ft_weekend

Free to read: The FT’s 25 most influential women in the world, written by the world’s most influential women. Who made the list? ⁠ ⁠ Influence is exerted in many ways, through political acts, creative endeavours, technological breakthroughs and community building. Whatever form it takes, it is defined by what it achieves — by changing the world we live in. ⁠ ⁠ Nowhere is this more clear than in the FT Weekend Magazine’s Women of 2024 issue, a list of 25 of the world’s most influential women, written by the world’s most influential women, writes Roula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to read @ft_weekend’s celebration of the women remaking the world we live in today. ⁠ ⁠ Illustration: © Bijou Karman⁠ ⁠ Image description: Illustration with Taylor Swift (C), Arundhati Roy (R) and Margrethe Vestager (L). Black text on illustration with purple background reads: 'The FT's 25 most influential women of 2024'⁠

‘You need to think that you spend about a third of your life in bed.’⁠ ⁠ ‘A great-quality duvet is often the missing piece of the sleep puzzle,’ says Nils Stene, third-generation chief executive of Norvegr, which has been producing duvets in Norway since 1956. ⁠ ⁠ ‘One of the most important things a good duvet can offer you is balance,’ says Stene, whose company is one of a small number in the Nordic region specialising in handmade and custom-made down duvets. ‘If you are waking up too hot or too chilly in the night, you have the wrong one for your needs.’⁠ ⁠ But, much as with mattresses, finding one that’s perfect for you isn’t easy.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to read why.⁠ ⁠ Photo credit: © Norvegr⁠ ⁠ Image description: Norvegr down duvets airing in the Norwegian sunshine. White text on image reads: 'How certain duvets can transform your sleep. Wellbeing & Fitness

Here are the best red wines you should consider having during the festive season.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to read our full list. ⁠ ⁠ Photo credit: Stock photo⁠ ⁠ Image description: White text on image reads: '60 of the best red wines to try over Christmas 2024. Wine'

From an idiosyncratic spin on poker to dungeon combat, our gaming critic picks his favourite releases of the year. ⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to read the whole list. ⁠ ⁠ Photo credit: None⁠ ⁠ Image description: Black text on FT pink reads: '10 of the best games to play over Christmas 2024' ⁠ ⁠

Stanley Stewart, Monisha Rajesh, William Dalrymple and many more share their personal discoveries — and disappointments — of the past year. Swipe left to see four destinations. ⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to see the whole list. ⁠ ⁠ Photo credits: ⁠ ⁠ Image 1: Getty Images ⁠ Image 2: No Image Credit⁠ Image 3: Jonny Weeks/Guardian /Eyevine ⁠ Image 4: SOB/Thomas Kessler⁠ Image 5: Jason Thomas Crocker Photography⁠ ⁠ Image description: White text on image of Alleynes Bay beach in Barbados: 'From vineyards in the Andes to rhinos in Zimbabwe: travel writers’ discoveries of 2024'

Opinion: Donald Trump could change the world, even if his biggest effects might be unintentional. We may need to write individuals back into history.⁠ ⁠ Every day, the journalist’s worldview clashes with the academic historian’s. Journalists tend to emphasise the role of individuals in making history.⁠ ⁠ Most historians prefer impersonal structural forces: geography for the French Annales school, economics for Marxists, technology for others, while there’s been a recent surge of interest in climate change and pandemics. ⁠ ⁠ A structural-forces historian could build a strong case against Trump’s importance. Tap the link in our bio to read why. ⁠ ⁠ Photo credit: Getty Images⁠ ⁠ Image description: Donald Trump sitting on a sofa. White text on image reads: 'Historians could build a strong case against Trump's importance. Here's why'

Here’s the secret to a perfect Irish coffee.⁠ ⁠ Its comforting collision of hot, sweet caffeine, Irish whiskey and thick, cold cream is like being shot from a blazing cannon into the depths of a duck-down duvet.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to find out the top tips for a festive favourite. ⁠ ⁠ Photo credit: © Al Higgins⁠ ⁠ Image description: Irish coffees at Bar 1661 in Dublin. White text on image reads: 'Here's the secret to making a perfect Irish coffee. Cocktails & Drinks'

⁠ Helen Zille, a South African politician and chairperson of the Democratic Alliance has become a polarising figure in recent years. ⁠ ⁠ At 73, she’s more influential than ever: navigating politics, 'cancel culture' and the divide between white and Black voters in South Africa. Yet, arguably, she has become more influential than at any time during her long political career, running firstly as the mayor of Cape Town and then the province of Western Cape as premier.⁠ ⁠ While she may not be in government, her control of the party machinery makes her a key figure in the grand coalition with the ANC and eight other smaller parties. ⁠ ⁠ 'I just put stuff out there that I felt was true,' she says, when I question the wisdom of such provocations. 'There are always things you shouldn’t say, but then you have to think of the price of not saying them.⁠'⁠ ⁠ Sharing her views on why the ANC must come apart, 'wokeism' and her unapologetic political career, Zille openly discusses her future mission to build a new non-racial majority in South Africa and how she managed to come away mostly unscathed after being shot. ⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio for the full interview.⁠ ⁠ Image credit: Ciaran Murphy ⁠ ⁠ Image description: A cheerful older woman with blonde hair and glasses is wearing a sun hat. She is sitting in an informal restaurant, squeezing lemon onto shellfish⁠

Jaguar is again trying to rebrand itself as a luxury good. This overhaul is one of the most significant in the company’s history.⁠ ⁠ In November, it released a 30-second ad with no cars. Instead it featured fashion models, and abstract phrases: Create exuberant. Live vivid. Break moulds. Copy nothing. It finished on a new logo. ⁠ ⁠ Social media erupted. The zeitgeist had recently moved away from campaigns seen as woke. The models’ androgynous aesthetic jarred with the mood in the days following Donald Trump’s re-election.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to read the inside story of an extraordinary corporate decision. ⁠ ⁠ Photo credit: © Alamy⁠ ⁠ Image description: The ‘leaper’ mascot that appeared on the bonnet of some Jaguar models. White text on image reads: 'Jaguar's rebrand has divided opinion. Is 'Project Roard' the road to success? The Weekend Essay'⁠

‘The probability of our market improving in the next six to 18 months is very slim.’⁠ ⁠ In super-prime central London, beloved playground of the world’s richest entrepreneurs, aristocrats, financiers and oligarchs, the haggling is in full swing — even for properties in new developments — as trophy-home sellers across Mayfair, Kensington, Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Chelsea drop their prices to achieve a deal. ⁠ ⁠ Never hasty to call a market downturn, selling agents for the upper tier of the sector are nonetheless steeling themselves. ⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to read more. ⁠ ⁠ Photo credit: Getty Images⁠ ⁠ Image description: Black text on FT pink reads: 'London's wealthiest are reconsidering their options. House & Home'⁠

The order of your home — be it neat, in disarray, dated, disregarded, gold leaf-wallpapered — is supposed to be telling of your own state of being. Here’s why. ⁠ ⁠ Not everyone is lucky enough to have this type of bonding relationship with a home. The kind where patching the plaster and stripping the windowsills, for its own future and yours, becomes a stealthy nourishment of some part of the self.⁠ ⁠ But it’s complicated. As many clues as there are for others, we might not catch sight of them all ourselves.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to let the covert interiors appraisals begin.⁠ ⁠ Image description: Black text on FT Pink reads: 'The order of your home — be it neat, in disarray, dated, disregarded, gold leaf-wallpapered — is supposed to be telling of your own state of being'

‘Let’s stay out of it. That was the argument made in the ’30s and that just won’t work.’⁠ ⁠ A pivotal politician in a tumultuous time, McConnell earned power and used it to shift the country to the right during his 17-year tenure. ⁠ ⁠ He won races across the country, raised more than $1bn to boost his colleagues and negotiated trillion-dollar-plus bills, including the aid that lifted the country out of the pandemic. He became enormously influential and broadly unpopular, making enemies among Democrats for blocking judicial nominations to the Supreme Court and among Republicans for his occasional, sharp criticisms of Donald Trump.⁠ ⁠ Today, McConnell acknowledges for the first time that he voted for Trump last month, although he can’t bring himself to mention his name. It’s characteristic of McConnell’s brand of politics. He prizes GOP power above almost all other considerations.⁠ ⁠ But with the latter preparing to return to the White House next month, the veteran lawmaker issues a warning from America’s past. Tap the link in our bio to read more. ⁠ ⁠ Photo credit: © Ethan Hill/Contour by Getty Images⁠ ⁠ Image description: Mitch McConnell, Republican Senator. White text on image reads: 'Mitch McConnell: 'We're in a very, very dangerous world right now. FT Magazine'