On Sundays, I like to share three things I have enjoyed in the past week. They could be anything; just stuff that has, as Marie Kondo might say, sparked joy. They also don’t have to be new or recent, so long as I’ve enjoyed them this week.

Thing 1: The HPV Vaccine is Absolutely Smashing It

New research shows that girls who got the HPV jab at 12–13 have almost zero risk of dying from cervical cancer before 30. In England, it’s already saved around 200 lives — and between 2020–24 there were no cervical cancer deaths at all in women aged 20–24. That’s a whole cancer wiped out in a whole age group.

It’s one of those rare bits of public‑health news that feels genuinely joyful: a simple school‑age vaccine quietly dismantling a disease that once took thousands. And researchers say this is just the start as vaccinated generations grow up.

A small jab, a massive win.

Thing 2: The Humour and Freedom of Our Democracy

At a time when our American cousins are locked in an endless back‑and‑forth of gerrymandering and voter suppression, all within a system that structurally enforces a two‑party stranglehold, I’m oddly reassured by the health of our own democracy.

It’s humbling and important that our political leaders, including a possible future prime minister, still have to face the full circus of a British by‑election. This week’s Makerfield contest had the usual spread of candidates: the serious, the eccentric, and the ones who are basically performance art. The point is that they all get a place on the ballot. Whether it’s someone like Lord Buckethead or someone who should be a joke, like the Reform candidate, they all stand, and we all get to decide.

Thing 3: We Object to Fear; An Improvised Musical

I went back to We Object to Fear, an old live episode of the Off Book podcast, and it absolutely still sings. Zach and Jess are just ridiculous in the best way, the improv is razor‑sharp, and the whole musical holds up as this joyful, chaotic, heartfelt burst of creativity.

It’s just one of those things I can rewatch and immediately remember why I fell in love with it in the first place; pure, clever, silly brilliance. I think the Atticus Finch song might be my favourite part.