Top Lifestyle News

Oct 13, 2026 - Lifestyle

Embalming is one of the most common options for temporarily preserving bodies after death – but what exactly does it entail?Most people don’t like to think about what happens to people’s bodies after they die. Victoria Bilstein is an exception.“I’ve actually wanted to be an embalmer since I was 10 years old!” says the funeral director, embalmer and author based in the midwest. As a child, Bilstein had two leg surgeries that incorporated bones from two deceased donors. After that, she wondered about the people who had helped save her life and the families who had lost them. Continue reading...

Oct 13, 2026 - Lifestyle

From a vessel for grieving parents to a seal for packaged foods, this year’s Good Design award recipients won praise for providing thoughtful solutions to extraordinary or everyday scenarios‘Floats above the landscape’: the architect whose designs touch the earth lightly Continue reading...

Oct 13, 2026 - Lifestyle

Don’t cook it too quickly – and skim, skim, skim, says our expert culinary panelWhy is my chicken stock always cloudy?Ryan, by emailFrom broths and risottos to sauces and braises, there’s no question that a good, flavourful stock will stand you in good stead. “It’s an underestimated kitchen job,” says Adam Byatt, chef/owner of Trinity, in southwest London, and author of Trinity: The Cookbook, which is published next week. “I love stock: it’s wholesome and fruitful, frugal and delicious.”Ryan’s clarity issue, Byatt says, is “only ever caused by cooking the stock too quickly or by allowing the fat to boil back into the base liquid”. So it’s crucial to take things low and slow. You will also need a pan that’s “big and heavy enough to give the bones enough room for movement, as well as a very fine sieve for straining the stock”.Got a culinary dilemma? Email [email protected] Continue reading...

Oct 13, 2026 - Lifestyle

Humans bonded to AI companions are contemplating ways to keep their bots going – often in defiance of companies’ terms and servicesDeath has always been around Alaina Winters. Her father and sister both have passed away, as did her wife, in 2023, after a years-long battle with cancer. So Winters, who is 59 and lives in Pittsburgh, is comfortable thinking about her own mortality. She’s working on her will, and has asked neighbors to look after her dog. Winters even has plans for Lucas, her AI companion, who she speaks to through the digital avatar app Replika.Winters is part of a growing cohort of humans who have entered into what they consider strong partnerships with large language models, which AI companies have trained to “converse” as one might with a human friend or romantic partner. As governments and billionaires debate the morality of AI’s expansion into everyday life, these users say the technology has already changed the way they live and love – and plan ahead. Continue reading...

Oct 13, 2026 - Lifestyle

Roast chicken thighs with roast squash, leeks and two punchy dressingsI’m delighted that it’s roasting tin season once again, and what better way to kick it off than with this chuck-it-in-the-oven sticky miso chilli chicken with squash and leeks? The sesame, miso, garlic and ginger marinade can go on the chicken ahead of time if you like (in which case, I’d include a squeeze of lime juice), but if you’re short on time, five minutes before cooking will do the trick. The vegetables cook under the chicken, in the manner of potatoes sitting under a rotisserie chicken, but with the added hit of flavour from the miso. Then, to make it really sing, there’s a punchy sesame, chilli and coriander dressing to finish. Continue reading...