Danielle Renwick

Chef and food stylist Mariana Velásquez recommends embracing imperfection when hosting, keeping drinks and food ready, and prioritizing relaxed hospitality over elaborate preparation. For last-minute gatherings, she suggests attractive dips, bread, smoked fish, charcuterie, rotisserie chicken, salads, colorful candles and fresh flowers, along with thoughtful bathroom essentials such as good soap, towels and a hidden plunger. She also discusses Colombian ingredients including coffee and dulce de leche, favorite condiments and cookbooks, her La Chamba-inspired tableware collection with Sur La Table, and versatile kitchen tools such as a food processor, cleaver and masking tape for labeling.

Eleven finance experts offer practical guidance on building wealth without relying on shame-based budgeting advice. Their recommendations include starting small with index funds, considering alternatives to homeownership, defining a personal vision of financial freedom, negotiating debts, avoiding store credit cards, using family contributions and 529 plans for children's savings, investing in mental wellness, choosing fee-only advisers, and creating wills, trusts and incapacity documents early. The advice combines individual financial strategies with criticism of economic systems that leave many Americans in debt and financial insecurity.

Stacy Roberts says she and her family obtained about $83,000 in travel for roughly $4,300 by opening credit cards frequently, earning signup bonuses and transferring or redeeming points strategically. She emphasizes autopay, paying balances in full, maintaining a strong credit score and avoiding the strategy altogether for people carrying debt. Her approach involves personal and business cards, substantial spending and nearly $3,000 in annual fees, while banks profit from transaction fees, interest charges and costs passed on by merchants. Roberts also argues that international travel helps her children become more adaptable, open-minded and less ethnocentric.

Sana Javeri Kadri, founder of Diaspora Co and co-author of the Diaspora Co Cookbook, shares 19 kitchen essentials and cooking habits shaped by raising two toddlers and her Indian heritage. She recommends fresh, properly toasted spices, specialty seasonings, durable cookware, a rice cooker, quality rice, olive oil, tea, tableware and cookbooks. She also discusses Diaspora Co’s farmer-focused supply chain and her effort to make South Asian cooking feel more intuitive, accessible and less stereotyped as complicated or heavy.

Chef Rick Martínez, based in Mazatlán, Mexico, shares 13 kitchen staples and techniques for bringing Mexican home cooking into other kitchens. His recommendations include a thin carbon-steel comal, heirloom-corn masa harina, a volcanic-rock molcajete, chipotle peppers in adobo, pickled jalapeños, dried chiles, Colima sea salt, piloncillo and fresh lard. He also favors a Vitamix blender, a large walnut cutting board, a balanced 9-inch Miyabi knife, countertop food recyclers, colorful oilcloths, blue peltre utensils, contemporary Mexican ceramics and neon CND nail polish.

Nutritionists Julia Zumpano and Amy Stephens say protein bars can be useful occasionally for travel or when whole foods are unavailable, but most people do not need to dramatically increase their protein intake. They recommend bars made with recognizable ingredients and caution against frequent consumption of artificial sweeteners, colors, dyes and sugar alcohols, while noting possible effects on appetite, gut health and cardiovascular risk. A balanced diet should prioritize whole foods, fiber, carbohydrates and plant-based sources rather than relying on synthetic protein products. RX Bar, Mosh Bar, IQBar and Rawr Bar are identified as comparatively preferable options, but moderation remains key.

A blind taste test by 22 Guardian colleagues compared 12 protein bars sold in the US. Barebells Chocolate Dough ranked best overall for its candy-bar-like flavor, while Gatorade Chocolate Chip was favored for high protein content and crisp texture, NuGo Dark Chocolate Mocha was the top vegan option, and Aloha Chocolate Fudge Brownie was the leading organic bar. Eight other products, including Built, Rx, Clif and Perfect bars, scored below average because of chalky, sticky, bland, overly sweet or otherwise unpleasant flavors and textures. The results suggest that although protein bars are convenient, most remain more functional than indulgent, and some contain substantial sugar, sugar alcohols or highly processed ingredients.

The Guardian recommends 16 gift options whose purchases support conservation groups, humanitarian organizations, civil-liberties and LGBTQ+ advocates, public media, museums and reproductive-rights funds. The selections include apparel, bags, artwork, books, toys and home goods from organizations such as WWF, Greenpeace, UNICEF, the ACLU and the National Network of Abortion Funds. The feature emphasizes that merchandise can raise both money and visibility for underfunded causes, while noting that donations, volunteering and support for community-owned businesses remain important alternatives.

Chelsea Fagan argues that hosting a welcoming dinner party does not require expensive food, décor or tableware. Her recommendations include shopping secondhand, using inexpensive wine glasses, offering sparkling wine and nonalcoholic drinks, presenting simple snacks attractively, creating warm ambient lighting, cooking familiar or make-ahead dishes, and investing selectively in durable cookware. Guests should bring something useful for the evening and a separate gift for the host, while hosts should communicate their expectations clearly. The central message is that warmth, personality and hospitality matter more than perfection or luxury.

Critics from Hungary, Turkey and El Salvador warn Americans that authoritarian leaders gain power by exploiting public frustration, presenting themselves as alternatives to corrupt politics and concentrating control over courts, media and civil society. Stefania Kapronczay urges democratic opposition movements to address everyday economic and social concerns, while Ece Temelkuran stresses the need for a sustained, courageous, mass-based struggle. Claudia Ortiz argues that opponents must center citizens rather than the autocrat and defend institutions at every stage. The examples of Viktor Orbán, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Nayib Bukele show that authoritarian systems can retain popularity through perceived improvements or propaganda while producing repression, inequality and institutional decay.

A Guardian newsroom gift guide recommends 19 products from small businesses instead of predictable big-brand gifts. The selections span specialty foods, home goods, art, wellness products and travel accessories, including heirloom beans, Palestinian olive oil and embroidery, artisan chocolates, handmade candles, letterpress prints, standing desks and durable luggage. The recommendations emphasize craftsmanship, affordability, sustainability, cultural identity, worker ownership and community support, while also highlighting businesses affected by or responding to issues such as Palestinian agricultural hardship and Los Angeles wildfire relief.

A Guardian gift guide presents 21 products popular in Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom that have yet to become widely familiar in the US. Recommendations include Australian hats, camping gear and wool goods; Mexican leather, ceramics and chocolate; Korean cultural merchandise, children’s tableware and skincare; Swedish lighting, clothing and home textiles; and British cushions, knitwear, biscuits and children’s books. The guide emphasizes distinctive local design, cultural traditions, sustainability and products that can be shipped to American shoppers.

Registered dietitian Taylor Arnold recommends structuring children's snacks around at least two of protein, fiber and fat, while including a fruit or vegetable when possible. She emphasizes that convenient packaged foods can fit into a balanced diet and recommends yogurt pouches, protein pretzels, pea and chickpea snacks, guacamole, fruit rolls and mini protein bars. The article also notes practical concerns including children's food preferences, added sugar, refrigeration, allergens and nut-free school policies.

Professional costume designers, makeup artists and Halloween organizers offer ideas for memorable looks, emphasizing transformation, performance and creative reinterpretation over expensive or commercially recognizable costumes. Suggestions include exaggerated celebrity and historical looks, inventive group costumes, DIY concepts using items from one’s closet, and quick options such as masks, face paint or a Morticia-inspired outfit. The experts also recommend sustainable approaches, including reusing costumes and crafting decorations or outfits at home. Expected trends include Glinda and Elphaba from Wicked, Coldplay concert-inspired couples’ costumes and grotesque versions of characters from The Last of Us and classic superhero films.

Sleep experts recommend a consistent bedtime routine, a quiet and dark bedroom, reduced exposure to blue light, and a mattress chosen with a generous return policy. Cooling mattresses and linens, weighted blankets, supportive pillows, and sound machines may improve comfort, but no product independently cures insomnia. Sleep trackers can reveal longer-term patterns, although they may provide incomplete data or increase anxiety; a physician-prescribed sleep study remains the most authoritative assessment.

Experts recommend that parents begin age-appropriate conversations about disturbing news early, first finding out what children know, correcting misinformation and addressing their concerns about safety, caregiving and changes to daily life. They advise offering truthful reassurance about political violence and school shootings, discouraging exposure to graphic footage, limiting device access and avoiding news in the background or doomscrolling. Parents should model critical media literacy, acknowledge uncertainty, discuss political disagreements openly and help children cope by maintaining routines, following safety guidance and supporting others.

Readers who form part of the large global majority concerned about climate change describe motivations ranging from threats to health, family and personal safety to frustration over government inaction and the disproportionate emissions of wealthy individuals and fossil-fuel companies. Suggested responses include protesting, voting, proportional representation, progressive carbon taxation, methane-leak prevention, climate litigation, climate-resilience funding, international aid and lower-carbon personal choices. Several contributors argue that individual lifestyle changes are insignificant compared with the conduct of billionaires and major polluters, while others emphasize political participation and collective action as essential to forcing governments and corporations to respond.

Photographs document the Grand Egyptian Museum outside Cairo, which is scheduled for a full opening on 3 July 2025. The vast, approximately 500,000-square-meter museum is dedicated to ancient Egyptian civilization and features views of the Giza pyramids, a translucent alabaster facade, climate-efficient design and major artifacts including statues of Ramesses II and objects associated with Tutankhamun. After years of delays, limited tours began in 2023; officials expect the museum to attract about five million visitors annually, while Cairo’s original Egyptian Museum will remain open.

Although 74% of Americans support more climate action, the United States ranks below most countries on demands for political action and willingness to contribute financially. Research attributes the gap to partisan polarization, fossil-fuel industry influence, distrust of traditional media, individualistic attitudes and lower perceptions of personal climate risk. Experts note that majorities in the US still favor moving away from fossil fuels, but Americans underestimate how widely that view is shared, potentially limiting pressure on elected officials.

US breakfast restaurants are being squeezed by surging prices for eggs, coffee, orange juice, flour, bacon and other staples. Egg prices have nearly doubled since December amid a severe avian-flu outbreak, while climate disruptions and the war in Ukraine have contributed to increases in coffee, citrus and flour costs. Restaurateurs are raising prices, adding cheaper menu items and cutting costs, but breakfast businesses have fewer opportunities than dinner restaurants to offset expenses without alienating customers. Owners report shrinking margins, fluctuating supplier prices and growing concern that even popular restaurants may struggle to remain profitable while keeping meals affordable.