Ding dong the week is dead, and that means one thing...The Weekender

And so the week is winding down and we’re all having a little jig thinking about the wonders and delights the next two days has to offer. But before we leave y’all, check out some things what we did this week and then the usual feckless collection of the weird and wonderful bits and bobs that made it into our eyes this week. There may or may not be a crow doing winter sports (there is).

– This week in the Opinion piece assistant editor Maisie Skidmore had a rant about the brilliance of weekly podcast Serial and tried to put her finger on what’s so great about it.

– The brand new issue of glossy biannual hardback Twin magazine has just landed, and to celebrate we had a poke around founder Becky Smith’s bookshelf. It’s a goodie.

– On this week’s pod we talked about Bob Geldof dusting off the tried and tested Bandaid format for the fourth time around, and what it is about digital publishing that’s so damn great. Ave a listen.

This week and next we’re speaking to the people who have been beavering away at making the internet a very pleasant and addictive place to visit, finding out their secrets and asking them why they do what they do. Here are some of this week’s best bits.

– Features editor Liv Siddall wrote an article in praise of The New Yorker’s behind-the-scenes Cover Story feature. Because it really is very good.

– We interviewed kings of satirical online journalism The Daily Mash about never taking anything down and getting away with it, the scallywags.

– Editor-in-chief Rob Alderson had a half hour long chat with Dezeen founder Marcus Fairs and recorded it for your listening pleasure.

– We spoke to the founder of wonderful art and design interiors site Freunde von Freunden Frederik Frede about the wonderful things they do.

– As part of our Behind the Screens feature the talented folks over at NOWNESS picked out their favourite ever NOWNESS-featured films for us in this handy round-up.

Emily Gosling

This week I’ve been mostly putting on jumpers and scarves, mulling over mulling wine and getting in the Christmas spirit. Assisting in no small part to this festive frenzy has been Mike Oldfield’s sprightly Christmas number, In Dulci Jubilo, which means “IT’S CHRIIIIIISTMAS” if translating from prog to English. Watch, listen and fall in love with Yuletide all over again.

Maisie Skidmore

What would happen if geniuses David Lynch and Patti Smith were to sit down and have a chat about Twin Peaks and Pussy Riot? MAGIC, that’s what. Praise the lord for the BBC for actually making this happen.

Rob Alderson

My colleague Karl Toomey Tweeted this today and it follows on nicely from the Lenka Clayton project we posted on the site last week. The Distance I Can Be From My Son was made during the same residency at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and sees Lenka testing how far she can let her young son toddle away from her in different environments before she goes after him. It’s a simple idea that speaks to something very fundamental in the mother-child relationship.

James Cartwright

Crows can now snowboard! I call it Crowboarding. Soon they’ll be running the world…