Viva la diva! How Eurovision's Dana International made trans identity mainstream | Pop and rock

Dana International singing her winning entry at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest in Birmingham. Photograph: Peter Bischoff/Getty ImagesTwenty years ago, the Israeli singer cemented Eurovision as a celebratory space for LGBTQ people everywhere with her winning song Diva. But, she admits, she didn’t believe in the song when she first heard it British Eurovision hopeful SuRie believes ‘anything is possible’ by Eve BarlowShe was tall, svelte and glamorous in a floor-length glitter gown, with luscious brown curls and the kind of dramatic arm movements that would put an ice dancer to shame. [Read More]

Christina Hendricks: 'My agency dropped me when I first agreed to play Joan in Mad Men' | God's Pock

The ObserverGod's PocketInterviewChristina Hendricks: 'My agency dropped me when I first agreed to play Joan in Mad Men'Elizabeth DayEight years later, Hendricks is recognised by millions. Here she talks about being bullied at school, working with Philip Seymour Hoffman and her new film role as a grieving mother God's Pocket star Richard Jenkins: 'This just wasn't a kissable face' Ryan Gilbey on God's Pocket: carrying corpse humour to the grave [Read More]

Citrus and spice: Yotam Ottolenghi's potato salad recipes

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Nepalese potato salad. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay. Food styling assistant: Susanna Unsworth.Yotam Ottolenghi’s Nepalese potato salad. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay. Food styling assistant: Susanna Unsworth.Yotam Ottolenghi recipesFoodThe potato gets a makeover in these salads: one a Nepalese dish singing with tangy spices, the other a riot of smoky tomato and citrus The starting point for most of my recipes are the vegetables that are in season. [Read More]

Fabric, fit and all the flaps: how to pick a trenchcoat that looks great and lasts

Closet clinicAustralian lifestyleSince its invention over a century ago, the trench has never gone out of style. With some attention to detail, you can buy one that lasts a lifetime Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email Although it’s hard to pin down the details, the trenchcoat was invented for military officers some time in the 19th century to be worn, quite literally, in the trenches. Thanks to Hollywood noir and espionage classics, it graduated into a unisex symbol of style, but kept its name and some of its military details. [Read More]

Fascism in America: a long history that predates Trump

BooksA new book examines the history of far-right authoritarian US groups – and ways the public has chosen to look away Pro-Nazi propaganda, courtesy of the US post office? This unlikely scheme was hatched by George Sylvester Viereck, a German-born American who between 1937 and 1941 sought to marshal US sentiment against intervention in Europe. Those who heeded him included prominent members of Congress, such as Burton Wheeler of Montana and Rush Holt Sr of West Virginia, anti-interventionist Democratic senators known for speeches that prompted accusations of antisemitism. [Read More]

Pearl Jam review a sensitive, subversive new vision for classic rock

Pearl JamReviewBST Hyde Park, London A band who were once criticised for their earnestness find their true home in vast massed gatherings like these, uniting the crowd with thrilling humanist anthems “I feel like Adele,” grins Eddie Vedder, giddily drinking in the vast crowd before him. He might often have worn his stardom with unease, but the Pearl Jam frontman clearly loves his people, and can make even a large-scale an event as this feel somehow intimate. [Read More]

Why I became a nun: 'I had my own flat and a boyfriend but deep down I felt restless'

ChristianityFrom a Star Trek enthusiast to a former trade union worker, women share their stories about why they chose the religious life Sr Silvana Dallanegra, RSCJ talks about the importance of social media and tells women interested in the religious life to ‘Go for it girl!’I call Sr Silvana on the landline and she apologises for not having a mobile signal - she was in the basement. Not walking the cloister in silence but running a hostel and helping the students she works with. [Read More]

Elvis: A Musical Revolution review a very good tribute show, but not much more

Australian theatreReviewThe staging is a hit and the songs are great fun – but with some uncomfortable truths omitted, this biographical musical aims high but misses the mark Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email There’s a pink Cadillac parked outside the theatre and next to it, a man with slicked-back hair stands still as a statue. Streaming in behind him are dozens in kind, many of them small children, all the same: hair slicked back, tight white bejewelled outfits. [Read More]

Emma Raducanu outlasts Beatriz Haddad Maia at Indian Wells | Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu This article is more than 10 months oldEmma Raducanu outlasts Beatriz Haddad Maia at Indian WellsThis article is more than 10 months oldBriton defeats 13th seed 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in third roundFirst three-set win over a top-50 opponent for RaducanuEmma Raducanu arrived in Palm Desert still trying to figure out how to keep her body in one piece, merely attempting to string a few matches together, yet her run to the third round left her staring across at one of the most match-tough players in the world on Monday. [Read More]

The film that makes me cry: Up | The film that makes me cry

Film blogThe film that makes me cry This article is more than 8 years oldThe film that makes me cry: UpThis article is more than 8 years oldTess RileyNone can stand before Pixar’s pinnacle of animated tear-jerking, which starts with a deathbed scene and ends with you in a blubbering mess I first saw Up when I was 40,000 feet high in the sky. Unlike the lead character of the animation, however, who travels the world by helium-balloon-powered house, I was on a plane en route to my cousin’s wedding. [Read More]