Kelly Macdonald on the banks of Loch Lomond. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianShe shot to fame in Trainspotting, and has starred in Gosford Park, Boardwalk Empire and even as a Disney princess. So why did the Scottish actor panic about her new role in Line Of Duty? by Emma BrockesKelly Macdonald’s roles are typically quiet, fraught with internal conflict and entailing journeys that are more reflective than active. As a grieving mother in The Child In Time, a gangster’s wife in Boardwalk Empire and the titular role in The Girl In The Cafe, the 45-year-old has, over the last 25 years, become known for the kind of thoughtful performances signified by the image of a woman staring out of a window.

The Mars Desert Research Station in south-east Utah. Photograph: Cassandra KlosTo study life on the red planet, people from around the world volunteer to live with strangers in the middle of nowhere by J Oliver ConroyThe Mars weather is beautiful today, and an astronaut is about to suffocate to death under the cloudless blue sky. The trouble starts after three crew members leave the safety of the Hab, their pressurized six-person living station, and venture outside to do some routine work.

Illustration: Lo Cole for the Guardian Illustration: Lo Cole for the GuardianMy life in sexSexThe 64-year-old regular at a gay sauna I first visited a gay sauna 25 years ago and have done so about once every six weeks since. I once heard such visits described as “holidays from morality”, but that has not been my experience. Only adults are admitted; all that happens is by mutual consent; no one is exploited; common courtesy and consideration for others are the unwritten rules that are generally observed.

Watch the video of Dimbleby’s pronunciation over the years. Courtesy of @peltiereffectMedia MonkeyRemembrance Day This article is more than 9 years oldOne woman's fight to get David Dimbleby to correctly pronounce DominicaThis article is more than 9 years oldIt’s Dom-min-EEKA, David. YouTube video celebrates BBC anchor finally getting it right at Remembrance Day commemorations at Cenotaph David Dimbleby’s role as the resident statesman of the BBC, wheeled out for instant gravitas on state occasions where solemnity and a whispered reverence are required, means he is perhaps under greater scrutiny from audiences just waiting for a gaffe.

SportSport quiz of the year: test your knowledge of 2023Our bumper end-of-year quiz features 60 questions from a year of World Cups, quotes, champions and controversy ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKugpL%2B1e5FpaWxnlJqwcH6VaKqpp6KperLByLNkqJ5dqbWmediemKtlpJrAtXnYqKyrZZujvLi4xJ2enmWfm3pzfJFs

Book of the dayStephenie MeyerReviewA mysterious interrogator accepts one final job for her former employer in the Twilight novelist’s pacy adult thrillerBella Swan, the heroine in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novels, drew criticism for her passivity, for letting all her battles be fought by men – vampire men who’d spend the night creepily watching her sleep. Perhaps Meyer took note, because the protagonist in her new novel, adult thriller The Chemist, is a very different proposition.

History booksReviewNorman Stone looks beyond the battlefield at a clash of civilisationsGeorge Orwell once summarised history in terms of technology: the castle defeated the knight, gunpowder defeated the castle, and the cheque-book defeated gunpowder (adding that the machine-gun defeated the cheque-book). Rogerson's subject is an illustration of two of these elements. He tells the story - and he is an excellent storyteller - of the great battles that occurred in the Mediterranean, "

Book of the dayFictionReviewThe emotional journey of three orphaned Muslim American siblings is evoked with heart-rending precision Kausar is the youngest of the three orphaned sisters in Fatimah Asghar’s grief-soaked and gorgeous debut novel. When she walks past Bobby and his friends in the school cafeteria, she overhears him say: “That’s my heart right there.” With flushed cheeks, she races to the bathroom. She stares and stares into the mirror, but alas “can’t find another heart to give”.

Alan CummingInterviewAlan Cumming: ‘I never thought about my foreskin until I came to America’Chris GodfreyThe Hollywood star and bestselling author is becoming a podcaster, co-hosting the Homo Sapiens podcast. He discusses his fight against circumcision, his fear of Harvey Weinstein – and why he is an optimist ‘I’m loving the idea of being here for a sustained period of time,” says Alan Cumming, speaking over Zoom from his “country pile” buried deep in New York’s Catskill mountains.

Pop and rockInterviewBrazilian musician Arthur Verocai on his late-blossoming career: ‘I wanted to run away from myself’Carlos AlbuquerqueRaved about by jazzers, hip-hop artists and high fashion houses alike, the septuagenarian maestro’s resurgence is a long way from his all-but-ignored 1972 debut, copies of which now sell for thousands of dollars It’s a rainy summer afternoon in Rio de Janeiro and Arthur Verocai is experiencing technical difficulties. The 76-year-old Brazilian maestro is on the phone with his production staff.