From Randy Newman to Pharrell Williams, these tracks will please parents and kids

Spotify Wrapped is here! All of the usual suspects are dominating the global charts - Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Drake… not much has changed from last year. So how do emerging artists breakthrough on the world's largest streaming platform?    The new film, Pillion, starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling is a masterclass in how intimate scenes can add to the plot and develop characters. But how do you create ethical and compelling sex scenes for film? Ita O'Brien, the intimacy coordinator behind Normal People, I May Destroy You and Sex Education shares all the behind the scenes secrets.    Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE     

Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens spark off each other in the latest Goalhanger show on science; and the Reith Lectures are a stirring call to arms

We're back in the land of Oz with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo for the second half of the Wicked adaptation. It's a box office hit, but critics have been divided. Was making a Wicked sequel the best or worst move for the franchise?   Timothée Chalamet is flooding Liv and Miranda's timelines with a string of press stunts: from a spoof marketing Zoom call and designer merch collabs to commissioning orange blimps to hype his new film. So who is the little-known 29-year-old Glaswegian behind the stunts who is collaborating with Timothée, Charli XCX, and Billie Eilish?   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Read Wendy's review of Wicked: For Good HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:    Liv: Burgonia (film)   Miranda:  This Ain't Rock 'n' Roll: Pop Music, the Swastika and the Third Reich by Daniel Rachel (book)    Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email     

Avery Trufelman explores the roots of the faux-outdoorsy let’s-go-yomping-in-a-small-beanie look in her always fascinating podcast. Plus, a prison therapist falls for a felon

Where do we draw the line with problematic artists? Last week, Michael Jackson became the first artist to land a top-ten hit in six different decades - right as the Michael biopic trailer dropped and racked up a record-breaking 116 million views in 24 hours.    Meanwhile, the battle for the best Christmas advert is officially underway. John Lewis, M&S, Aldi and Sainsbury's are all vying for your festive cheer. Joining Liv and Miranda to dissect the ad wars is legendary advertising guru Sir John Hegarty, the creative force behind some of the most iconic campaigns in the past sixty years, including Levi's, Lynx and Audi.   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE   

Ego-maniac Dougal Robertson puts his children’s lives at risk in this thrilling real-life story. Plus, the confessions of a cult member and other lessons in fatherhood

David Harbour hasn't posted about the latest season of Stranger Things and has skipped major cast interviews, despite being one of the show's stars. Liv and Miranda sit down with a crisis PR expert to explore how Netflix might be managing the fallout from Harbour's ex Lily Allen's breakup album - and the Daily Mail's claims that Millie Bobby Brown filed a harassment and bullying complaint against him.   Is getting zero star ratings from critics and initially receiving 0% on Rotten Tomatoes the best thing that could have happened for Kim Kardashian's new Disney+ series? More than three million people tuned in to watch in the first weekend alone.   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:  Liv: Die My Love (Film)  Miranda:  Broken English (Documentary out next year)  Listener recommendations: Celebrity Traitors‘ Mark Bonnar recommends: O Brother (book) Lee Miller exhibition at the Tate  Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Links to everything mentioned ‘In The Margins':  For The Love of Jamaica Grammy nominations - Olivia Dean Miss Piggy film    Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email 

Kim Kardashian’s legal drama has been called the ‘worst TV show of the year’, ensuring it plenty of coverage. Was that the plan all along?

How did The Celebrity Traitors become British television's most unmissable series? This week's finale looks set to break records - one in four UK adults tuned in for the launch. After 40 years, MTV is shutting down nearly all its UK channels. Once the gateway to pop fame, the music video may seem obsolete in the streaming era - yet Rosalia's latest release, Berghain, is blowing up. So, is 2025 the death of the pop music video or its rebirth? Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:    Miranda:  Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe    Liv: Sorry Baby (Film)    Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Links to everything mentioned ‘In The Margins':  Billie Eilish calls out Billionaires  Olivia Dean breaking records Is having a boyfriend embarrassing now? By Chante Joseph     Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email  

The starry adaptation, involving more than 200 actors from Keira Knightley to Riz Ahmed and Hugh Laurie, is more than just an audiobook. Plus: James Corden, Emma Barnett and Cellmate to CEO

Has Lily Allen shared too much in West End Girl, her first album in 7 years? She's said it's “not gospel” but it reveals painful details of the breakdown of her non-mononymous marriage.    Has Strictly Come Dancing lost its sparkle now that Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly are making their exit? TV critic Scott Bryan shares his thoughts.   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:    Miranda:  Dave's new album ‘The Boy Who Played the Harp'   Liv: Yasmin Lacey's new album ‘Teal Dreams'   Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Links to everything mentioned ‘In The Margins':  Grace Wales Bonner ROSALÍA's new music video ‘Berghain' Vogue World 2025: Hollywood  Wayward (TV show) The Perfect Neighbour (TV show)   Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email   

Listeners tell their spooky stories in this Halloween special, but many shouldn’t have got past a drunken chat. Plus, Keir Starmer’s musical choices fail to move

Jacqueline Wilson was the author who carried millennial women from childhood into adolescence. Her books didn't shy away from tough subjects like depression, abuse and grooming. Now, as she releases Perfect Imperfect, the long-awaited follow-up to her 1997 classic The Illustrated Mum, Liv and Miranda discuss how she mainstreamed taking girlhood seriously.   It's been a wild week in the art world: a heist at the Louvre, A-listers swanning through a British Museum ball trying to outshine the Met Gala, and the Frieze Art Fair came to London. But behind the Chanel and champagne lies one big question: why does a multi-billion-pound industry have a money problem?   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:  Miranda:  Thorpe Park Fright Night Liv: Pillion (film) Santosh (film) The Stimming Pool (film) I swear (film)   Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Links to everything mentioned in this episode:  Get a copy of Jacqueline Wilson's new book - Picture Imperfect - HERE    Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email   

The three-part series by Laura Hughes is like a ghost story where lead haunts British land and homes

This week, Netflix released a three-part series on Victoria Beckham's evolution from Spice Girl to fashion designer. Produced by David Beckham's company, it joins a growing list of self-made celeb docs - from Harry & Meghan to Beyoncé, Pamela Anderson, and Robbie Williams.   London and Paris Fashion Weeks sparked online outrage - with models walking in metal mouth braces, bound arms, bodysuits printed with male genitalia, and trad-wife-style aprons. With major houses like Chanel, Dior, Gucci, and Balenciaga now mostly led by men, Liv and Miranda ask The Observer's Jo Jones what's gone wrong.   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:    Miranda:  ‘It Always Was' (song) by Joshua Idehen ‘Cocksucker Blues' (documentary)   Liv ‘Dreaming Whilst Black' (Series)   Cat Burns (!!!) The Assessment (Film)   Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email   

The creator of hit podcast Dolly Parton’s America turns his scholarly eye towards the pioneering Nigerian activist-musician

Taylor Swift's new, record-breaking album The Life of a Showgirl is dividing a once-faithful fandom. Following the success of the epic Eras tour, Swifties are breaking cover to critique the star for the first time - particularly over one song which seems to pick a fight with Charli XCX.   Two major London clubs, G-A-Y and Corsica, announced their closure this week, marking another blow to the city's nightlife. Miranda came of age in the 1990s Manchester club scene; Liv did the same in South London in the 2010s. At this rate, traditional clubs it looks like could disappear entirely by the end of the decade. What happens if clubbing culture goes extinct?    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:  Miranda:  Yushy - Section 63 (book) Free Party: A Folk History (documentary) Liv: Jewel's Catch One (documentary) Curse of: America's Next Top Model (podcast series)    Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Read Kitty Empire's review of Taylor Swift's Life of a Showgirl - HERE   Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email    Clubs mentioned:   G-A-Y (London) Corsica Studios (London) KIKI (Manchester) VOID (Manchester) Tribeca (Manchester) Proud Bar (Somerset) Queer Junction (Sheffield) Chic (Birmingham) Jumbi Peckham (London) La Camionara (London) Coven (London) Blitz (London) Cream (Liverpool) The Haçienda (Manchester) Fridge (London) Trade (London) Ritz (Manchester) The PSV (Public Service Vehicle) Club (Hulme) Babes (London) Pxssy Palace (London) Bongo's Bingo (UK) Jewel's Catch One (LA, US)   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE   

Bill Nighy has strong opinions on the art of living. And now he is imparting his wisdom as an agony uncle

Why is Irish culture having such a moment? Netflix's new blockbuster House of Guinness is the latest in a run of Irish TV hits following Normal People, Derry Girls and Bad Sisters. Musicians CMAT and Kneecap are breaking out, Nicola Coughlan and Paul Mescal are dominating screens, and writers like Sally Rooney and Claire Keegan continue to top bestseller lists. Amelia Dimoldenberg has awkwardly ‘dated' top A-list guests like Billie Eilish, Louis Theroux, and, of course, Andrew Garfield on her viral YouTube show. This week, Chicken Shop Date turned 10 - where does she go from here? Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:  Miranda: The Irish Passport  The Blind Boy Podcast Baxter Dury - Allbarone album  Liv: Four Mothers  Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE  Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email    Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE   

Lewis Goodall makes sense of this brilliantly nutty tale about James Parker, the fraudster who spent £24.5m in free bitcoin. Plus, a deadly standup routine

Girl group members turned solo artists have traditionally struggled to find success in Britain.  Has Jade Thirlwall from Little Mix  finally broken the curse? Listen to the Observer's new culture podcast - We Have Notes - HERE  

The glitzy, celeb-studded ceremony’s jump to the O2 Arena reflects the growth in podcasting itself

Former Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall has just dropped her debut solo album and it's already reached number three in the charts. For decades, women leaving girl groups have struggled to replicate their success on their own. Has Jade finally broken the curse?   The podcast industry was built off the back of true crime, but the genre has now spread to every corner of the media: Netflix docu-series, ITV dramas and blockbuster book deals. But can these stories ever be told ethically?    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:    Miranda's recommendation - You Had to be There by Jodie Harsh  Liv's recommendation - CKTRL - Spirit Read more ‘On My Radar' recommendations The Observer's New Review HERE    Follow us on Social Media and send your voice notes to @WeHaveNotes_pod on Instagram and TikTok  

Recording a podcast is a strange, poacher-turned-gamekeeper experience

The week in culture, annotated. Writer and journalist Liv Little and Observer critic Miranda Sawyer get notes from editors all the time - now it's their turn to hand them out. Every Wednesday morning, Liv and Miranda weigh in on the latest cultural happenings, from reality TV meltdowns and art house films, to gallery openings and TikTok trends. Smart, funny, and full of sharp observations. We Have Notes is culture with commentary.  

This lively, funny adaption charmed even an Austen refusenik like me. Plus, Anna Wolfe explores the challenges of dating sober

In his stark new film on the fishing industry, David Attenborough warns we're "almost out of time" to save the oceans. Are Nigel Farage’s calls to change UK abortion laws the start of a new culture war? And with Thames Water in crisis, should the government step in? James Harding is joined by Pod Save the UK’s Coco Khan, along with The Observer’s Basia Cummings and Miranda Sawyer, as they battle to pitch the top story of the day.

This Radio 6 Music series about the early years of the great pop artist, featuring Kate Moss and Robbie Williams, is full of unheard detail and vivid colour. Plus, Adrian Chiles goes in search of Elgar

What do councils do with the money they get from renting public spaces out for festivals? How will the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of a woman impact our day-to-day lives? And North Korea has confirmed it sent troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine. Giles Whittell is joined by Rebecca Moore, Chloe Hadjimatheou and Miranda Sawyer as they battle to pitch the top story of the day.

Having children is overwhelming but the CBeebies Parenting Helpline is on hand to help bruised and battered mums and dads

Mary Beard and Charlotte Higgins discuss the classical world in a new weekly podcast that feels like an Oxford tutorial

Comedian Mark Steel explores the McLibel case – the longest trial in British history – in a riveting series. Plus, an unmissable documentary about the Asian front of the second world war

A new podcast remembers early 00s guitar music, but first it must define the term. Plus: sport’s strangest crimes returns

The indie provocateur’s tales of menace and failed male ambition have been turned into an album of dancefloor bangers