Kate Winslet reigns in a new satire about an unstable leader

WATCH / What Kate did next

Kate Winslet plays an autocrat running a country somewhere in “middle Europe” under absurd circumstances.

An unstable leader locked away in their palace, murderously quelling unrest and itching to invade another country. Sound familiar? Kate Winslet returns to HBO – where she has delivered some of her best performances in Mare of Easttown and Mildred Pierce – for this biting satire from the executive producers of Succession. In The Regime, which is set somewhere in “middle Europe”, Winslet’s Elena Vernham is wracked with a terror of mould. “The palace is infested with spores; the problem is real for the chancellor,” her right-hand woman (a wonderfully brittle Andrea Riseborough) advises Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts), a trigger-happy corporal who’s been brought in to be the chancellor’s personal mould-tracker. If all this sounds completely absurd, it is, but if you have a taste for Armando Iannucci (The Thick Of It, The Death of Stalin) – think very sweary politicos backstabbing and undermining at every turn – you’ll find this a savage delight. Bonus points for Hugh Grant playing an exiled opposition leader. Six-part series, on Binge now. Louise Rugendyke

PLAY / Love actually?

Using his own text messages as a starting point, Paul Knight examines AI’s emotional capacity with this artwork.Credit: Paul Knight, Naked Souls, 2023, 2 OpenAi GPT-2 open-source artificial intelligence large language models (LLM), computer console, monitors, steel cabinets and sound; 220.0 x 180.0 x 69.5. Courtesy of the artist © Paul Knight. Photo: Christian Capurro

Can AI understand love? That’s one of the questions Berlin-based Australian artist Paul Knight asks in Naked Souls, an artwork featuring in this year’s Adelaide Biennial, in which a computer continues a conversation between Knight and his partner, Peter, using, as a starting point, all the texts between them in the first few years of their relationship. Where will the chatbots masquerading as Paul and Peter take their conversation? Will it make sense? Will love win out? Visitors to this year’s Biennial, at the Art Gallery of South Australia until June 2, get to find out as the conversation plays out in real time on gallery screens. Katrina Strickland

LISTEN / War correspondent

Journalist Jon Ronson’s latest podcast series covers the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic – and the conspiracy theories that flourished.

Ever feel like the world is going to hell in a handcart? UK journalist Jon Ronson certainly does but, instead of throwing up his hands in despair, he goes to the frontlines of the culture wars that have exploded across the internet. The second season of his podcast Things Fell Apart focuses on the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when conspiracy theories spread faster than the disease. Ronson is adept at travelling back in time to find the root of the madness, locating the first stone thrown that creates the ripples that become, ultimately, a tidal wave of misinformation. Barry Divola

READ / A spy in the house

A book club favourite, Vanessa Chan’s debut novel is causing a stir.

With comparisons to modern classics Pachinko (by Min Jin Lee) and All The Light We Cannot See (by Anthony Doerr), it’s no wonder Vanessa Chan’s debut has hit the bestseller and book-club lists. The Storm We Made ($33) is a sweeping epic that opens in Malaysia (then Malaya) under Japanese occupation in 1945. The story swivels between perspectives, including those of Cecily Alcantara, a woman who becomes a spy, and her children in the lead-up to the invasion. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry – and get exactly what’s on the label. Chan has proven herself one to watch. Melanie Kembrey

GROOVE / Inside outsider

Singer-songwriter Faye Webster’s popularity has exploded.

When Atlanta’s Faye Webster arrived in Australia for the first time last month, she played shows in Melbourne and Sydney that had quickly sold out – just another few days in the life of what’s been an amazing run for the singer-songwriter, who went from indie darling to TikTok sensation whiplash-fast. With a style that glides between multiple genres – her Underdressed at the Symphony album alternately features an orchestra, Auto-Tune and a sole feature from viral rap sensation Lil Yachty – Webster’s lushly arranged collection of outsider ballads sounds better than ever. She’s prone to sudden changes in volume (the explosive crescendoes of But Not Kiss) and deadpan affectations that would make our own Courtney Barnett proud. “I wanna quit all the time,” she croons gorgeously on a track of the same name, but with songs this good, it doesn’t seem like that’ll be happening any time soon. Out now. Jonathan Seidler

Silk Laundry’s shirt works as a his or hers.

WEAR / Swap shop

Buying pieces you can share with your partner is a take on couple dressing we can get behind. Exhibit A: this marigold boyfriend shirt made from 100 per cent silk, just one element in Silk Laundry’s new Uniform collection championing items that are big on versatility, wearability and style ($310). Its relaxed, roomy credentials allow lovers who aren’t necessarily built alike to still indulge in a weekend wardrobe swap. BYO Excel spreadsheet. Melissa Singer

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