We’re in for a bad flu season, say the experts. In fact, the term “super flu” is being bandied about – which, speaking personally, makes me very nervous indeed. So I found this very comprehensive Q&A about what to expect extremely useful. James Hay, a University of Oxford-based expert in infectious diseases modelling, covers everything you need to know to keep yourself as safe as you can be this winter. As with The Conversation’s coverage of the COVID pandemic, it’s good to be able to call on the expertise of people whose job it is to understand the risks and offer their advice accordingly.

One of the stories that most caught my eye this week was the release of Operation Kenova’s final report, which did everything but actually name Freddie Scappaticci as “Stakeknife”. This was the British agent inside the IRA who, for the best part of two decades from the late 1970s to the 1990s, provided intelligence on the republican paramilitary’s activities and personnel. Controversially, while never convicted of any offences, Scappaticci is thought to have taken part in numerous crimes, including murder. The report makes clear that he must now be formally named by the UK government. Scappaticci is dead, but some of those he harmed and the families of people he is thought to have killed are not, and they deserve the truth.

For the international affairs story of the week, it’s hard to go past the release of the Trump administration’s national security strategy, which makes for extremely chilling reading – particularly when combined with the US president’s public utterances. There are ten references to Russia, mainly anodyne, and not a single reference to North Korea. But the 33-page document goes into lavish detail about Europe’s shortcomings which, it says, faces “civilizational erasure” thanks to immigration. It’s a sobering look at Donald Trump’s wordview.

From the ominous to the unhygienic. If you are one of those people who has re-worn a pair of socks at the end of a washing cycle (I’m saying nothing), you should probably read this piece about the nasties that lurk between your toes. Wait until you have had breakfast though.

If I’m unwilling to admit to any pedal irregularities, I’m more than happy to own up to being a fan of the TV show Grand Designs. I love the commitment, passion and ingenuity of the people who follow their often-madcap dreams to build something really clever or beautiful. On the face of it, some of the projects featured by Kevin McCloud appear to tick the sustainability box as well. But not everyone agrees, and sometimes there is more to claims of sustainability than meets the eye.

My dad, who died about a decade ago at the age of 93, enjoyed two very happy 28-year marriages in his long life. So here’s a little theological teaser. If he has indeed gone to heaven, as he believed he would, who has he been reunited with – my mum or my stepmum? This is the question at the heart of a new film, Eternity, which I rather fancy going to see. We asked a philosopher of love for his thoughts.

Of course, there’s also a whole lot of other good things to watch, read and listen to this week – and as ever, our brilliant arts team bring you their recommendations.

This week, sadly, is the final episode of our stellar podcast series marking 250 years since the birth of Jane Austen. It looks at Austen’s final novel, Persuasion, and asks: was the author happy? The episode takes arts editor Jane Wright and Austen expert Nada Saadaoui to the Cobb in Lyme Regis, where the novel’s heroine Anne Eliot and Frederick Wentworth rekindle their romance. And if you haven’t heard the rest of the series, do yourself a favour.

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