{"id":189012,"date":"2025-12-13T02:57:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T02:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/189012\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T02:57:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T02:57:07","slug":"five-great-reads-return-to-the-west-bank-a-climbing-rock-star-and-the-hidden-life-of-matthew-perry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/189012\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Great Reads: Return to the West Bank, a climbing rock star, and the hidden life of Matthew Perry |"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear readers, it\u2019s that special time of year when I realise everyone has been listening to different music<\/a> to me. So once you\u2019ve digested 2025\u2019s penultimate selection of great reads, you\u2019re welcome to join me in playing catch-up.<\/p>\n

1. The couple whose twins were stillborn \u2013 and the \u2018birth keeper\u2019 they blameErnesta Chirwa, whose twins were stillborn. Composite: Guardian Design\/Laurie Avon\/Chris de Beer-Procter<\/p>\n

Soon-to-be parents Ernesta Chirwa and Chifundo Bingala hired a woman they believed would act as a licensed midwife. But the woman, who referred to herself as a \u201cbirth keeper\u201d, belonged to the Free Birth Society<\/a>, a business that was linked to baby deaths around the world.<\/p>\n

When Chirwa went into labour well past her due date, her baby was footling breech \u2013 and unknown to the couple, one of a set of twins. Out of her depth, the \u201cbirth keeper\u201d that Chirwa had trusted dropped her at the nearest hospital and drove off. Neither child survived and the couple\u2019s legal battle continues.<\/p>\n

How long will it take to read: Six minutes.<\/p>\n

Further reading: In November, the Guardian published a report based on a year-long investigation<\/a> which identified 48 cases of late-term stillbirths or neonatal deaths or other forms of serious harm<\/a> involving mothers or birth attendants who appear to be linked to FBS.<\/p>\n

2. Why Bazball is failingThat losing feeling: England\u2019s coach, Brendon McCullum, greets his players after being thrashed by Australia in Brisbane. Photograph: David Gray\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Two matches into the Ashes series and we\u2019ve heard a lot about England\u2019s vibes-based take on Test cricket. But what is right about their approach, dubbed \u201cBazball\u201d in honour of their coach, Brendon McCullum? And why is it going wrong?<\/p>\n

Barney Ronay turned to a \u201ckind of sports science brains trust\u201d to forensically dissect a philosophy<\/a> that is crumbling under the harshest of scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Unclear values: \u201cEntertainment? Positivity? Bravery? Winning? These are cultural traits, not performance values,\u201d says Rob Ferley, the former spin bowler turned professional coach. \u201cGreat teams have clear, explicit values that guide behaviour, decision-making and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

How long will it take to read: Four minutes.<\/p>\n

Further reading: Shadi Khan Saif\u2019s lovely meditation on playing street cricket in Karachi, and anointing an Australian bowler<\/a> as his new hero.<\/p>\n

3. From resistance to resignation: the West Bank, 20 years onA Palestinian demonstrator uses a slingshot to throw stones at IDF vehicles on the outskirts of Ramallah, West Bank, in September 2001. Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Ewen MacAskill visited the West Bank regularly in the early 2000s as a correspondent for the Guardian, in support of Jerusalem-based colleagues covering the second intifada. He returned last month with no plans to write about what he saw.<\/p>\n

MacAskill changed his mind when he witnessed how much control Israel and its settlers now exercise<\/a> over the Palestinian population. \u201cI had expected conditions for Palestinians would be worse,\u201d he writes, \u201cbut not this much worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe extremists do not want a two-state solution or a one-state solution. The extremists do not want to give us our state or be part of their state. They want the land without the people. They just want us gone.\u201d \u2013 Maher Canawati, the mayor of Bethlehem<\/p>\n

How long will it take to read: Ten minutes.<\/p>\n

4. The woman who conquered El Capit\u00e1nSasha DiGiulian on the Platinum route on El Capit\u00e1n in Yosemite national park, California. Photograph: Pablo Durana\/Red Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n

Sasha DiGiulian in November became the first woman to scale the Platinum route of El Capit\u00e1n, the famed granite cliff in Yosemite national park.<\/p>\n

DiGiulian and her climbing partner thought they\u2019d found the perfect window to complete the 800-metre ascent \u2013 until night 10, when the rain began<\/a>. It didn\u2019t clear for nine days. And the toughest sections of the climb had to be done on wet rock.<\/p>\n

Team work: As they waited for the weather to clear, DiGiulian suggested she and her partner share ledges to keep warm. His response: \u201cNo. Then we can\u2019t shit in our own tents.\u201d<\/p>\n

How long will it take to read: Three minutes.<\/p>\n

5. The duo continuing Matthew Perry\u2019s fight against addictionMatthew Perry\u2019s 2022 autobiography, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. Photograph: Hamdi Bendali\/Alamy<\/p>\n

Doug Chapin and Lisa Kasteler-Calio knew Matthew Perry before his star-making turn as Chandler Bing on Friends, and beyond the headlines that followed him across 65 attempts to detox<\/a> from drug and alcohol addiction.<\/p>\n

They worked as Perry\u2019s manager and publicist for more than 30 years and are now running the foundation to support addiction treatment and recovery their client signed up to \u2013 three days before his death.<\/p>\n

Rehab stint #1: While shooting the third season of Friends, Perry was taking 55 pills of the opioid Vicodin a day. Had the series lasted for more than its 25 episodes, he thought it would have killed him.<\/p>\n

How long will it take to read: Six minutes.<\/p>\n

Sign up<\/p>\n

If you would like to receive these Five Great Reads to your email inbox every weekend, sign up here<\/a>. And check out out the full list of our local and international newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dear readers, it\u2019s that special time of year when I realise everyone has been listening to different music…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189013,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[321,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-189012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}