‘Miracle’ of Zealandia: chick is born to rare takahē pair thought to be infertile
Unexpected arrival is a boon for birdlife in New Zealand, where there are only 500 takahē left
Eva Corlett in Wellington
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/21/takahe-chick-rare-born-new-zealand

A mildly subversive gift guide: 10 banned books for curious and rebellious US readers
Gift a banned book to the defiant reader in your life this holiday season. Our picks by Toni Morrison, Alice Walker and others have all faced US challenges or bans
Ruth Minah Buchwald
https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter-us/2025/dec/21/banned-books-gift-ideas-guide

From Dr Seuss to All Quiet on the Western Front: 19 books to help you find hope, sense and resistance in difficult times
Writers, activists and politicians on the books they turn to for wisdom and perspective – and to restore their faith in human nature
Paul Daley
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/dec/21/from-dr-seuss-to-all-quiet-on-the-western-front-19-books-to-help-you-find-hope-sense-and-resistance-in-difficult-times

The kindness of strangers: a boy picked up my spilled shopping when I was too pregnant to reach the ground
I’d turned around for a second but that was all it took for my trolley to start rolling away. Before I could react, it tipped over
Nicki Wright as told to Katie Cunningham
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/dec/22/kindness-strangers-spilled-shopping-pregnant

I’m a Grinch and my husband is like Buddy the Elf – here is how we found a Christmas compromise
Polly Hudson
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/21/im-a-grinch-and-my-husband-is-like-buddy-the-elf-here-is-how-we-found-a-christmas-compromise

Sea change: the drive to restore millions of oysters on the Norfolk coast
The first ever mass deployment of mother reef bricks aims to rebuild habitats – and could reshape the North Sea
Amelia Hill
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/dec/21/norfolk-coast-oysters-project

Mayo Clinic has closed six rural health clinics across the state, MPR News reports. The cities of St. Peter, Montgomery, Wells, Belle Plaine, Caledonia and Mankato’s Northridge clinic have all closed this month. “Mayo Clinic Health Systems, a global medical behemoth that raked in close to $20 billion in revenue last year and reported a $1.3 billion operating profit, has cited the difficulty and expense of staffing and maintaining the medical facilities as reasons for the closures.”  Via MinnPost
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/12/19/mayo-clinic-closes-6-rural-minnesota-health-clinics-more-may-follow

Can battery-operated brain implants treat bipolar disorder?
A Q&A with the University of Minnesota’s Ziad Nahas, who leads a team of researchers experimenting with brain stimulation to alleviate symptoms of severe bipolar disorder
by Andy Steiner
https://www.minnpost.com/mental-health-addiction/2025/12/can-battery-operated-brain-implants-treat-bipolar-disorder/

Revealed: how big businesses are rolling back public support for Pride
Guardian analysis of 20 major companies in UK and US shows mentions of Pride on social media have fallen substantially in past two years
Chris Osuh, Raphael Boyd and Geneva Abdul
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/22/revealed-how-big-businesses-are-rolling-back-public-support-for-pride

I thought an edible would take the edge off family Christmas. I spent the day on the floor
Bunny Banyai
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/22/edible-take-edge-off-family-christmas-day-on-floor