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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Sir Michael Palin
Actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter
“I never miss any of Mark Vanhoenacker’s articles. Although I used to fly a lot more than I do now, I always felt that he was as good a writer as he was a pilot. Very few can write about flying from inside the cockpit, and I find his perspective on the wider aspects of travel refreshingly free of hype, and from a passenger’s point of view, straightforward and reassuring.”
Michael Palin will be on the Travel stage at 2pm
Plum Sykes
Journalist and novelist
“I recently adored reading this Lunch with the FT interview with Michael Craig Martin. He spoke with such energy about being a success in his 80s, which was inspiring to read, and about the importance of art schools and how they are the best place to learn the modern skill of problem-solving. Reading this from someone who taught the most famous YBAs [Young British Artists] and has an incredible body of work himself was so interesting. I have torn the article out and kept it for my daughter — who is applying to art school — and we are both going to see Michael’s upcoming retrospective. A fabulous piece and so well-written.”
Plum Sykes will be on the HTSI stage at 1pm
Professor Tim Spector
Scientific co-founder at ZOE and Professor of Epidemiology at King’s College London
“One article I think everyone should read: A new era of personalised cancer treatments.
This article particularly struck me as it demonstrates the game-changing power of the new drugs in cancer, as well as advances in personalisation in healthcare more generally. This comes at a time where action can’t happen fast enough as cancer rates are rising, especially in young people. I am leading the UK-arm of a new global research consortium, PROSPECT, set up to determine why early-onset colon cancer in young people is rising globally. We’ll combine research efforts and data from TwinsUK and ZOE to determine the causal factors and understand how diet and the gut microbiome can be used to reduce, and potentially reverse, risk factors.
It’s exciting to see such encouraging results from these novel immune treatments, which have increased survival rates five fold, with new individualised cancer vaccines and personalised therapies based on differences in gut microbes and our immune cells. It’s a great step in the right direction, as it’s very clear now that we are much more different that we realised and a ‘one size fits all’ approach to health is outdated, and much less effective than the future of individualised advice and treatment.”
Tim Spector will be on the Big Ideas stage at 2pm
Mishal Husain
Newsreader, journalist and bestselling author
“My choice is not a single article but a regular series, which is illuminating, celebratory and joyful. It’s The Life of A Song. Both the written and audio versions have added so much to my understanding and enjoyment of classic tracks, from Simon and Garfunkel’s The Only Living Boy in New York — a pre-breakup ode from Paul to Art, I discovered – to Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’, and so many others. If you don’t know it as yet, lucky you: hours of pleasure await.”
Mishal Husain will be on the Travel stage at 1pm
Deborah Meaden
Dragons’ Den investor and entrepreneur
“I loved How AI is decoding the animal kingdom. When everyone is worried about the dawn of the AI era it is important to read of its potential to change the world we live in for the better. Understanding the language of animals is going to create a seismic shift in our relationship with our world.”
Deborah Meaden will be on the FT Money stage at 12pm
