tools could leapfrog decades of development, World Bank says

  • MediaCondé Nast rules out Vogue publisher sale, stays profitable in UK for another year

  • BusinessMinisters plan to overhaul apprenticeship funding to help more young people into work

  • TechnologyAnthropic examines how 'AI worms' could evolve as it tracks AI capability growth

Culture

  • Mathew Horne as Malvolio, in a tuxedo with an untucked napkin, smiles while holding an egg on stage

    StageTwelfth Night review – Mathew Horne is brilliantly buttoned-up as Malvolio

  • Toby Shang stood next to a broken down old school bus

    World newsThe hypemen and women redefining Afrobeats with '100,000-volt' energy

What to watch

  • Three young women pose closely together outdoors

    Film7 Miles Out review – Carol Morley's funny, poignant self-portrait of teenage Stockport

  • Nathan Fielder and Elizabeth Holmes in You Can See Everything

    FilmInside the Oscar-tipped documentary taking an unusual look at Elizabeth Holmes

  • Billy Magnussen stars as tech billionaire Duncan Park in The Audacity.

    Television & radioThe Audacity: a witty tech-bro takedown packed with glorious one-liners

What to listen to

  • Rebecca Ferguson poses with flowing hair in a lace top and red skirt

    MusicRebecca Ferguson's honest playlist: U2, Bette Midler and a secret guilty pleasure

  • Pieces of me: Stephen Street, music producer. Records, Tamla Motown singles

    CultureThe Guide #265: The record labels reshaping music, from Motown to Flying Nun

  • Fontaines DC, with frontman Grian Chatten, centre.

    MusicHow Fontaines DC went from Dublin dive bars to headlining stadiums

  • Shygirl, with red corkscrew hair and wearing a grey ribbed dress, reclines on the bare ground

    MusicHow pop auteur Shygirl slogged her way from working-class roots to the top

What to read

  • Elif Shafak.

    BooksHow novelist Elif Shafak wrote her way through hardship

  • Novelist A.S. Byatt smiles while peering through a doorway at Newnham College

    BooksNew archive reveals the extraordinary mind behind AS Byatt's fiction

  • Overhead view of two amber glasses and scattered Omega-3 capsules on a green surface in sunlight

    BooksMake Me Well by Xand van Tulleken dismantles the spurious science of wellness myths

  • Ian Rankin … The Heights is his first standalone thriller in almost two decades.

    BooksFive of the best recent crime novels and thrillers – review roundup

What to play

  • A boy reaches up to a glowing arcade machine in a row of retro video game cabinets

    GamesGames arcades enjoy a rebirth as players rediscover shorter, focused play

  • A penguin stands on snow near a glowing orb beside dark statue-like silhouettes in icy fog

    GamesPenguin Colony review - waddling into a world stranger than it looks

  • Rainbow Six Tactics art: four armoured soldiers with guns and a hammer advance through smoky rubble

    GamesHow Ubisoft Paris swapped Mario's colour for the grit of Rainbow Six Tactics

  • Link raises the Biggoron's Sword overhead, with Navi the fairy floating beside him in Ocarina of Time

    GamesThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time gets a 4K remake for Switch 2

What to visit

  • Omar Rajeh dances in a lunge, arm raised, near potted plants in Dance Is Not for Us

    StageDance Is Not for Us review – desire and defiance power a revolutionary solo

  • Composer Gavin Higgins and clarinettist Mark Simpson embrace on stage before the orchestra

    MusicRLPO/Hickox review – a clarinet collaboration two decades in the making dazzles

  • Actors from 4.48 Psychosis huddle in matching grey cardigans, faces close, in emotional embrace

    MusicNaomi Woo's fearless cast make Philip Venables's opera impossible to look away from

  • Ariadne, played by Jessica Cale, lies on a bed clutching a pillow tied with red string

    MusicJessica Cale's diamond-bright soprano anchors an audacious English Touring Opera double bill

More culture

  • A drawing of Artemis for a design embroidered by Faulkner for William Morris’s home, Red House.

    Art and designCambridge exhibition celebrates Kate Faulkner as 'a key artist in her own right'

  • Actors from the play Refuge stand on a misty stage before stone archways

    StageNew play revisits the Germans who found refuge in 18th-century Ireland

  • Subject wearing shakespearean outfit

    Art and designNew exhibition explores Shakespeare's hidden connection to Black culture

Lifestyle

  • Toddler pulling the corners of his mouth out with his fingers

    Life and styleWhy a child's taunting 'Na-na, na-na-na!' annoys us so much, readers explain

The filter

  • Four retinol skincare product tubes and jars arranged on a yellow gridded background

    The FilterThe retinol and retinal serums worth your money, tested for every skin type

  • A person's legs in a long tan skirt and shiny black heeled ankle boots mid-stride

    The FilterFlats, boots and knee-highs: 20 standout women's shoes for autumn

  • Four carpet cleaning machines, including an upright washer and a smiling Henry vacuum, displayed together

    The FilterCarpet cleaners that actually lift coffee, curry and wine stains, tested

  • Four electric heaters shown together: a cylindrical infrared heater, a black panel heater, a white convector heater, and a dark stove

    The FilterThe best electric heaters in the UK, tested, from classic to smart

Food

  • Poire Belle Helene

    FoodPears, ice-cream and hot chocolate sauce: the classic poires belle Hélène

  • Buvette, London.

    FoodBuvette, London WC2, brings a touch of Gallic glam – restaurant review

  • Jackson Boxer's poached leeks with pickled pear and hazelnuts.

    FoodGive leeks the respect they deserve: Jackson Boxer's vegan pear and hazelnut dish

  • Food to set your pulse racing … Ravinder Bhogal's pea and mint dip.

    FoodMore peas, please: 17 ways to revive Britain's most brilliant vegetable

Relationships

  • An illustration of two little people lying facing each other along the headboard of a double bed.

    Life and styleHow marriage counselling helped Henry and Kelly rediscover their sex life

  • An illustration of a woman sitting on the floor turned away with her hands around her knees

    Life and styleIs it too soon to date again after losing my boyfriend?

  • Will and Garrett Huxley in Granada, Spain in 2008

    Life and styleThe moment I knew: his gift of a fake bloody heart won me over

Money & consumer

  • Infrared thermovision image showing lack of thermal insulation on house

    MoneyFive simple ways to spot and stop your house leaking heat

  • A worker's hands fit a guard onto a gutter beneath a slate roof from scaffolding

    MoneyCitizens Advice flags Britain's No 1 roofing scam to protect the public

Health & fitness

  • A man on an exercise bike holds a beer and a cigarette against an orange background

    Life and stylePersonal trainers explain how to fix stalled gym progress

  • Rows of silver serving domes against a green and blue background, with a knife and fork in the foreground

    WellnessHealthy eating is easier than you think, says nutrition expert

  • Woman wearing patch and a spoon of vitamins

    GlobalVitamin patches: experts weigh the evidence behind the wellness trend

  • A box of Estradot HRT patches

    SocietyExperts offer guidance for navigating the UK's HRT supply gaps

Fashion & beauty

  • Alcaraz hits a backhand shot with intense focus during a match

    FashionGame, set and tache: Carlos Alcaraz joins the stylish moustache trend

  • Jeremy Strong wears a blue sweater and headphones around his neck as he acts as Mark Zuckerberg

    FashionThe Social Reckoning's costume designer on dressing a tech oligarch

  • Ben Stiller in Zoolander.

    FashionNine things Zoolander predicted about fashion, 25 years on

Travel

  • A seaside outdoor restaurant with hanging lamps and a view across the water to small islands

    TravelFive of the best places for autumn sun in Europe and Turkey

  • A seaside town on a cliffside.

    TravelByzantine villages, empty beaches and warm tavernas: the Peloponnese out of season

  • A small town of pastel buildings alongside a sandy shore and backed with green hills with a fort and a windmill on them

    TravelReaders' favourite autumn escapes: soft light, warm sun and sandy beaches

  • A large inn with snowy slopes behind

    TravelThe Snowdonia inn where the spirit of the Everest climb still lives

More lifestyle

  • Male chef arranging frying pan in commercial kitchenGettyImages-724230177

    FoodFifteen expert tips for choosing, seasoning and storing the perfect pan

  • An illustration of alphabet letters and two pieces of paper around a cutout photograph of Tim Dowling, with a background of different coloured circles and pen strokes

    Life and styleTim Dowling meets one reader he put off journalism, and another's son he put off too

Take part

  • Flag of Scotland blowing in the wind.

    UK newsTell us: has your mind changed on Scottish independence since the referendum?

  • Close of of a woman's hands and a diamond and ruby ring not on her finger

    Life and styleWedding called off at the last moment: tell us your story

  • What measures would you like to see in the budget?

    UK newsTell us: what are your financial hopes ahead of the budget?

  • CClose-up of a smartphone screen showing the ChatGPT app icon among other apps.

    TechnologyChat-up lines to social coaching: tell us if AI has entered your dating life

Most viewed