It’s been billed as the “David and Goliath” of Wall Street. The dramatic and, at times, bizarre stock market battle that pitted amateur “retail” investors against “fat cat” hedge funds intent on making millions by short-selling shares in GameStop. The frenzied trading of shares in this Texas-based chain of computer games stores made for a story which leapt out of the business pages and on to the front page of many a newspaper.

The idea of the little people taking on the muscle men of the finance sector really caught the popular imagination, especially among small traders whose ranks have swollen dramatically in recent years as digital tools and apps have made it easier to trade in stocks and shares in the comfort of your own home. “People are risking their lives to wage war against the suits and it brings tears to my eyes to watch them do it,” said one small trader. There’s bound to be a film sooner or later. But in the meantime, here’s a chance to get your head around how it all works and what it means.

If, that is, you can tear yourself away from all those fantastic new TV series. I have friends who think nothing of devouring a ten-part drama in a couple of days, which must be doing wonders for the popcorn trade. But whatever happened to “event television”, shows that you looked forward to all week and breathlessly discussed with your colleagues and friends around the watercooler, or at the pub? Those options may not be open to us right now, but isn’t anticipation the best part of the journey?

Rising sea-levels are a clear and present danger, with some scientists predicting a rise of two-and-a-half metres by the end of the century. But humans have been preoccupied by the idea of a drowning world since before Noah’s Ark. Here are some of those stories, ancient and modern.

This week we also discovered how male butterflies use a stinky signal to put off rival suitors, five ways in which bad behaviour can be a good thing and, for cricket lovers everywhere, the psychological state that enables some players to achieve superhuman feats against all the odds.

From our global network, meanwhile, how heatwaves and drought combine to produce the perfect firestorm in Australia, how innovation and research are key to killing off tropical diseases in Africa and, what New Zealand should do to ensure the continuing success of its COVID-19 strategy.

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