The rise of period pants: are they the answer to menstrual landfill – and women’s prayers?

Previously a niche, expensive product, period knickers are now readily available on the UK high street. Women explain why they are turning their backs on single-use pads and tampons

A flash of a badger, a brazen fox, an angry bull – why I love a really wild show

I could well end up as one of those people mauled to death in an attempt to get a selfie with a tiger

Sex workers fighting for human rights among world’s most ‘at risk activists’

Exclusive: Front Line Defenders report says rights defenders working in sex industry face ‘targeted attacks’ around the world

Unspeakable grief: breaking the silence around terminations for medical reasons

In the UK, at least 5,000 pregnancies a year end in termination for medical reasons, but the grief and guilt of the parents can endure for years, while they often feel unable to speak openly about their experience

Simone Biles is forcing us to think about what sporting success really means

This astonishing athlete’s greatest triumph may be to make us confront the mental demands our culture puts on athletes, says Olympic rower Cath Bishop

The joy conundrum: why has the US hit peak happiness when the rest of the world is so sad?

A survey reveals that Americans are happier than they’ve been for 13 years. One very specific turning point may explain it

Guidance to induce minority ethnic pregnancies earlier condemned as racist

Draft Nice guidelines for England, Wales and Northern Ireland will not solve poorer maternity outcomes for women of colour, say doctors

Good grief: how to get over a bone-crushing disappointment

Sorrow and disappointment are a big part of pandemic life – and England football fans are now feeling them keenly. But there are ways to deal with these distressing emotions

‘It just doesn’t stop!’ Do we need a new law to ban out-of-hours emails?

During the pandemic many workers have felt more under siege than ever from work emails that arrive at all hours. Could the legal right to disconnect help?

Now Covid crisis mode is lifting, questions parked for a year are nagging once again

My newfound delight in the smallest pleasures is unlikely to survive the resumption of normal life, says Guardian columnist Emma Brockes