My recommended read this weekend is a great example of a short yet reasonably convincing counter-intuitive argument, courtesy of Rory Sutherland in The Spectator. In just eleven paragraphs, the vice-chairman of Ogilvy Group UK describes why he is choosing to hire graduates with third-class degrees, and rejecting the academic high-achievers.

My recommended read for this weekend is Charles Fleming’s moving piece from Los Angeles Magazine, in which he describes the suicide of Ron Iseli. He uses this very personal story to illustrate the wider problem of preventing deaths – accidental and otherwise – on railways. It’s an absorbing yet disturbing read.

If you’ve ever wondered what an investiture ceremony is really like for a recipient, then why not spend a few moments of your weekend reading this excellent description from Mary Beard’s TLS blog? I found it intriguing, and very much enjoyed reading it!

Earlier this summer, CNN published this article by their chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, about why he changed his mind on marijuana, and particularly medical uses of it. It’s always interesting to read about why people changed their mind on a topic, yet I think people are so afraid that they will be accused of flip-flopping or some such that these articles don’t appear nearly enough. So this weekend, enjoy this one!

This weekend, I recommend spending some time reading this article, which Tim Harford originally wrote for the Financial Times. Almost all of Tim’s FT articles are brilliant, but this one particularly stuck in my mind for the clarity of its argument on a complex subject.

I was particularly struck by this passage:

A payday loan can do real good, as a cash injection that helps avoid far more serious financial consequences, such as the loss of a job because the car broke down or penalty charges for failing to pay a bill on time. A randomised trial conducted in South Africa showed that this was not just a theoretical possibility. The experiment randomly approved or rejected applications for loans at an annual percentage rate of 200 per cent. Those who received one ended up better off than those rejected.

This is an aspect of this particular debate that’s all-too-often overlooked.

My recommended read for this weekend is an article from a couple of years ago, written by Robin McKie for The Guardian. It describes Michael Collins’s experience as the Command Module pilot on the Apollo 11 mission – and, in particular, his fears over whether his colleagues Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would make it back from the moon’s surface to the Command Module.

I thought it gave a fascinating insight into the emotional impact of a unique human experience.

A fair amount of my professional time is being spent on antimicrobial resistance at the moment. It is a frightening but fascinating topic, which is getting increasing coverage in the mainstream press.

One particularly good article on the subject appeared in The Scotsman last month: Lori Anderson’s “Don’t let germs be your gift” summarises some of the interesting parts of the topic.

If that article whets your appetite, then you could do far worse than to read Prof Dame Sally Davies’s book on the subject, The Drugs Don’t Work: A Global Threat. I admit a degree of bias, having played a very small part in putting the book together, but I found it an absolutely riveting read.

My recommended read this weekend comes from the website of the excellent Full Fact organisation. Full Fact usually publishes articles which check the veracity of claims made by politicians or companies, which always make for enlightening reading. But earlier this week, in this post, Owen Spottiswoode looked at the veracity of the claims made in a particularly unpleasant letter to a newspaper, which had been spread widely online.

It’s a brilliant example of the simple truth making prejudice look foolish. It’s like the research behind a Aaron-Sorkin-esque rant. I love it. Bravo.

My recommended read for this weekend is this sobering paper by Stillman and Tailor in the New England Journal of Medicine. It describes some shocking personal stories, but also this powerful statistic: nearly 45,000 American adults die each year because they have no medical coverage. If you only read one thing this weekend, make it this.

My recommended read for this week is this entertaining New Yorker article by Kevin Romer about the experience of appearing on the US version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? I think he gives a fascinating insight in an easy-to-read, fun article.