No, you didn’t catch us using clickbait: there really are glistening abs recommended here, by a member of the newsroom who used to spend weekend mornings feasting on a Bollywood diet of hectic dance moves and unrequited love.

Plus, one of the funniest writers out there, poems that soothe, and our top three stories from the week (that still have nothing to do with that-which-shall-not-be-named).

What’s an uplifting story you’ve read, watched or heard this week? Share it in the contributions section, below!

Follow the funniest writer I’ve ever read One of the weirdest guilty pleasures I have is rereading a book review of Thomas Friedman’s bestseller, The World Is Flat, every two months or so. But this isn’t just any review: it’s the funniest piece of prose you’ll ever read – and after it, the name Thomas Friedman simply will never sound the same. But I’m not recommending a 15-year-old book review here. I recommend following its author: Matt Taibbi. One of the most gifted writers I know, he’s done some of the best journalism on topics varying from the 2008 financial crash to the campaign strategies of Donald J. Trump. Taibbi announced just recently that he has left Rolling Stone magazine and now shares all his work on Substack. If you’re not yet a subscriber to his feed, please do it now. You won’t regret it. (Rob Wijnberg, founding editor) Reporting by Matt Taibbi (Reading time: as long as you want)
Poetry to soothe anger or despair There doesn’t seem to be much to delight in, at the moment. And even if there was, it seems unconscionable, selfish even, to allow ourselves delight. So I find it in small ways: walking around an "online museum of multiplayer arts" – yes, really; indulging in a little Twitter outrage (the least consequential kind so it’s a guilty pleasure). But there are few sources of delight more rewarding than poetry. And what better way to enjoy poetry in a locked-down land than to watch online readings. That’s where the Cuban-American poet Aja Monet comes in. She’s been organising a series of online poetry readings called Handmade Poems, and the first I watched in real-time was ... well, a delight. It is there I discovered the late great June Jordan’s Poem for a Young Poet. Listen and be soothed! (Eliza Anyangwe, managing editor) Poetic remedies for the times (Viewing time: 2 hours 37 minutes)
Glistening Indian abs and deeply unrequited love You can’t understand Indian cinema if you don’t understand Indian fandom. So I’m happy to have found an article which takes a critical look at how East was explained by West in David Letterman’s meeting with Bollywood superstar, icon, megastar, hero, and national nationalist treasure, Shahrukh Khan, who seemingly steps out every day onto his roof in Mumbai to masses of screaming fans all shouting his name. The glory of his godlike diminutive figure was met with wonder by the veteran US TV show host. I grew up on a Bollywood diet: I danced weekly to the top ten Hindi language songs from movie-musicals. Their concept of "love" – both on-screen and from audiences in an otherwise conservative society – is intense, to say the least. Read Ulka Anjaria on her experience of going to a "Great Indian Fandom Conference", and why the shirt-less Bollywood bachelor hero is an axiom for young footloose and fancy-free males unleashed to romance the world, everywhere. (Nabeelah Shabbir, conversation editor) India’s fans and India’s future (Reading time: 3 minutes)

The best of The Correspondent this week

Photo of children playing outside: we see them from the back, one is looking up with binoculars Dear parents, stop organising your kids’ play times These are beautiful words for parents to hear right now, I imagine: stop structuring your children’s play! There is massive evidence to show that play works best if it’s done freely, led by children themselves, rather than scheduled for an hour and prescribed by supervising adults. And don’t miss the fantastic expert-led conversation that took place under this piece. Read Irene Caselli’s piece here Picture of two jeans hanging on a rack, a spotlight lighting them Fashion unravelled: why you get holes in your T-shirts faster (even when you pay more) You’re not imagining it – clothes are just not as good quality as they used to be, even when you’re paying top dollar! Emy Demkes, Clothing correspondent for De Correspondent often heard this complaint from readers, but was never sure if it was actually true, or if we were all just looking back on our old-school 501s with rose-tinted glasses – so she took those 501s into the lab, and proved it. Read Emy Demkes’s piece here Illustration of a smiling man with short hair and glasses - on a grey and yellow background My name is Patrick and I’m politically illiterate. You are too When Patrick Chalmers pitched his series to us – "Hi, my name is Patrick and I’m politically illiterate" – my first thought was: "hang on, hasn’t this guy published a story with us about democracy?" And that’s exactly why his series is so exciting. Patrick knows a lot about politics (more than the average punter, I dare say) but it’s this knowledge that has brought him to the point where he knows: he doesn’t know a thing. And neither does anyone else, really. Join him on his journey as he tries to reach political literacy – if that’s even possible. Read Patrick Chalmers’s piece here.