Iconic 1991 photo of Chinese girl symbolises thirst for knowledge, changing lives

Monsters of God is a jaw-dropping new series from the makers of the hit Netflix pandemic smash, exploring the murky world of exotic reptile smuggling In 1993, a sci-fi blockbuster about an animal theme park that resurrected the dinosaurs sparked more than a flurry of interest in those long-extinct beasts. It left audiences jonesing for the next best thing: a close encounter with a bearded dragon or a ball python. Jeremy McBride, the Emmy-winning film-maker was one of them. “I wanted a pet iguana,” he said. In the wake of the Spielberg classic, reptiles have become fixtures of the modern imagination, adorning zoo exhibits, living room terrariums and every corner of pop culture while underpinning a multibillion-dollar pet trade. But just as in Jurassic Park, the urgent danger isn’t the prehistoric creatures with the teeth and venom. It’s the people willing to steal, smuggle and kill for them. People like the Pablo Escobar of animal trafficking. “Our next documentary is going to be called Who Backstabbed Who,” jokes Eric Goode, an Emmy-nominated director. “You never know when that knife is going to go in your back because everyone’s trying to make a deal with the feds, with another reptile dealer. Even the good guys were supposedly doing bad things. It’s messy.”..

As a tween, Hull’s finest learned the rap from Waterfalls – now she blubs to prog. But which song from a British singer-songwriter is her guilty pleasure? The first song I fell in love with Caravan of Love by the Housemartins, when I was four or five. They’re also from Hull, but I think I mainly liked it because my granny and grandad had a caravan in their garden that I used as a wendy house. The first single I bought I remember buying Thriller by Michael Jackson from HMV in Hull, even though it was before my time. Everyone loved Michael Jackson so I was probably copying somebody at school...

How do you deal with nerves or bad reviews? What if you don’t sell any tickets? For debutants, the list of potential worries is huge. So we paired a few up with veterans to talk past mistakes, coping strategies – and the odd celebrity encounter Binge on the fringe: the must-see shows at Edinburgh 2026 Explore the rest of our coverage of the Edinburgh festival 2026 Everyone has to start somewhere – even at the Edinburgh festival fringe. But what made Smack the Pony actor Fiona Allen take up standup in her 50s? Why is veteran TV entertainer Joe Pasquale making his fringe debut in his 60s in an ensemble comic play? How many taboos will newcomer Sepideh Kaav, a Berlin-based Iranian comic in her early 30s, break by talking about sex? And what will the 78-year-old, seven-time Edinburgh veteran Gyles Brandreth make of debutant Brandy Bex, a 50-year-old NHS nurse performing in drag? We paired six fringe stalwarts with relative newcomers to compare their hopes, fears and survival tactics for this year...