Five Great Reads: Elections, eugenics and high school reunions

The Guardian’s weekend wrap of essential reads from the past seven days, selected by Jacqui Housden and Miles Herbert

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Hello and welcome to the weekend. It’s been a big week around the world, with results of three major elections taking many people by surprise. And away from the news cycle, our journalists have been asking some big questions – about birth, death, cocaine and why on earth anyone wants to go to a high school reunion.

At a time when populist leaders and the far right appear to be on the rise, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s extraordinary victory on Sunday offered more than a glimmer of hope. As Jonathan Watts writes: it “should provide much needed inspiration and, more practically, a playbook for social and environmental movements in other countries facing elections”.

Notable quote: “Brazil has given the world a remarkable example of hope through action.”

How long will it take to read: Just under three minutes.

Further reading: How the streets and social media drove Lula to a historic comeback; In Serbia, a new type of democracy is taking hold, and Europe is watching closely.

You may have noticed it – at the pub, with friends at dinner, or maybe even brazenly, out in the open – people shamelessly snorting cocaine. Journalist Robyn Vinter had been observing the uptick in drug use for some time and wanted to know “how did cocaine conquer Britain?” Here, she lays out some sobering findings.

From the middle class to the far right: “It is just staggering the amount and the accessibility of it,” a West Ham pub owner says. Wastewater analysis suggests people in England consumed 123,000kg of cocaine in 2024-25, a rise of 26% since 2021. And the class A drug, once firmly associated with middle classes, has moved around the demographics, including now appearing to be a drug of choice for the far right.

Fuelling crime: The Guardian’s investigation found a 10% rise in recorded crimes where the drug was mentioned since 2019, and Home Office figures sent to the Guardian show nearly six in 10 police drug tests carried out on people arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse were positive for cocaine between July 2025 and June this year.

How long will it take to read: Three and a quarter minutes.

Further reading: ‘I thought the baby would change him’: the women whose pregnancies are blighted by domestic abuse.

Most people do their best to avoid talking about death. But as of now, science has yet to find a cure for the affliction that comes for us all. So why the social taboo? In the final instalment of the Guardian’s series about death – Memento mori – Meaghan O’Connell documents the journey her mother took after deciding she wanted to donate her body to science. O’Connell wasn’t prepared for what came next but says, “In some ways, it was absolutely perfect”.

Why would you donate your body to science? Demand for medical cadavers far outstrips supply. More than 25,000 Americans donate their bodies for research purposes after their death but, according to Tamara Ostervoss, director of Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) body donation program, “it remains an unpopular choice”. For medical students, the ability to practise procedures on the real thing versus a human model is like “the difference between a flight simulator and piloting an airplane”.

The emotional cost: Not knowing exactly what happened to her mother’s body weighed on O’Connell’s mind. But she says going down the donation route also offered an element of simplicity. No being upsold by funeral directors, no grief-stricken decisions about embalming, or what goes on the gravestone. Just a quick phone call and a short physical assessment, then “voilà, off my mom went to fulfil her destiny”, O’Connell says.

Notable quote: “Was it odd to feel jubilant on the same day I watched my mother take her final breath”? – O’Connell, after learning her mother’s body was accepted as a medical cadaver.

A memorial of sorts: After fulfilling her mother’s posthumous wishes, O’Connell was invited to a “body ceremony”, a 25-year tradition where students from OHSU memorialise body donors and their families. Two students offered their thanks through an aerial yoga routine; others sang Taylor Swift. O’Connell was looking for closure but all this offered was amusement.

How long will it take to read: Just under six minutes.

Further reading: More from the Guardian’s Memento mori series.

It may be Greek for “good birth” but the term eugenics has, for the past century at least, been seen as a racist and repulsive movement. But whether you like it or not, eugenics is back in a new guise, this time by companies offering prospective parents the problematic promise of delivering the “best baby”. Jan Grue, who has a form of spinal muscular atrophy, considers the ethical implications.

What is ‘the best’? Adverts on the New York City subway offer embryo scans for every genetic disorder under the sun, eye and hair colour, and for traits ranging from strength and longevity to insomnia and male pattern baldness. Whether the promises are credible is one thing but a more important one might be: what is “valuable and worthless in a human life?”

Notable quote: “I think it is crucial to acknowledge disability as part of human variation. In treating ever more traits and qualities as things to be measured, ranked and diagnosed, we are doing the opposite – turning variation itself into something like disability.”

How long will it take to read: Eight minutes.

Further reading: The girl with a will to live: the love, hope and pain of raising Elsie – my one in 163 million daughter.

High school reunions are notoriously awkward; just ask Romy and Michele. While some look forward to reconnecting with friends, others see reliving the past as “a potential hellscape”. But can you go in prepared? The Guardian asked a mix of experts and reunion-goers for their advice on tackling one of life’s most fraught social situations.

Should you even go? Psychologist and author Amberley Meredith says it is normal to ruminate over reunions, and you should expect to not be the only one with existential questions about your place in life. If you are on the fence, experts say avoid making a pros and cons list – instead, just focus on the potential positives.

The dos and don’ts: Still feeling nervous before the big day? Etiquette expert Jodie Bache-Mclean says you can come prepared with a few conversation starters and a bit of background on your past classmates, but while “a little homework is helpful; a full social media investigation is not”. What about alcohol? Should you drink to calm your nerves? “A glass of wine may help, four may not!” Bache-Mclean says.

How long will it take to read: Just under four minutes.

Further reading: Why are class reunions so terrifying? And are they even good for us?

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