Five Great Reads: Secret filming, secret surgery and 30 years of Pokémon

Hello and welcome to the weekend. You’re looking well, some might say “refreshed”. Is it the diet, the exercise, a relaxing holiday? You’d tell me if you’d had something “done”, right? According to the experts, and some thrilling anecdotes, cosmetic procedures are more popular than ever, but admitting to them certainly isn’t. And secrets – from those kept by the Botox brigade to the mysteries revealed by devastating drought – appear to play a theme this week.

They have been branded “pervert or predator” glasses, a portent that a dystopian age of surveillance is upon us. Wherever you look, someone has an opinion (not always negative) on Meta Glasses, the clunky-ish but somehow sought-after offering from the tech gods. Now people are also reporting they have been secretly filmed in their own homes, at concerts and at work – and there’s a whole line of business helping it along.

‘We don’t have privacy any more’: Meta’s smartglasses are supposed to let you know the wearer is recording by the presence of a flashing LED light. But there are hundreds of vendors, easily discoverable online, who specialise in disabling it. One of those tells Maggie Harrison Dupré: “In public, I don’t think we have privacy any more, period. My argument is if you’re really worried about your privacy, don’t go outside.”

And it gets worse: Covert recordings may just be the first step in a more sophisticated surveillance apparatus integrated with another deeply controversial technology: facial recognition.

How long will it take to read: Just under nine minutes.

Further reading: ‘I’ve definitely lost followers’: influencers face backlash over Meta ‘pervert glasses’ content.

2. How drought has devastated the Danube

The heatwave scorching Europe and much of the northern hemisphere has turned once verdant landscapes dry and desolate. One of the starkest examples has been on the shores of the EU’s longest river. The Guardian travelled 100 miles along the Danube, where some residents are struggling to secure drinking water.

Hunger stones: In the Hungarian capital, Budapest, there is a rock that for centuries has served as a warning. It was named Ínség-szikla – the Rock of Starvation. When it began to emerge from the Danube, it meant the river had fallen so low that floating mills could no longer operate, crops were probably failing, and hunger would almost certainly follow. Today, amid record-low water levels on the river, the rock has surfaced almost in its entirety, along with the sandy riverbed on which it rests, astonishing geologists and government scientists sent to examine it.

Notable quote: “It’s gone. Everything has dried up. Since I started farming this land after the end of communist rule, I’ve never seen a catastrophe like this.”

How long will it take to read: Three and a quarter minutes.

Further reading: The threatening thaw: climate professor on heatwave risks to tipping point of permafrost, and, for something hopeful: ‘Success story’ hailed as bluefin tunas caught off Yorkshire for first time since 1960s.

3. Life, death and making an album from a hospital bed

James Ford went from tearing up 00s dancefloors as one half of Simian Mobile Disco – musicians and DJs who elevated the electro-rave era of the decade – to becoming the most sought-after ear in music, collaborating with the Arctic Monkeys, Pet Shop Boys and Pulp. But when he was at the height of his powers, leukaemia struck.

“The obvious thing that has come out of all of this is that it does make you recognise what and who the important things in your life are and that life is exceptionally fragile.” James Ford

‘I’ve had a good innings’: When he was diagnosed, Ford, who had just turned 46, could admit his life had been a good one. A great one, even. “I’ve had some great times, I’ve got a lot of good memories and I’ve made some things I’m really proud of. I think I’ve been a generally good person in the world. And so I was almost at the point where I was like, if I die, I’ve had a good innings. I wouldn’t be that scared of it.”

But that didn’t stop him: During his second, brutal, round of chemotherapy, Ford undertook another remarkable chapter of his life, and began, while still in hospital, making music. Nurses got used to administering their daily medical care while Ford messed with drumbeats and sang, creating his new album.

How long will it take to read: A life-affirming four minutes

Further reading: ‘We never apologised for our rage or revenge-seeking’: riot grrrl legends Heavens to Betsy reunite; ‘I love provocative stories’: producer Christine Vachon on fighting for her ‘offensive’ movies.

4. What 30 years of Pokémon has taught us

If you want to feel old, consider this: Pokémon turned 30 this year. In Japan, where it was created by zinester turned game designer Satoshi Tajiri as a sort of swan song for the ageing Game Boy, it rapidly transformed from a schoolyard phenomenon to a national one. And then the rest of the world followed suit.

A classic tale of scaremongering: The news reports in Australia, back in 1999, warned “The most popular toy this Christmas could be turning our children to witchcraft and violence”. Pokémon was seen as something between a vice, an addiction and even a past-time that could lead to animal abuse and dogfighting. There were old wives’ tales of kids jumping off buildings because they thought they’d evolved into Pidgeotto.

But it turns out that Pokémania was not an affliction but a shared, communal experience that linked you to people all over the globe. Millions of kids around the world knew what a Cubone was and, as a result, felt a little less isolated.

How long will it take to read: Two and a quarter minutes.

Further reading: How Pokémon Go encouraged me to find wonder in the world

Laura got away with it for two years before she was rumbled. It was at dinner, with her partner, when he looked at her and said: “Why aren’t you scowling at me? Frown!” Laura tried to frown, and he was like: “No, you’ve had Botox.” Turns out, lots of people are spending thousands to alter their appearance – but also hope that no one notices. Why?

A ‘noticeable shift’: “I am definitely seeing more patients who prefer not to tell friends, family, or even colleagues that they’ve had aesthetic treatments,” says one doctor.

Notable quote: “Really, it bears no real relevance to our relationship. It’s a bit like: ‘What he doesn’t know, can’t hurt.’”

But things don’t always go to plan: One woman, who had fillers in her lips, thought she’d be able to get away with it. “I didn’t tell anyone as I guess I was a bit embarrassed to admit to it as I was approaching my 40s … but about 24 hours later my lips blew up.”

How long will it take to read: Just over six minutes

Further reading: Do you have to be hot at work? Eight people on how looks influence their jobs

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