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

The erstwhile Wildings department store in Newport, Wales; a clip from an AI-generated Lego-style video posted on Iranian social media accounts. Composite: The Guardian/Courtesy of Wildings; Twitter/XView image in fullscreenThe erstwhile Wildings department store in Newport, Wales; a clip from an AI-generated Lego-style video posted on Iranian social media accounts. Composite: The Guardian/Courtesy of Wildings; Twitter/XSix great readsIranSix great reads: Iran’s social media memes, an abandoned department store and a 1,200-year-old record of cherry blossomsNeed something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven daysSat 18 Apr 2026 06.00 BSTSharePrefer the Guardian on Google1. Viral victory: Iran is beating the land of tech bros in the social media warsView image in fullscreen Illustration: Twitter/XPatrick 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.Read more2. Art, sex, nature: why is everything sold to us as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself?View image in fullscreen Illustration: Guardian Design/Anaïs Mims/Getty 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.Read more3. Abandoned Britain: the grand department store that became an illicit cannabis farm View image in fullscreen Photograph: Christopher Thomond/T...