The Latest Breaking News from Zoe Williams

Austerity is in the air again – from ‘overdiagnosis’ to the benefits bill. Here is what’s at stake

A mindblowing new show reveals the human cost when the political system turns against the people, putting stories and faces to the hundreds of thousands of citizens thought to have died due to austerity, writes Zoe Williams

The Guardian - UK · Dec 8, 2025

Here’s why we can’t get rid of ‘mansplaining’

Letter: Dr Amanda Nimon Peters responds to an article by Zoe Williams in which she said we should stop using the term

The Guardian - UK · Dec 4, 2025

Why did I ever buy my kids refillable advent calendars?

Twenty-four tiny drawers of fun stuff sounds delightful – but not when you’re the one filling the thing, writes Zoe Williams

The Guardian - UK · Dec 2, 2025

It was my late mother’s birthday – and I spent it exactly as she would have wanted

I worried about nuclear war throughout my childhood, partly because it was the 80s, and partly because we were always demonstrating against it. On this important day, I knew where I needed to be, writes Zoe Williams

The Guardian - UK · Nov 24, 2025

Is Shabana Mahmood’s plan to seize the jewels of asylum seekers a joke?

The home secretary’s idea makes her sound so much like a cartoon villain that I initially assumed it couldn’t be true, writes Zoe Williams

The Guardian - UK · Nov 18, 2025

I keep trying to name storms. Why does the Met Office turn down my suggestions?

‘Wubbo’ has made it on to the list and so has ‘Dave’, but although I’ve tried a hundred times, including my kids’ names, I’ve had absolutely no luck, writes Zoe Williams

The Guardian - UK · Nov 17, 2025

New face, same problems: replacing Keir Starmer with Wes Streeting will do nothing to help Labour

Both share a fixation with process over project and have an absence of values, which can only result in a trail of broken promises, says Guardian columnist Zoe Williams

The Guardian - UK · Nov 13, 2025

Arguing about whether or not to wear a poppy misses the most crucial point

David Lammy being caught without a poppy sparked a national debate. But there are many ways to honour the fallen, writes Zoe Williams

The Guardian - UK · Nov 11, 2025

Millennial dating involves a lot of sexy moves – so why does it so rarely lead to sex?

Modern courtship entails a complex set of escalations, from texts to voice notes to photos, before everything fizzles out. Give me gen X messiness any day, writes Zoe Williams

The Guardian - UK · Nov 10, 2025

This is how many cups of coffee you can safely drink in a day

How much coffee is too much coffee?

The Independent UK · Nov 10, 2025