age

A discussion over a staggered age of consent is to take place, the work and pensions secretary has said, as the government faces calls to change the law following the case against Russell Brand.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Pat McFadden said that “appalling” stories of “abuse of power by powerful men” have emerged this week.

A woman who alleges she was raped by jailed comedian Brand when she was 16 is now campaigning to see the law changed so that relationships between 16 and 17-year-olds and adults would be illegal.

Questions over a staggered age of consent have “been raised and will be discussed” McFadden said, adding: “[I] can’t tell you what the conclusion of that would be, but the last week has certainly put that up in lights.”

Adults of any age are legally able to have sex with 16 and 17-year-olds, under UK law.

Mia Latter, who has waived her right to anonymity, told the Sunday Times that she wants the age of consent to be staggered.

Latter is one of six women who made allegations against Brand in 2023 as part of a Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches investigation.

She was known by the pseudonym “Alice”. Brand denied the allegations at the time and none of the six women were complainants in Brand’s recent criminal trial.

At Southwark Crown Court on Monday, Brand was sentenced to 10-and-a-half-years imprisonment after being convicted of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, involving four women between 2004 and 2009. He was acquitted of two counts of rape and one allegation of attempted indecent assault.

Latter said she was 16 when she met the comedian, then 30. She told the Sunday Times: “I think people were so struck by my story because of the age difference and the clear imbalance [in power].

“I don’t want to criminalise teenagers having sex with each other.

“If you’re between the ages of 16 and 18, it seems reasonable that you can have relationships with each other, and [teenagers] are always going to.

“But…if you’re in your thirties, forties and fifties and you’re trying to have a relationship with someone under the age of 18, it [should be] a criminal offence.”

Layla Stone, founder of the campaign group Close the Consent Gap, said bringing in a staggered age of consent was about addressing a “power imbalance” in relationships involving 16 and 17 year-olds and adults. She urged ministers to commit to such a change.

Stone, a child protection social worker, told the BBC that 16 and 17 year-olds were seen as children in “every single framework of the law” and “we don’t believe [they are] old enough to consent to having sex with much older adults”.

Close the Consent Gap is proposing that 16 year-olds would not be able to have a sexual relationship with anyone older than 19, and that someone aged 17 would be prohibited from a relationship with anyone older than 20.

Further allegations of sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry came in the same week Brand was convicted.

ITV News and the Guardian published a story alleging that comedian David Walliams had been accused of sexual misconduct by several women.

One woman said she now characterises her alleged encounter with Walliams at 15 years old as a “sexual assault”. Walliams strongly denied he had any sexual contact with the girl.

Other women alleged inappropriate behaviour when he was a judge at ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, such as inviting girls and young women to his dressing room.

Walliams said he rejected any allegations of criminal activity and that he has never engaged in the grooming of young women.

The Metropolitan Police said on Friday it has launched an investigation into Walliams over reports of “alleged serious sexual offences”, after the ITV News and the Guardian story. The Met said that the allegations it is investigating are separate from those reported by ITV and the Guardian but that it was “also proactively reviewing that reporting”.

Speaking to Sky News, the work and pensions secretary said: “I do think that between Russell Brand, David Walliams, what’s been put out there, people are looking at these issues in a new light.”

ATLANTA — Joe Biden says he did not know he had cancer while he was president and would not have sought a second term if he already had been diagnosed.

The former Democratic president’s comments came in an interview with People magazine before the release of his White House memoir on Tuesday.

“If I had known that I was feeling lousy because I had cancer,” said Biden, who turns 84 on Nov. 20, “I would’ve not gone forward” with a 2024 reelection bid that ended after a disastrous debate performance against Republican Donald Trump.

Biden was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer months after leaving office in 2025.

“I don’t think an 80-year-old man with cancer should be running” for president, Biden said in the interview.

Still, he argued that the June 2024 debate, less than five months before Election Day, was not a seismic event even if it accelerated Democrats’ concerns about his age — he was 81 at the time — and his ability to defeat Trump.

“First of all, I thought there’d be another debate, which there wasn’t,” Biden said. “But notwithstanding the fact that there wasn’t another debate, it didn’t disturb me because it wasn’t consequential.”

Within weeks, Biden announced he was ending his campaign and endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, who secured the nomination and lost to Trump in the general election.

Biden insisted he was able to perform his duties while he was in office. He said age itself was not disqualifying and meant he had experience and deep personal relationships with world leaders.

“I believe that on an objective basis, I was the best-equipped person to do the job,” he said.

His son Hunter told the BBC in August that the cancer had spread and was causing his father pain. “It’s very painful and it’s very debilitating in many respects,” he said.

Since Joe Biden left office, his son has become a higher profile public presence, sparring with Republicans on social media, posting lengthy thoughts on the nation’s direction and launching his own cryptocurrency.

Joe Biden defended his son’s public persona and his decision to pardon Hunter Biden after the younger Biden’s 2024 conviction on federal felony gun charges and his guilty plea to federal tax charges. Hunter Biden also had faced years of scrutiny and withering Republican attacks over his international business dealings.

Hunter Biden has said the pardon damaged his father’s legacy, but the former president said Trump’s penchant for vengeance made it necessary.

“He goes after people without any basis, whether they’re viewed as an enemy. I knew what he would do,” Joe Biden said. “If I hadn’t pardoned — not just some of my family members, anyone who’s dealt with me — he would go back and try to do harm to them.”

Biden called his son “one of the brightest men I know,” adding, “I’m really proud of him.”

Barrow writes for the Associated Press.

Bob Boone, a four-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner who spent much of his career with the Angels, has died, his son Bret announced Tuesday via social media. He was 78. No cause of death was shared.

The sturdy catcher was the middle man in one of the most accomplished three-generation Major League Baseball families. He caught more games than all but two catchers in history.

Boone’s father, Ray, and his sons Aaron and Bret also enjoyed successful playing careers. But Bob’s stood out primarily because he was as durable as a cast-iron skillet, catching 2,225 games in 19 seasons.

He spent seven seasons in the 1980s with the Angels, whose manager Gene Mauch marveled after Boone led the American League by catching 147 games at age 37 in 1985, the fourth of five consecutive years he did so.

“Bob Boone is a freak,” Mauch said told The Times the following spring. “I never dreamed he’d catch that many games. A hundred and fifty games is not realistic for a 38-year-old catcher; it’s ridiculous. Except it’s not ridiculous to Bob Boone. I quit being surprised by Bob Boone a long time ago. I’ve never known anyone so mentally tough and impervious to pain.”

Catcher Bob Boone of the Angels argues with plate umpire Tim Tschida, who had just thrown him out of the game against the Mariners in Seattle on Aug. 7, 1987.

(Gary Stewart/AP)

Once Boone punched the clock, he punched out baserunners, throwing out a league-leading 41.6% of base stealers in 1985, one of three times he did so with the Angels. And he seemed to improve with age. All seven of Boone’s Gold Gloves came after he turned 30, including four in a row from ages 38 to 41.

“Boone’s leadership, exceptional defense and knowledge of the game made him an invaluable presence behind the plate and helped the Angels win two division titles,” the team said Tuesday in a statement. “His impact on our pitchers and the example he set for his teammates are lasting parts of his legacy with our franchise.”

When Boone retired at age 42 in 1990, he had caught more games than anyone in major league history: 2,225. Three years later, Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk edged him by one. Another Hall of Famer, Ivan Rodriguez, blew past both of them, retiring in 2011 with 2,427 games caught.

No active catcher is anywhere close to passing those three. Salvador Perez (1,427), J.T. Realmuto (1,401) and Christian Vasquez (1,005) are the only ones with more than 1,000 games caught, and all three will begin next season at age 36.

“The roster lists me as the catcher,” Boone told The Times in 1986. “If you’re the catcher, you catch. Every day. I don’t think catching is much more demanding than any other position. It’s not any more difficult than, say, right fielder or third baseman. If they’re in the lineup every day, why shouldn’t I?”

Robert Raymond Boone was born Nov. 19, 1947, in San Diego, where he raised his family. He was the fifth great-grandson of famed frontiersman Daniel Boone.

Boone grew up on a baseball field. His father was an infielder who broke into the big leagues in 1948 after three years of military service during World War II and three years in the minors. Bob was born a year before his dad made his debut with Cleveland. Ray played 13 seasons for six teams, batting .275 with 151 home runs.

Coach Bob Boone of the Cincinnati Reds watches batting practice with his son Bret, a Reds second baseman, before a 1994 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

(George Gojkovich / Getty Images)

A special family moment came at the 2003 All-Star Game when Ray and Bob attended because Aaron and Bret were playing. Already the first family to have three generations play in the majors, they became the first and only family to have all each generation participate in the All-Star Game.

“Anybody that’s not proud in this situation,” Ray Boone said at the time, “there’s something wrong with them.”

Bob Boone was a sixth-round pick of Philadelphia in 1969 out of Stanford, where he graduated with a degree in psychology. He transitioned from third base to catcher, made his MLB debut in 1972 and became the Phillies’ starting catcher the next season, a position he held until they traded him to the Angels 10 years later. Boone helped Philadelphia win the 1980 World Series.

“Bob was an incredible player, teammate and family man,” the Phillies said in a statement. “He embodied everything we believe exemplary athletes should represent, both on and off the field. We were proud to have him as part of the Phillies family during one of the most historic runs in team history. His impact on our organization, his teammates, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him will never be forgotten.”

Boone played in seven postseasons with the Phillies and Angels, hitting .311 with two home runs. He finished his career with a .254 batting average, 105 home runs and 826 runs batted in. He also made a mark as the MLB players union’s National League player representative during a midseason strike in 1981.

After retiring, Boone seemed a natural to become a manager. When Orlando attempted to join the National League as an expansion team, Bob was set to lead the team. Miami and Denver got the franchises, however, and Boone didn’t get a chance to manage until 1995 when he led Kansas City.

He was fired midway through his third season and lasted another 2½ seasons managing Cincinnati from 2001-03, a stint in which he managed his son Aaron, who in turn has been manager of the New York Yankees the last nine seasons.

Boone spent several years as an assistant general manager and vice president for player development with Washington. He was part of the front office in 2019 when the Nationals won their only World Series championship.

Boone’s son Bret said on Facebook, “With a heavy heart I’m here to confirm the passing of my dad today. He was a man of great integrity. He was a great dad, husband, and patriarch. It was a privilege to call him my father. Baseball lost a great one today.”

In the 20th century, an age of print, photography was the primary medium through which we understood the world beyond our personal field of vision. Pictures recorded and sometimes changed history.

Once upon a time, mastering the technology of a camera and the chemistry of a darkroom provided proof of seriousness. A person shooting even with a Polaroid or Instamatic had to reckon with the cost of the film, developing and printing, and so you chose your shots; you composed them carefully. It was a commitment, whereas now, anyone with a phone can take endless pictures, with little thought, it’s a reflex. By dint of sheer numbers — Instagram processes some 500 million uploads a day — the practice has been devalued.

That isn’t to say you can’t take a good picture with a phone, or that there aren’t plenty of serious artists working today, in old or new formats. But we have passed the age of the culture-shaping superstar photographer (and the culture-shaping magazines that gave them work). Richard Avedon, who is the subject of an exhilarating new documentary, “Avedon,” directed by Ron Howard and streaming Wednesday on Netflix, was among the greatest of them, with a career stretching from 1947 — when, in his early twenties, he was sent by Harper’s Bazaar to Paris — almost until the day he died in 2004 while working in San Antonio, on a photo essay for the New Yorker titled “Democracy.” (He was the magazine’s first staff photographer; “Dick was a great magazine man,” says Tina Brown, the editor who hired him.) James Martin, executive director of the Richard Avedon Foundation, reckons it amounted to “about 16,000 sittings.”

Even if you don’t know the name Avedon, it’s a good bet you’ve encountered his much reproduced 1955 “Dovima with Elephants” — “I think we sold one for $2 million,” says the gallerist Larry Gagosian — or his psychedelic Beatles portraits. Many of his celebrity portraits, from Samuel Beckett to Buster Keaton to Judy Garland to Nastassja Kinski (naked, wrapped in a snake) to Marian Anderson to Malcolm X, and the enormous murals of Andy Warhol’s Factory gang and the Chicago Seven defendants, will be the images we remember them by. None are pretty; most are striking; many are beautiful; some are disturbing.

“I’ve been called a cruel manipulator, existential hero and to top it off, agent of death,” says the photographer, whose suite of pictures of his dying father is explored here.

Avedon began in fashion photography, which he revolutionized, bringing motion and implied narrative into a previously static form; he moved to portraiture, which he remade by removing any vestige of flattery. As a commercial photographer — with Doon Arbus, daughter of Diane, he also created television commercials for Calvin Klein and Chanel — who would come to insist that he was an artist, he was not always well received, reviewed or understood. But he approached everything with the same democratic curiosity, and many museum shows later, it’s hard to argue against his claim.

Although in earlier years, he shot on location, either for magazine spreads or personal work — he photographed in the psychiatric ward at New York’s Bellevue hospital — he came to be known for placing his subjects against a white background, stripping out everything that would distract from the “geography” of the face, and settling finally on using an 8×10 camera, which would allow him to come out from behind the lens. He took the white paper from the studio out into the field — to Saigon in 1971 and for the controversial project that was displayed and published as “In the American West.”

His goal was to eliminate the distance between the sitter and himself, and he was not interested in merely recording surfaces, though many of the surfaces he recorded were interesting, but of finding a way past the skin to the person inside. (“I had to go within to who I really am and that’s when I saw him come alive,” says model Beverly Johnson.) He viewed a portrait session as an “exchange of energy,” a collaboration with the sitter in which he had the final say. “Photography is the marriage of the imagination and reality of a situation,” he said. “Every photograph is accurate and none of them is the truth.” He was interested in photographing what frightened him, in vulnerability, tension and (a favorite word) contradiction.

Confident and insecure, fun-loving and haunted, he was a contradiction himself: “I’ve lived in a state of anxiety my whole life. [I’m]as addicted to that as I am to coffee.” “His whole life was an existential crisis,” says curator Jane Livingston. “That’s a hard way to live.” Like many successful artists, he prioritized work (“the one thing that doesn’t turn on you”) over family; his studio, instead, was familial. The troubled family he grew up in edited their photo albums to suggest all was well, but his younger sister, Louise, Avedon’s first model and the model for later models, died in an institution. (“Beauty of that kind is isolating.”)

Howard’s interview subjects include Avedon’s son John, photographer Joel Meyerowitz; Isabella Rossellini; models Lauren Hutton, Penelope Tree and Twiggy Lawson; Twyla Tharp; and New Yorker writers Hilton Als, Adam Gopnik and John Lahr, whose father Bert was one of Avedon’s celebrated subjects, seen in a pose of pain (as Estragon from “Waiting for Godot”).

The film is sleek and energetic and looks fantastic, offering a bounty of images, including many of the most famous ones; it has something of the feel of a magazine layout without ever trying to look like a magazine. (Many of the same images, and some of the interview subjects, are present in the 1996 documentary, “Richard Avedon: Darkness and Light,” which makes a great companion piece to “Avedon” and can be found online.) Working with the cooperation of the Richard Avedon Foundation, Howard has had access to a many shots of Avedon at work — he’s a dancing, leaping sprite. Fun was important to him; on a fashion shoot, they might socialize for most of a session “and five minutes before the hour is over we go on to the paper and — bam!”

That Avedon was very good looking, with a great crest of hair he brushes back off his forehead almost as a signature, a cleft chin and bright, piercing eyes, is a visual plus, and possibly contributed to his celebrity, if not to his actual career, which was, after all, all about talent and vision. As the character Dick Avery — Dick was what friends called Avedon — Fred Astaire played an echo of him in the fashion-world musical film “Funny Face”; Avedon’s own screen credit reads “Special visual consultant and main title backgrounds.”

“It’s almost as if I’m writing my autobiography with the faces of people I photograph,” Avedon said, and indeed, his big 1993 monograph is titled “Autobiography.” There’s a copy of it on the shelf behind me.

THE ex-wife of rugby star Danny Cipriani has revealed she was sexually assaulted by two men when she was just 12.

Victoria Rose has spoken out about her devastating experience and explained why she believes the justice system must be fair to everyone.

She said she believed Russell Brand’s sentence was too long, but insisted her comments are not about defending the comedian, but about the dangers of a potential miscarriage of justice.

In a passionate statement shared on her Instagram account, Victoria revealed that she knows first-hand what it feels like to be failed by the legal system, despite what she says was CCTV footage capturing the assault.

She said: “When I was 12 years old, I was assaulted by two men. There was actual CCTV footage of the assault.

“The case went to court, and both men were acquitted.

FRESH PROBE

Brand faces fresh charges days into 10-yr sentence as cops probe two ‘rapes’

VICTIM’S ORDEAL

Brand victim tells court ‘my trauma never ends’ in emotional statement

“So believe me, I know firsthand what it’s like to be failed by the justice system, even when there is factual, recorded evidence of what happened.

“So please don’t mistake my opinion for a lack of understanding or compassion for victims. I’ve been one.”

Victoria went on to explain that her concerns about the Brand case centre on the difficulties of testing evidence many years after alleged incidents took place.

She questioned how investigators could expect to piece together events from nearly two decades ago, arguing that memories fade and defendants can face enormous difficulties defending themselves after so much time has passed.

In a strongly worded post, she pointed to the scale of the police investigation, claiming officers interviewed more than 100 witnesses, took over 400 statements and examined more than 1,400 documents.

She questioned why similar resources were not available to ordinary people reporting more recent crimes.

Victoria stressed: “I’m NOT saying he’s innocent. I’m NOT saying these women are lying.

“I’m saying someone’s freedom shouldn’t rest this heavily on what people remember from two decades ago.”

She also sparked debate by sharing a deeply personal reflection on sexual regret, admitting there were experiences in her own past that she now looks back on differently.

She said: “There are things I’ve done sexually that I look back on and think, FLIPPPPPP, I wish I hadn’t. I said yes, I went along with it, and I regret it now.

“That doesn’t give me the right to turn a consensual experience into a crime. I own my choices. REGRET ISN’T ASSAULT.”

Victoria argued that men who have had what she described as wild or questionable nights in their past could be left worrying about how they might defend themselves against allegations made many years later.

She even suggested the country should consider introducing a 12-month reporting limit for sexual offences – a controversial proposal likely to provoke fierce debate.

She said: “This isn’t about defending Russell Brand. It’s about wanting a system that works for everyone, where nobody loses their freedom without the evidence – REAL EVIDENCE – being properly tested.”

Returning to her own traumatic experience, Victoria insisted she had every right to question how the justice system assesses evidence.

She added: “I’m questioning how our justice system operates, how evidence is assessed and how it can arrive at such vastly different outcomes.

“Because I’ve personally experienced a system where even video evidence wasn’t enough to secure a conviction.

“I think I’ve earned the right to question that.”

Concluding her statement, Victoria said she hoped Brand would receive a fair appeal, adding: “What the f** is this world coming to?”

Four decades after his Karate Kid debut, star Ralph Macchio has left fans in awe of his appearance.

The Karate Kid Part III aired in tribute to Ralph Macchio as he celebrated a special birthday.

Karate Kid’s “seemingly ageless” star celebrated his 65th birthday this week, and fans were surprised to discover his real age after he returned to screens. The actor, born on November 4, 1961, received a fitting tribute as The Karate Kid Part III aired on Great TV on his big day.

The week marked another milestone for baby-faced Hollywood star Ralph Macchio who became a household name playing bullied teenager Daniel LaRusso in the 1984 blockbuster, which followed the New Jersey youngster as he moved with his mother to California, where he found an unlikely mentor in his apartment block’s handyman, Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita).

The film became an instant 80s classic, spawning two sequels, a spin-off and, decades later, the hugely successful series Cobra Kai. The Karate Kid Part II arrived in 1986, and the second box-office hit took Daniel and Mr Miyagi to Okinawa, Japan, where the karate master confronted his troubled past.

The Karate Kid Part III followed in 1989 and saw Daniel face a new foe in ruthless millionaire Terry Silver, who joined forces with Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese to seek revenge on both the teenager and his mentor – both characters went on to star in Netflix’s Cobra Kai series.

More than three decades later, the film, which proved to be a flop at the time, has found a new generation of fans who could not get over Macchio’s age. He was 27 when he played the 17-year-old Daniel, prompting one fan to call him “easily the most convincing teenager played by an adult ever”.

Great TV’s marketing director Kate Gartland said when the film aired this week: “Our Great viewers love a classic, and this is an excellent way to celebrate the seemingly ageless Ralph Macchio turning 65 – happy birthday Ralph.”

On Facebook, one fan said on a birthday tribute post: “He never ages”, while another said on Instagram: “Ralph Macchio is 65. I need to sit down for a moment.”

Another fan commented: “My heart just skipped several beats,” while another replied to the news of his real age: “This can’t be true”. A final fan said the star “still looks 12”. Macchio is famous for his age-defying, youthful appearance, which has sparked surprise in interviews over a decades-long career.

He previously appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to talk about turning 60, and the host’s first question was: “Do people lose their minds when they find out your age?” To which the star responded: “Lose their minds? No, maybe a little surprised.”

“Because you look almost exactly the same as you did… do you mind saying how old you are?” The actor reluctantly announced he was 60, and his response was met with cheers and applause from the audience.

Host Jimmy pointed out the “audible gasp” from some audience members, as Macchio jokingly referred to himself as “the man-child freak”. A clip was posted on YouTube and one fan took to the comments to say: “If a 60 year old Ralph Macchio told me he was 40 years old, I’d believe him.”

Another agreed: “He finally reached the age of 30,” while another added: “He was a teenager for about 20 years so it’s no wonder he looks like he is just entering middle age at 60.

“This guy is blessed with as close as a person can get to the fountain of youth. No doubt he won the genetic lottery when it comes to the ageing process. His body is in great shape physically too because he can still pull off high action fighting scenes.”

Ensure our latest TV stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings

While real-world tech mogul Elon Musk suffered a major setback this week after pouring more than $200 million into Texas Republican campaigns that lost to protect his business empire, over on HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” robber baron George Russell is fighting tooth and nail against looming federal regulations to save his.

The period drama returned Sunday with its fourth season. After leaving George (Morgan Spector) at a major turning point in Season 3 — seemingly done with his marriage following Bertha‘s (Carrie Coon) forced engineering of their daughter‘s marriage, as well as his own survival of a near-fatal shooting — the couple is still at odds. As the new season picks up, George unravels under the looming threat of anti-monopoly laws targeting his industrial empire. And that’s just part of all the drama and fun that made the episode the show’s most-watched premiere yet, averaging nearly 4 million viewers across platforms, according to the cabler/streamer. Season 4 promises more tension as the Russells try to maintain their wealth and status while Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) tries to regain her position, all while the show’s various relationships face challenges, ultimatums or bittersweet developments. Ahead of this week’s second episode, I spoke with Sonja Warfield, who is co-showrunner of the series alongside creator Julian Fellowes, about how Season 4 kicks off — including that unexpected cameo from David Letterman and Matt Damon.

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our writers recommend a new stand-up special from everyone’s favorite sitcom principal and a sports drama chronicling the life of Muhammad Ali. — Yvonne Villarreal

Turn on

Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Janelle James at the Vic Theatre in Chicago, where her Netflix comedy special was filmed.

(Elizabeth Sisson / Netflix )

“Janelle James: How Romantic” (Netflix)

Among the many gifts “Abbott Elementary” showered upon the culture was bringing Janelle James to national prominence. As work-averse principal Ava Coleman — a selfish, insulting character one is always delighted to see — she is as attractive as she is difficult. And as the show has gone on, the actor has found layers to play, including hints of a kind of existential melancholy. James began in stand-up — her biggest brush with fame was touring with Chris Rock in 2017 — and now she’s headlining her own, first hourlong special, which debuts Tuesday on the streamer and was filmed at Chicago’s Vic Theatre. Hang on through an opening salvo of political jokes that elapsed time and Tuesday’s election results have rendered stale (Rudy Giuliani, anybody? Joe Biden?) as James, laughing and dancing, unwinds into her real material — spending 24 hours in labor, the problems and perks of being suddenly famous, men and how they are, having money with a poor person’s mind. Of the power of comedy (and being on a hit sitcom) to unite a diverse audience, she says, “There’s one of everything in here. … We can all be in here and share a laugh, then everyone goes back to their respective neighborhoods, never to speak again. But for a small moment in time we were all friends. Because of me. So that’s nice.” — Robert Lloyd

Jaalen Best as Muhammad Ali in Prime Video’s “The Greatest.”

(Brooke Palmer / Prime)

“The Greatest” (Prime Video)

The multitude of projects about Muhammad Ali just received a new entry with Prime Video’s limited series “The Greatest,” starring newcomer Jaalen Best as the legendary boxer. The project traces Ali’s breakthrough as a gold medal boxer through his brutal battle with Sonny Liston. Viewers looking for a companion piece to the drama can check out Ken Burns’ 2021 epic documentary “Muhammad Ali.” Burns called the four-part miniseries an extensive look at a “man who may be the most iconic figure of the 20th century.” The filmmaker added that Ali was also a “very complex, dynamic man” who had an immeasurable impact stretched into politics, culture and religion.” — Greg Braxton

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Morgan Spector and Carrie Coon in Season 4 of “The Gilded Age.”

(Karolina Wojtasik / HBO)

Clocks have rolled back and “The Gilded Age” Sundays have returned — the perfect couch rotting combo for fall. Lingering crises and fresh new scandals collide in Season 4 as our favorite New York elite navigate a fracturing power marriage, perilous childbirth, a horse-carriage breakdown that ignites a night of forbidden passion, and a titan‘s struggle to maintain his empire. Even Jack’s new invention, the electric mixer, couldn’t whip up a more delicious start. Episode 2 airs Sunday on HBO and will stream on HBO Max. I spoke with Sonja Warfield, the co-showrunner of the drama, about the premiere, that David Letterman and Matt Damon cameo and what’s ahead this season. — Y.V.

You said you were looking at social media a bit after the premiere. What stood out to you about what fans were responding to?

Marian. Someone had a lot of thoughts about some of Marian’s costumes. But then I read something about Marian and Larry having sex, and they don’t want to hear about her complaining about him this season — something like, “She just needs to go over there to his house and get her ring back.”

It’s been interesting to see the conversation around Marian’s freak-out the morning after she had sex with Larry — and the ramifications of premarital sex at that time.

Louisa [Jacobson, who plays Marian] did an amazing job conveying the gravity of the transgression; it just was all over her face. And Harry’s reaction, because he’s kind of surprised. They just had this roll in the hay, but it transmits to him as well. So really, kudos to Louisa for selling that. Wonderful actors like Louisa Jacobson help the viewer along in their understanding that this is about the worst thing that you can do, and then we have the scene afterwards. That walk of shame back and the aunts even say, “Oh, it was better that you took a cab because the impropriety of that.”

We also see Gladys survive this traumatic, life-threatening breach birth, ultimately welcoming a baby boy. Some of us have PTSD from Lady Sybil’s death in “Downton Abbey” and were very nervous about where it was going.

One of the first things I said to Julian when we first started working together was, “I might never forgive you for what you did to Lady Sybil.” I remember every frame of what Lady Sybil went through. … We wanted to make sure that [“The Gilded Age”] was different, so we worked closely with a doctor who specializes in Victorian medicine to figure out how we can make it traumatic, her life is salvaged, but she’s forever changed. It’s women’s health. There’s still more questions than answers, and especially back then when they had not even surfaced. Maternal mortality rate has been lowered in recent years in America. It’s real jeopardy, and it happens all the time and every day.

Women’s health and decisions surrounding it are not the only timely modern parallel. Something that looms large is wealthy business titans trying to exert profound, direct influence over American politics and policies. How was it to dig into that history this season, given the current real-world backdrop?

As we got the research in, and we started having conversations with Dr. Dunbar [Erica Armstong Dunbar is a co-executive producer and lead historical consultant on the series], it became abundantly clear that the reason why there have been so many regulations in business is because of the Gilded Age. We’re just right back where we started. I love this argument that is being used today that was being used back then, which is “let us regulate our ourselves.” That’s ridiculous. They changed America, and brought in wealth and industry and the railroad and all of that; at the same time, it has to be regulated. They cannot regulate themselves. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins.

Audra McDonald, left, and Denée Benton in “The Gilded Age.”

(Karolina Wojtasik / HBO)

Were you nervous about having this plot about anti-monopoly legislation or how it would be received by studio brass, given the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger?

It was not in my mind because it is the real history. We are being historically accurate.

There is a moment eight minutes into the premiere episode that, if you blinked, you missed it: David Letterman and Matt Damon made cameos as background actors. Apparently, David has long wanted to be a background actor, and this stunt was filmed as a field segment for the new season of his Netflix interview show; Damon got his start as a background actor. Were you in disbelief when you heard about this request?

I am a huge David Letterman fan. When I heard that there was a possibility that I could meet David Letterman, I was ecstatic and really kind of selfish. We shoot tandem sets, so there are two sets going at a time. My mandate was, “I’m on the David Letterman set that day. Take me there.” All the way in Long Island. I had an event that night. I didn’t care. I waited for David.

Forget Matt Damon.

What was so funny was that my dad is a huge Matt Damon fan, and whilst I was awaiting David Letterman, I had an audience with Matt Damon, who is the most lovely, kind person ever. So empathetic and gracious and wonderful, and game whatever they had cooking on Letterman’s show. Then I met David Letterman. It was an absolute blast. I was like, “This is a the best day at work in a long time.” It all started because someone on our staff was friends with someone on David Letterman’s show.

We see them casually crossing the street. Was it hard to decide what scene to plop them into?

It was really about scheduling. And what would be the least conspicuous because David Letterman does have that long beard. We held on to it for so long. We shot that back in May.

I want all good things for Peggy, in life, love and career. Her wedding to William is on the horizon. What did you want out of that moment for her?

Well, once I knew we had a bigger budget, I wanted all of it too. I really do think we deliver. I want to be mindful here. The location of where she gets married is exquisitely beautiful. We enter the wedding and the marriage with trepidation because there is real conflict, inherent conflict with this family in the form of Elizabeth Kirkland, played by the incredible Felicia Rashad. I think all weddings are fraught because you’re bringing together these different factions, and people want different things and have ideas and dreams. I think Peggy’s wedding delivers on all fronts. I think it delivers in terms of dramatic tension. I think it delivers in terms of set decoration. It delivers in terms of costume and, of course, performances and direction. I can’t wait for the audience to watch it and then watch it again. Accompanying the wedding will be some beautiful photography done by the Tyler Twins. Their work is really just exquisite, and I’m excited for the world to see all this. We’ve been holding all of this in.

Peggy and William are at the dawn of their relationship, just as Bertha and George are navigating a major stress point in their union.

Marriage is a journey. I’ve been married and divorced, and I just remember my dad’s advice early on was that there are always going to be these trials, and if you can make your way through them and end up together, you will be stronger for it. For Bertha and George, who’ve been married for many years now — he didn’t make a lot of money when they were first together, and now they they’re in this place of extreme wealth, and their lives have changed. And now he is going through something that couldn’t have been predicted. And Bertha rides for her husband. There are times when couples can go their separate ways, and, like my dad said, if you can find your way back together through the storm, and you’ve weathered it together, you’re stronger. I want that for Peggy and William. They want a Bertha-George marriage — if Bertha and George make it through.

I really worry about Agnes’ stress levels this season. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that. Later in the season, she delivers one line — “That article was poppycock!” — in a way that will live in my head as a GIF forever.

I even said something to Christine during the season — “We’re really putting you through it this season.” I love it, and she loved it too. She had a ball, and especially in Episode 3, which I got to write with Julian. I loved writing some of that dialogue because she just has so many highs and lows throughout the season, and it was like a masterclass for me to watch Christine go from the highest high to the lowest low. She wants revenge; she is out for blood because someone is attempting to take away her opportunities. It was delicious, and I’m glad that you liked it, and I hope the greater audience enjoyed it.

Is there a moment coming up from Episode 2 that you’re excited for people to see?

I’m excited for people to see more of the Black elite in Newport.

What’s the film or TV show that you’re recommending to everyone right now?

Well, I’m behind, but I love “Nobody Wants This” [Netflix]. I have not been able to watch all of it; we had a premiere for “The Gilded Age” and lots of things going on. But I love that show. I got to meet the whole cast at the Emmys. I’m a free advertisement for that show.

ICYMI

Must-read stories you might have missed

WASHINGTON — Barbara Weigand could not have prepared more for retirement. She stayed healthy and saved diligently for years.

This year, though, a shoulder surgery and a bladder cancer diagnosis have really tested her finances. She recently withdrew $4,000 from her retirement account to cover medical expenses associated with her cancer treatment.

“On my monthly income, I would not be able to afford my new medical expenses,” says Weigand, 83, who lives in North Canton, Ohio. She is currently on a Medicare Advantage plan and was searching for new coverage as Medicare’s open enrollment period began in October.

For older adults in the United States, the rising cost of healthcare is hitting where it hurts most — their pocketbooks. With Medicare costs, prescription drug prices and long-term care expenses weighing on household budgets, their concerns could carry significant political weight heading into Tuesday’s elections.

Weigand is part of a reliable voting bloc; 83% of voters over age 50 say they’re extremely motivated to vote in the midterms, according to an AARP poll conducted in early October. Their concerns over managing healthcare costs put the issue of affordability squarely in the spotlight.

Here are some of their biggest healthcare concerns — and how Weigand sees them.

Changes to Medicare plans

Open enrollment for Medicare plans began in mid-October, and enrollees are facing a slew of changes that will go into effect in 2027.

During the enrollment period, people are considering higher Part D out-of-pocket caps, the end of temporary federal Part D premium subsidies, and new drug price negotiations. Additionally, in some states, insurers put caps on the number of people who can enroll in Advantage plans, pulling out of markets or eliminating plans that people have come to rely on.

Juliette Cubanski, director of KFF’s program on Medicare policy, told the Associated Press that the open enrollment period offers enrollees “an opportunity to evaluate the coverage they have and see if there might be better options for them in terms of accessing the care that they need, at possibly a lower cost.”

Although Weigand is grateful to have the mental acuity to do the research and the spiritual community that she relies on, she worries about other older people who are struggling to plan for the year ahead. “There are so many changes, and a lot of people my age who don’t know where to start,” she says. “What do they do?”

The affordability of prescription drugs

The Trump administration says it has made a priority of lowering drug prices in its effort to show that it is addressing soaring costs. President Trump has struck multiple most-favored-nation drug deals with pharmaceutical companies and has launched the discount drug website TrumpRx, among other steps.

In September, his administration said all 50 states would join in on a program set to provide most-favored-nation pricing to some drugs within the Medicaid program, bringing the net price of selected drugs down to prices paid in certain other countries.

Still, the cost of prescription drugs prevents some people from filling prescriptions. A KFF survey from March found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they have not taken their medication as prescribed in the last year due to costs.

Weigand is considering rationing her drugs to save money. “I’ve been thinking — if I could just do this every other day rather than every day to make the medicine last longer,” she says. “Isn’t that sad?“

The KFF report says about 1 in 5 people surveyed had cut pills in half or skipped doses of medicine in the prior year because of the cost.

The costs of long-term support

The costs of receiving long-term care — whether from spouses, home-care aides or friends — have risen steeply for retirees.

An AARP report released Wednesday that examines out-of-pocket caregiving expenses finds that family caregivers are spending nearly 60% more supporting a family member or friend than five years ago. They spend an average of $11,508 a year supporting a family member or friend, compared with $7,242 in 2021, according to the report.

Nancy LeaMond, AARP’s executive vice president and chief advocacy officer, said “we’re already hearing from our members about healthcare affordability — its prescription drug costs, caregiver costs, copays, premiums,” she said. “Not only are we trying to help family caregivers with their finances, but also to get them the kind of information they need to help their loved ones.”

These worries are top of mind for older people. About one-third of Americans over 50 provide regular care to an adult relative or friend with a health issue or disability, according to a national poll on healthy aging conducted in September 2025 by the University of Michigan.

The solvency of Social Security

The Social Security Administration announced last month that the annual cost-of-living adjustment for older adults and people with disabilities will rise by 3.6% beginning in 2027. That translates to $75 extra per month for the nearly 72 million people who receive monthly Social Security benefits and about 7.3 million beneficiaries who get Supplemental Security Income.

The agency faces an approaching bankruptcy date if a funding shortfall is not addressed by Congress.

The Social Security and Medicare trustees’ report from June states that Social Security’s combined trust funds, which cover old age and disability recipients, will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034. After that, incoming revenue would cover about 83% of scheduled benefits.

With 2034 not far away, the upcoming Congress will be faced with determining how to shore up the program.

Matt Hogan, a partner at the polling firm Impact Research, has this advice to candidates in the closing days of the midterm campaign: “Regardless of party, to make inroads with these voters, Social Security and Medicare should definitely be part of their messaging.”

Hussein writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — President Clinton famously said he could feel voters’ pain over the economy. But these days, when it comes to questions about high prices, President Trump insists that the pain is his.

“They hit me with affordability, and that’s the first time I ever heard the word used,” he complained in Nebraska earlier this month.

The White House leaves Vice President JD Vance to use a softer touch. Last month in Texas, he admitted “there are people out there who are frustrated by the pace of progress.” And during a CBS News town hall on Saturday, Vance said, “I recognize that gas prices are too high right now” and “we’re working on it.”

Depending on which Republican is speaking, Americans are getting a different perspective on how bad things are with the economy. Trump says “the golden age of America is upon us.” Vance walks a tightrope to show that he knows voters are feeling an economic pinch while still selling them on Trump’s agenda.

The disconnect comes as Americans’ confidence in the economy sank to the lowest level in more than a decade this month, the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate jumped this month to its highest level in nearly three years and the unemployment rate ticked up last month.

Recent economic data released this month shows that high gasoline prices are intensifying inflation and more expensive oil and gas have begun to push prices up in other parts of the economy.

While most of Trump’s supporters don’t hold him at fault, some acknowledge that the president’s penchant for salesmanship may not hit the mark.

“I think he talks it up,” said Conda Little, a 76-year-old retiree who went to see Trump in Dalton, Ga., on Friday. “I think Vance is more real.”

Little takes the president at his word that he will achieve a victory over Iran in a way that benefits U.S. consumers back home. But she said it’s impossible to deny the fallout from the conflict.

“Everybody’s real upset about the gas” and “groceries are out of sight,” she said. “It’s hard. It’s really hard,” she said, adding that, “I think that people need to hear the truth.”

‘We need to do more’

Trump is loath to acknowledge concerns. He told reporters earlier this month that he gives himself “an A+ on the government, on economics, on everything.” He has dismissed concerns about high costs, arguing that concerns about affordability are a “hoax.”

“We’re in the golden age of America. So our nation is doing better now than ever before,” he told a crowd in Kentucky on Saturday while campaigning for Republican candidates.

Trump has occasionally acknowledged that gas prices are high, but has called it “a small price to pay” for keeping the country and the world safe with the Iran war.

Trump’s discordant message with one of the top concerns voters are voicing ahead of the midterm elections has seemed heightened by his fixation on beautifying Washington and building a large ballroom at the White House.

During a visit this month to an economically struggling corner of Arizona, he regaled the crowd with the story about how he ended up with a luxury jet gifted by Qatar to use as Air Force One.

Vance, as he crisscrosses the country, is quick to say that the administration has more work to do.

To cast blame, the vice president often says that his administration’s Democratic predecessors put the country in such a deep hole that they need more time to climb out.

To show empathy, he often references his own experience growing up in a working-class family in a Rust Belt town. That’s far different from Trump, who comes from a wealthy family, is a billionaire and even joked during his speeches on Friday and Saturday that if people have lunch at his Mar-a-Lago club, “for $5,000, you’ll get one hamburger and a small dessert.”

Vance, during a CBS News town hall that aired on Saturday, said: “I grew up in a working-class family. When gas prices were high, I know that it made my grandmother suffer, and I’m sure that you’re struggling with it in a variety of ways.”

When asked by the moderator about the mixed message he and Trump are giving on the economy, Vance said Trump was speaking about new investments coming into the country, but said the changes take time.

“We need to do more, and we can certainly do better,” he acknowledged.

Many Trump supporters trust his pitch

Some voters said Trump’s rosy view on the economy turns them away, like Santiago Rodriguez, a 19-year-old Texas college student who will be voting for the first time this year.

Rodriguez, who attended a campaign rally last week for Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, said he would consider voting for a Republican but not while Trump is in charge because he doesn’t grasp the high cost of living for Americans.

“I think he’s out of touch, I think he’s never seen what a true day as a Texan or anybody in general who is in the working class,” Rodriguez said.

Trump’s most loyal supporters aren’t interested in blaming high prices on anything the president has done.

Cindy Massengill, a 67-year-old who came to see Trump in Dalton, Ga., said she felt he’s doing the best he can.

“I’m positive that he’s got done more than any other president after the mess we were left with Obama and Biden,” she said.

Mary Bunker, a 67-year-old Republican who attended Trump’s Monday rally near Wichita, Kan., said she works multiple jobs, including as a waitress and DoorDash driver.

She feels the pressure of high gas prices, but she likes the tax breaks that Trump signed into law last year and she doesn’t fault the way he speaks about economic concerns.

“I think he’s a very good businessman,” Bunker said. “He’s been in business a long time, so I think he knows what he’s talking about.”

Price writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Bill Barrow in Dalton, Ga., Jesse Bedayn in San Marcos, Texas, and Nicholas Ingram in Park City, Kan., contributed to this report.

Bitupan Deka was out shopping for a “gamusa” (traditional scarf) with his mother in India’s northeastern state of Meghalaya when he noticed something unusual.

“Every shop selling the scarf had the same handful of patterns repeated over and over,” he told Al Jazeera over the telephone from Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya.

“When I asked around, I found that weavers in Sualkuchi [district in neighbouring Assam state] are paid a one-time fee of roughly 2,000 rupees [$21] for each design they develop, instead of royalties. Cutting down the number of designs they produce was a cost-saving practice followed by the manufacturers.”

This discovery prompted Deka, an assistant professor of computer technology at Shillong’s MIT University, to create a system that can produce infinite new designs for such fabrics.

“My work isn’t meant to replace the traditional designers. I hope, instead, that it will become a tool in their hands to create new and modern motifs more easily, so the consumers can have variety,” Deka said.

Once the patent, which is being applied for under the research and development department of his university, comes through, Deka plans to monetise the system by making it a commercial designing service that the textile industry can avail.

In India’s varied textile traditions, patterns and motifs carry the memory of a place and the mythology of its people – sometimes even the history of migrations.

The designs are imagined by weavers from things that exist around them, and then painted with locally available colours, mostly using carved clay and wooden frames. These weavers do not simply reproduce a pattern; they inherit it. Their hands hesitate where their grandmother’s did, and they know why a particular flower must face left.

A computer has no such inheritance or hesitation. It learns by analysing pictures and repeating them in endless variations. And yet, as Deka’s system shows, the computer can now draw and weave the same flower.

The Rekh Sanganeri Dataset is a similar system developed for hand-block printed Sanganeri textiles from the western Indian state of Rajasthan. It includes high-resolution images of printed patterns, annotated down to ink bleed and slight misalignment – the imperfections that are the hallmark of the handmade work.

Its developer, Reddy Sai Nivas C, says it should be used as a resource for research and art, not as a substitute for artisans.

But the disclaimer is the paradox: Tools built to preserve a craft are making its visual language easier to digitally reproduce without involving the craftsperson.

Dinesh Chhipa comes from one of the oldest Chhipa families, an artisan and merchant caste renowned for dyeing and block printing. He is a Bagru designer – a block printing technique from Bagru town in the western state of Rajasthan – and a textile businessman.

“Traditional craft is slow to produce. Even if someone offered us a fortune, we wouldn’t be able to produce these pieces in mass numbers, so I don’t fault those using digital technology and AI to fill the gap,” he told Al Jazeera.

“But don’t borrow craft and regional names like Bagru and Jaipuri [named after the capital city of Rajasthan]. These designs and motifs were born out of a culture and necessities of the communities they come from.”

Who owns culture when it turns into plain data?

India has been digitising its textile memory for years – from the Botanical Survey of India’s historical collections to the Bharatiya Vastra Shilpa Kosh, a national portal built by the state-run National Institute of Fashion Technology and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

Without documentation, the fragile traditions and knowledge could disappear. But digitisation also allows the same archive to be used by an AI system seeking to reproduce these crafts at scale.

At the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February this year, Indian software company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) showcased Bridgital Loom, an AI system that converts textile designs into loom-ready instructions. LED lights on the loom guide a weaver through the thread sequences of intricate Banarasi and Kanchipuram patterns – named after the cities where these iconic arts grew.

TCS says the technology helps weavers execute complex designs faster and with fewer errors, and is meant to be a bridge between the artisans and technology. A pilot project that uses the loom is already under way at Kanchipuram, a town in southern Tamil Nadu state.

In an interview with the online platform Digit at the New Delhi summit, the head of AI strategy at Bridgital Loom, Muthulakshmi Nellaiappan, pointed out that a new weaver takes more than 15 years to master the art.

“With the technologies we have in hand … the younger weaver who has just entered the skill can become a master much sooner,” she said.

Technology flattens the master-apprentice hierarchy of traditional knowledge systems. The weaver no longer has to conceptualise or remember patterns, colours and codes; he blindly follows the machine’s instructions, handing creativity and memory to AI.

Nellaiappan said that since a large percentage of India’s looms are non-electronic, TCS has ensured its system works with handlooms as well and that it was essential for scaling up the technology.

But digital looms also raise another question: Who owns culture when it turns into plain data?

For generations, India’s textile knowledge sat outside intellectual property systems. It lived in community memory, passed from master to apprentice with no certificate of ownership. Kanchipuram, Mekhela-Sador, Sanganeri and Banarasi are names for places that these textiles helped shape, not merely emerged from.

Now, this knowledge is entering generative models that owe nothing to these traditions.

For designers and manufacturers, the possibilities are seductive: Motifs combined at will, colours changed with a command, and thousands of designs generated instantly. The machine offers abundance.

The artisan, on the other hand, has always lived with scarcity: Of money, bargaining power, or recognition.

Ananthalakshmi Vadivel, a third-generation weaver and owner of Vadivel Silk Looms in Kanchipuram, says their venture is already competing in the market with cheaper Kanchipuram sarees produced on electronic looms.

“Perhaps, with AI, these sellers can create trending designs faster and cheaper to attract mass consumers. But these imitations can never replace the original,” she told Al Jazeera.

“There will always be a market for authentic Kanchipuram and handcrafted textiles, no matter how much technology makes the imitation cheaper. True Kanchipuram weave, colour, and designs can only be created by hand, and discerning buyers know this.”

Then again, the question is no longer whether AI can recreate a textile. It sure can. The question is: Who gets paid when it does?

Legal gaps

In December 2025, the federal government’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade floated a statutory “blanket licence” – a system where AI developers could train models on lawfully obtained copyrighted material without seeking permission from each rights holder. Once commercialised, those systems would owe royalties to copyright owners at rates set by the government.

But intellectual property (IP) laws assume a traceable work with a traceable author. A motif, on the other hand, is communal property, its technique passed down through generations with no single originator.

In such cases, who is entitled to royalty and copyright? The artisan who first created the design? The photographer who documented it? The researcher who assembled the dataset? The developer who built the tool? India’s laws offer no clear answers. The artisan whose name never appeared on a label may once again be missing from the paperwork.

Meanwhile, the government is planning a dedicated AI-handloom research department under the Centre of Excellence for Handloom Technology at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the capital, New Delhi. Inaugurated in August, the $1.4m facility aims to modernise India’s handloom sector by combining traditional weaving heritage with contemporary technology.

The government also plans to register thousands of weavers and fit their handlooms with sensors that convert weave patterns into digital data, and issue QR-coded tags to trace provenance. Maharashtra’s Vingatha system does something similar at the state level by authenticating handloom sarees such as Paithani and Karvat Kathi.

The idea is simple: If a saree can tell you where it came from, the person who made it becomes harder to erase.

While these measures cannot stop AI-enabled design and mass production, they may give artisans more visibility and turn each piece into an archive.

In art galleries, the traditional textiles are increasingly shedding the label of craft for the more lucrative category of contemporary art.

Gurjeet Singh, an artist from Chandigarh city, recently hosted a textile-based solo show in New York. His work transforms discarded fabrics, buttons and embroidered scraps into sculptures that explore queer identity and social prejudices surrounding gender and sexuality.

Sayan Chanda, an Indian artist based in London, works with cut and rewoven vintage Bengali quilts to question fixed notions of cultural belonging. Gurugram-based artist Sumakshi Singh uses delicate embroidery and suspended thread structures to reconstruct the architectural fragments of vanished homes, gardens and personal histories. There are many more.

In New Delhi, 20 such artisans and craft-led collectives featured last month at an art show celebrating the traditional textile crafts.

“Our aim is to present these traditional crafts as living practices that continue to evolve through contemporary artisans, rather than as heritage to be archived. Kanmai Payun, one of the artists featured in the show, for example, is the last practitioner of Fulor Saneki, a flower pattern used by Assamese weavers. We encouraged her to teach her 17-year-old son so the craft outlives her,” Aparupa Ray Ganguly, the curator of the show, told Al Jazeera.

But as textiles gain value in art galleries, their makers do not necessarily gain automatic control over their work.

In April, another art exhibition in New Delhi, titled No ‘One’ Maker, saw artisans missing from the show’s preview, exposing how traditional textiles are aestheticised, but the people who carry that knowledge remain unrecognised.

“You cannot separate the names from the community. Call your mass-produced work digital prints and leave the traditional names to the original artisans,” says Chhipa, the artisan and merchant from Rajasthan.