Six great reads: Iran’s social media memes, an abandoned department store and a 1,200-year-old record of cherry blossoms

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days Patrick Wintour looked at how Iran has been winning the propaganda battle against the US with a barrage of memes, AI-generated comedy videos and Lego-style animations ridiculing the Trump administration. Despite the government-induced internet blackout, the country’s gen Z tech warriors have been engaging western audiences with creativity, humour and sarcasm. double quotation markFor a long time, I have been privately lamenting the instrumentalisation of everything: how nothing seems to be of value in itself any more but is only seen as useful in the service of some utilitarian function. The writer and philosopher Julian Baggini considered how the best things in life are being sold to us as means to an end, arguing that this reductive worldview is stripping meaning from our most valued activities. double quotation markThe panel is hanging from the wall by its wires and doesn’t look safe. I’d be nervous about stepping into this lift. Plus, it’s dark. I’m using the torch on my phone to read the sign. In the first instalment from a six-part series looking at Britainâ€