Rufus Wainwright: ‘I had a great party trick, but it once blew up in my face’

The singer-songwriter on his most memorable fan, his love of Chappell Roan, and his close friend and nemesis Jake ShearsIf you could have a sandwich named after you, what would be on it?I would have a really gross sandwich named after me that nobody would want to eat. The one time I tried to cook – many, many years ago, when I was in college – I decided to make all the things that I love and put them in one dish. And so it was brussels sprouts, macaroni and cheese, merguez sausages, extra blue cheese and broccoli. And it was literally grey. So yeah, it would be something revolting like that, between two pieces of cardboard

Golden bling, ‘sex pot’ ceramics and superheroes: Peruvian empire treasures come to Sydney in new exhibition

The Australian Museum’s record-breaking blockbuster Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs was always going to be a hard act to follow.The great Inca citadel, instantly recognisable as Peru’s world heritage-listed Machu Picchu, is the drawing card for the museum’s major summer exhibition. And while Incan civilisations may not hold the same universal fascination as Egyptology, visitors may be surprised about how little they had known about the complex societies that disappeared with the Spanish invasion, before experiencing Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru.Beneath such sensational fodder as the most opulent collection of gold to ever travel outside Peru, plenty of impossible-to-wear jewellery, and bloodthirsty tales of human sacrifice, the exhibition tracks the existence of six different Andean societies over 3,000 years – Chavín, Moche, Chimú, Nazca, Lambayeque and Inca.While all distinct cultures in themselves, they were united in a worldview where the gods of the overworld and the dead of the underworld interacted up close with the living in daily and spiritual life

The Guide #166: If 2024 is the year of the podcast, here’s what still sucks about the medium

What a year it has been for the podcast, which has a decent shot at being considered the most important cultural medium of 2024. Once the scrappy underdog of broadcasting, podcasts now sell out arenas and set the political agenda. They are inescapable.They are also at times teeth-grindingly annoying. We first shared our podcast pet peeves – from live episodes to paying for pods – a few years ago, but since then the irritations have only piled up further

Seth Meyers on Trump: ‘His staffing picks have been obscene’

Late-night hosts expressed surprise and glee as Matt Gaetz withdrew himself from the attorney general confirmation process.The Late Night host Seth Meyers said that Trump’s presidential comeback hit its “first major roadblock” with his pick for attorney general taking himself out of the process.Matt Gaetz removed himself after just eight days with Meyers joking that “once again, he can’t even make it to 18”.The “accused sexual predator” had already been in the centre of a scandal involving sex with a 17-year-old and was now being accused of the same thing with another teenager.Gaetz “saw the writing on the wall” and stepped down after he was asked to respond to the second allegation

Seth Meyers on Trump’s cabinet picks: ‘Billionaires are effectively running the government now’

Late-night hosts talked Donald Trump’s cabinet of billionaire donors and the House ethics committee stalemate over an investigation into Matt Gaetz.On Wednesday’s Late Night, Seth Meyers offered a dire pronouncement on the state of American politics. “Our political system is dominated by billionaires. Both sides are captive to wealthy interests,” he said. “It should be noted that Kamala Harris had plenty of billionaires’ support of her own

Stephen Colbert on Trump: ‘Continuing to shovel steaming piles of nominee into his cabinet’

Late-night hosts talked Donald Trump’s nomination of Dr Mehmet Oz to his administration, and the ongoing scandals around his attorney general pick, Matt Gaetz.Donald Trump “is continuing to shovel steaming piles of nominee into his cabinet”, said Stephen Colbert on Tuesday’s Late Show. On Tuesday, Trump announced the pseudoscience advocate and former TV host Mehmet Oz as the administrator of Medicare and Medicaid. “OK so he’s still just picking people he sees on TV,” said Colbert. “Next up, the head of Amtrak goes to Thomas the Tank Engine