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Andrea Cleary: Gwyneth’s disordered eating might scare people off dieting culture. But probably not

The star’s bone broth and (!) intravenous vitamins are reminders that diet culture hasn’t gone away, and never will – it just shapeshifts every few years

Eithne Shortall: Let’s put our patterns of learned behaviour aside and let children be children

People’s tendency to clothe their interactions with youngsters in gender stereotypes helps no one, so we would do well to remember that childhood should be about fun – not their wardrobe

Sara Keating on theatre: A fine Molière gives welcome space to Northern voices

The Abbey’s effervescent new take on Tartuffe both raises questions about who belongs on the national theatre’s stage, and answers them

Letter From America

Marion McKeone: How Ozempic replaced cocaine as Hollywood’s new drug of choice

This injectable form of semaglutide, once the preserve of Kim Kardashian and her ilk, is rapidly becoming a US phenomenon among non-celebrities who want to lose weight without diets or exercise

Eithne Shortall: The day I parked the usual glare and confronted a litter lout

Using the glare technique to admonish something objectionable someone has done in public avoids confrontation, but I shocked myself when I eyeballed a litterer – and got a positive response

Letter From America

Marion McKeone: Remembering Pat Schroeder - Democratic trailblazer and pioneer for women’s rights

The formidable feminist, who died last week at the age of 82, spent 12 consecutive terms as a Colorado Democrat – ruffling the feathers of male politicians who believed a woman had no place in Congress

Sara Keating: St Patrick’s Day – when you don’t have to be Irish to be Irish

Over the years, the idea of national identity has became more fluid and St Patrick’s Day has always been multicultural – after all, the first recorded parade didn’t happen in Ireland, but in New York in the late 1700s

Jarlath Regan: How Sonia O’Sullivan turned me from a running sceptic slob into a marathon fanatic

When Ireland’s greatest track athlete of all time offers to coach you, it’s a tough one to turn down and now I’ve changed from wondering what a ‘fun run’ was all about to being a not too shoddy plodder

Eithne Shortall: It’s all right to be proud of our basic decency and compassion

Irish people are not comfortable with self-congratulation, but showing visiting American friends the sights recently made me realise we have a lot to be proud of, both with our surroundings and as a society

Kathleen MacMahon: Power and glory now reside in corporate cathedrals of the capital

Taking a walking tour to get a measure of our capital city, it’s evident by the buildings that the corporate world has supplanted religion as the dominant power, but who gave them that power?

Anton Savage: Get your popcorn ready for the pinnacle of TV perfection

After decades of waiting, Merv Griffin’s Jeopardy! is coming to light up our tellies with its brilliant reverse-engineered format – and Stephen Fry to boot

Eithne Shortall: When tired of the daily grind, I see life through the filter of coffee

How pregnancy, combined with the pandemic and shot through with a dose of reality, helped me to slow down, extract the vital essence of the everyday and appreciate the little things

Letter From America

Marion McKeone: Kerrygold withdrawal meltdown as butter disappears off US shelves

The popular Irish butter has been temporarily removed from supermarkets in California and New York due to new packaging regulations, leading to scavenger-like hunts for the precious commodity

Eithne Shortall: Tending to household jobs in record time is not my forte

Ignore a task for long enough, and you’ll become blind to it – or, in my case, take half a decade to buy a turntable on which to play my extensive vinyl collection

Andrea Cleary: A toast to the ‘sober curious’ making their own way in our drinking culture

Those who choose to drink less, or not at all, illustrate that sobriety is less about giving something up and more about what you can gain in a society where alcohol still holds a lot of social power

Eithne Shortall: Like Damien Dempsey, we should celebrate the importance of being earnest

Witnessing the emotional audience reaction to the singer-songwriter’s one-man show was a heart-opening moment that the slagging Irish could learn from

Sara Keating: The Writer’s Torch shines a contemporary light on Ireland’s literary forerunners

The recent publication from The Stinging Fly Press celebrates a selection of stories from the back catalogue of The Bell, Dublin’s iconic literary magazine

Edel Coffey: Annie Mac’s club is just the ticket for those who need to be tucked up Before Midnight

Once you have to balance a good night out with parenthood and/or a career, there’s a lot to be said for shifting your starting schedule to earlier in the evening

Eithne Shortall: There’s a big gulf between the cúpla focal and fair fluency

Enjoyable and rewarding though it is, Irish takes a lot of time and effort to master – and then you need the confidence to actually use it

Kathleen MacMahon: Men for all seasons who are brave, steadfast and willing to help with the kids

We hear a lot about women and all the things they can do, but let’s not forget the admirable and heartwarming qualities of our male folk