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- The Know Daily - Friday 12 December 2025
The Know Daily - Friday 12 December 2025
Annabel Preston
December 12, 2025
Read in 5m 12s ∙ Listening to Mumford & Sons ∙
As we wrap up 2025, we’d love your feedback: Has our newsletter helped you build a healthier relationship with the news? Let us know – your input means a lot to us and helps us make the newsletter even more useful 💌 |
Hello and Happy Friday!
One of our fab readers sent us a lovely message telling us how much they love The Know (we can’t tell you how much of a boost each and every one of those messages gives us 🥰). Anyway, they signed off their note with “have a cool yule” and the team was completely obsessed. We’ve now adopted it as our new way to sign off the editorial meetings.
This is actually our penultimate Friyay edition of 2025 – but don’t worry, it’s a goodie! Scroll on for our usual roundup of headlines and culture news. Plus, you’ll find our gift guide designed for the friend who’s a homebody.
Lynn ❣️
100 years | 11 |
48 | $30bn |
UK NEWS
👑 Downing Street has published a list of 34 new political peer nominations to become members of the House of Lords.
👩💻 The average Brit spends about 4.5 hours online per day, with at least half of that time spent on a platform owned by either Meta or Google, according to regulator Ofcom.
☃️ The Met Office have revealed that this year the UK really could see a White Christmas (we’ll believe it when we see it!).
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
🕊️ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Leo XIV in Rome as he prepares to send updated peace proposals to the US.
🇺🇸 Indiana Republicans have rejected a proposed redraw of the state’s congressional map that would have boosted their chances during voting in all nine districts.
🤳 Social media has officially been banned for under-16s in Australia, the world’s first country to do so.
CULTURE
🏆 The Golden Globes nominations have been revealed, with one film bagging nine.
👩🎨 Nnena Kalu has won the Turner Prize (the UK's most high-profile art award), making history as the first artist with a learning disability to win.
📸 National Geographic have revealed their Pictures of the Year for 2025 – let’s take a moment for the chick 🐣
WORK & INNOVATION
📺 Netflix announced its plan to acquire Warner Bros. with a deal valued at $82.7bn, prompting Paramount to put in its own bid of $108.4bn.
🌟 A NASA scientist has claimed to have presented the first scientifically grounded explanation for the Star of Bethlehem.
🐸 “Lily padding” is the latest workplace trend to take off in 2025 – here’s what it means.
UPLIFTING STUFF
♻️ Plastic pollution is the focus of a new roadmap by scientists to build better solutions.
👩⚕️ Germany has pledged €500 million to fund research into long COVID and other post-infection conditions.
🐼 The first giant panda cub to be born in Indonesia is happy and healthy, the conservation park where he was born has said, in a positive step for this vulnerable species.
We don’t do clickbait or paywalls - which means we don’t make money in the same ways that traditional outlets do. We need your support in order to keep publishing and pay our journalists fairly. Can you help? 🫶
🗞 Read: Christmas can often feel a bit like spend, spend, spend (and that’s before any last-minute shopping!). This piece is a great exploration of how we can resist overspending during the Yuletide festivities. It even delves into the concept of "neuromarketing" – a field of neuroscience that understands the way our brains respond to products – and how it can help us to resist the urge.
🎧 Listen: I saw Mumford & Sons live in concert on Wednesday night (big bucket list moment!) and it’s safe to say that since then I’ve been listening to little else other than my fave album of theirs.
📺 Watch: Calling all Swifities! Taylor Swift: The End of an Era is out today (six whole episodes too 👀). The next season of Miss Scarlet and the Duke has just dropped for fans of lighter period detective dramas. I’m still on a roll with Christmas films and this week has been a That Christmas kinda week – fun fact: it’s actually set where I grew up!
🧑🍳 Cook: I’m at the stage where I want everything I eat to be festive and yes, that includes breakfast. Luckily, there’s a recipe that hits that spot.
 | A gold coin from which British era has just sold for a record-breaking £27.8k at auction? |
This week’s Christmas gifting picks are for the friend who thrives in her natural habitat: home. You know the one – happiest curled up on the sofa, candle lit, plans optional. If you’re stuck on what to give someone who has fully mastered the art of getting cosy, we’ve rounded up a few thoughtful ideas that bring comfort, warmth and a touch of everyday joy. Perfect for elevating her favourite place to be.
📖 A meaningful book (£)
There is nothing more heartwarming than pulling a book off your shelf – whether it’s a stranger’s in a second hand bookshop or from a loved one of your own – and finding a handwritten note on the first page. That friend who loves a cosy night in is always going to appreciate a good read as a gift, and you can make it all the more special by writing a message just for them in the front cover. I’ve gifted Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan so many times… and each time it’s been a big success!
🪴 Green finger gear (££)
This one’s a win-win. Whether your homebody gal is mad about her houseplants, or can’t keep them alive no matter how hard she tries, the Willow Starter Pack will go down a treat. Using clever tech, the sensor helps monitor soil, moisture and sunlight to keep your plants healthy with smart precision. In other words, it will make the process of looking after her greenery much easier and a little more fun too.
The very long hot water bottle (£££)
Picture this. It’s a chilly January evening, plans have been cancelled, book is in hand and you’ve got a really long and fluffy hot water bottle to cuddle. Basically, a cosy girl’s dream set-up. These hot water bottles feel both gloriously comforting, as well as super luxe. Lynn gifted the team one each last Christmas and the consensus is: Best. Present Ever.
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