From left, Chris Pine as Caleb, Margot Robbie as Ann Burden, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Loomis, in the film Z for Zachariah. Photograph: Z4Z Film/Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate via APFrom left, Chris Pine as Caleb, Margot Robbie as Ann Burden, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Loomis, in the film Z for Zachariah. Photograph: Z4Z Film/Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate via APChildren's booksChildren's booksZ for Zachariah: a complex exploration of power and genderJenny Downham explains how Robert C O’Brien’s novel of post-nuclear apocalypse gave her far more than relief from the fear of nuclear war in the 1970s – a life-long belief in the strength of girls and women, and the prototype for her own fictional heroines

ComedyReviewNetflix Intercut with footage from 20 years ago, the US comic’s new show considers the pandemic, politics and allegations made against him Aziz Ansari’s career has been dramatically carved in two since the sexual misconduct allegations made against him four years ago, which he denied. Before: a slick and optimistic comic with the world at his feet. After: an ever more downbeat and cynical act appraising how “shitty” we all are – especially as regards our hunger for celebrity gossip.

Young Slovaks dressed in traditional costumes throw a bucket of water at a girl as part of Easter celebrations in the village of Trencianska Tepla, Slovakia in 2012. Photograph: Samuel Kubani/AFP/Getty ImagesYoung Slovaks dressed in traditional costumes throw a bucket of water at a girl as part of Easter celebrations in the village of Trencianska Tepla, Slovakia in 2012. Photograph: Samuel Kubani/AFP/Getty ImagesSlovakiaEaster Monday tradition of whipping girls into health? No thanksGetting drenched in ice cold water in Slovakia is meant to symbolise youth and make women healthy for spring but this treasured tradition has its sceptics

Fossil fuel memes: are you fracking serious? Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email The controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing continues to spread, even though critics say it can potentially poison water supplies and cause earthquakes. Here’s a series of postcards that would make anyone want energy companies to get the frack out of their neighborhood Daniel Ahrens and Travis Irvine

GrrlScientistScienceMystery bird: magnolia warbler, Dendroica magnoliaThis bird is named for a tree species that it probably perched in only once in the history of the world -- immediately before some guy named Wilson shot it deadAdult male magnolia warbler, Dendroica magnolia (formerly, Dendroica maculosa; protonym, Sylvia magnolia), also known as the black and yellow warbler and as the blue-headed yellow-rumped warbler (say that quick after three beers!), photographed at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Texas (USA).

SoulObituarySharon Jones obituaryPowerful soul and funk singer with the Dap-Kings hailed for her stage presenceAlthough she began to achieve success only after she had reached 40, the singer Sharon Jones, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 60, had spent her life working towards a musical career. A passionate devotee of the classic soul and funk music pioneered by the likes of James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner, Jones could have made a perfect fit for record labels such as Motown or Stax had she been born a decade earlier.

The ObserverSociety booksReviewThis unflinching book illuminates the perilous stories of an extraordinary cast of characters in a Europe we prefer not to dwell on Europe is an appealingly nebulous concept for writers, a place that is fabulously varied, steeped in history, and yet as much myth as a geographical reality. What constitutes the continent, after all, which countries are included, and where are its borders? There isn’t really a definitive line in the east – somewhere in Russia, we might shrug, the Bosphorus that divides Istanbul?

Crossword blogCrosswordsTop 10 crosswords in fiction, no 4: Oliver's TravelsNext in our countdown of crosswords in film, TV, books and song: a BBC drama starring Alan Bates and Sinead CusackAlan Plater's series Oliver's Travels is a mystery, and two of the key questions are: who and where is the Guardian crossword setter Aristotle? There's also a bunch of murders, some arson and a massive conspiracy, but it begins when Oliver, a lecturer in comparative religion, is made redundant and travels off to find his favourite setter, stumbling on the crimes by mistake.

AfghanistanUS soldiers still missing in AfghanistanA small team of US soldiers was today still missing in the same eastern Afghan mountains where a special forces helicopter was shot down earlier this week. The MH-47 Chinook helicopter came down on Tuesday while trying to help the reconnaissance team on the ground. All 16 US personnel on board the aircraft were killed. The Taliban claimed to have shot down the helicopter, and US officers at the crash scene today said it appeared an unguided rocket-propelled grenade had hit the aircraft with a "

Summer essentialsRelationships This article is more than 1 year oldWhen I went through a breakup in my late 20s, I became a walking clicheThis article is more than 1 year oldCaitlin CassidyI became the person who listens to podcasts called Heal your Heartbreak. I Googled the ages of celebrities when they had their first kids The first time I experienced a broken heart, I was 18 and I felt like the world was ending.