Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey was partly inspired by translator and classical studies professor Emily Wilson’s version of the millennia-old poem.

But writing in the London Review of Books, Wilson, while flattered, didn’t seem as keen on his interpretation.

She said that while she was “humbled” the director had cited her version of the first line of the poem, “Tell me about a complicated man,” she added she’d “be ashamed to have written any part of this script”.

According to Wilson, the film had “nothing convincing to say about time, memory, history, war, or about the relationship between one warrior’s glorious return and the lives of his family, adversaries, comrades, friends and neighbours”.

So, despite calling the blockbuster an “event to celebrate” and lauding its director for “doing his best to get the general public reading again”, it’s safe to say most people have read Wilson’s review as pretty scathing.

Author Joyce Carol Oates seems to have been one of them – but she had harsh words for the translator herself on X.

The writer, known for her sometimes-controversial social media posts, wrote: “[Wilson’s] tone of dismissal [and] haughty superiority strike a sour note. rather than disagreeing with interpretations of Homer in a collegial manner, this person, who has benefited enormously from Nolan’s film, speaks in the crude language of MAGA folks attacking someone with ideas that differ from hers.

“Within the world of translators this seems all the more surprising since all translations are, presumably, subjective [and] not equivalent to the original text. One would expect a translator, of all people, beholden to a text, in service to a text, to be just a wee bit more thoughtful [and] respectful of others who are acting in good faith just as (she would claim) she is.”

In her London Review of Books entry, Wilson had also written: “The writing is abysmal. None of the characters has a convincing motivation for their actions or words. There are no sex scenes, and all the food looks horrible.”

Speaking to Empire previously, Nolan had listed Wilson’s translation among his sources of inspiration for the record-breaking film.

In the first weeks after giving birth to my daughter, I thought I was losing it – mostly because every time I’d have a shower, I would hear her cry.

I’d dash out of the shower and rush into our bedroom – traipsing shampoo and wet footprints across the carpet – and find our baby in her bedside crib, silent as a mouse, her tiny chest rising and falling, her eyes clamped shut.

I experienced this for months and months. I don’t recall exactly when it stopped, but it was probably about the three to four months mark.

And it turns out I’m definitely not alone in my experience. It’s very much A Thing.

Mothers have reported hearing phantom cries in the shower, but also throughout the night and while their baby is napping. You could be in another room doing the ironing and swear you hear them cry, only to find them fast asleep in their Moses basket.

Like many things involving women – and indeed, mothers – it’s not particularly well-researched, but doctors insist it’s a pretty normal occurrence that happens after having a baby.

Dr Kiran Rahim, a paediatric doctor, told HuffPost UK: “Phantom crying is a fairly common phenomenon experienced by most mothers. Whilst we don’t fully understand it, we do know that having a baby changes the brain cells and the neural connections in a mother’s brain.”

And this probably has a lot to do with why we’re hearing sounds that aren’t there all of a sudden.

As Megan Gray, an ob-gyn with Orlando Health Physician Associates, told Popsugar: “It most likely has to do with a highly stimulated maternal brain that is being wired to be cued by baby’s cries, leading to a heightened awareness to sound.”

Similar changes occur in dads’ brains as well, but likely on a lesser scale, according to Robert Froemke, associate professor at New York University Langone.

On top of that, our brains are adapting to some pretty big life changes. We’re no longer sleeping properly, we’re on high alert trying to keep a baby alive, our routines and lifestyle choices (exercise, eating a healthy diet, self-care) have been completely thrown out of the window.

“In those first few months of having a new baby, some of these connections in the brain can get a bit criss-crossed so that you hear crying, when in fact, your baby is asleep,” suggested Dr Rahim.

“Most parents are in a ‘permanent’ state of stress in the early days which wears the body down and places parents in a ‘hyper alert’ state, perpetually ready to respond to even the slightest stress.”

Phantom crying is also – in the most unsurprising news ever – linked to sleep deprivation and postnatal mental health, particularly anxiety and depression, according to Dr Rahim.

“Up to one in five women develop postnatal mental health problems, so phantom crying is more common than we might think,” she said.

The good news is that generally it settles after three to six months, as parents ease into their new normal.

But if you’re experiencing a lot of phantom crying, it might be worth making some changes. For instance, can you get extra help with the night feeds and nappy changes so you can get some more sleep?

And if phantom cries are affecting your day-to-day life, it’s well worth speaking to a professional – whether that’s a midwife, GP or therapist – who can offer further support.

Travellers heading to Mexico have been warned to take precautions to reduce their risk of picking up a nasty, explosive diarrhoea infection.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has noted a “sharp rise” in cyclospora infections among travellers returning to the UK from Mexico.

The health body said 67 cases have been reported in returning travellers between 30 April and 15 July this year – of these, 48 had travelled to Mexico.

As a result, it’s urging holidaymakers to maintain good food and water hygiene while abroad.

You might’ve seen headlines in the news about an explosive diarrhoea outbreak sweeping the United States. Per the BBC, more than 18,000 people may have been infected – with Michigan hit hardest.

Cyclospora is a parasite that causes explosive diarrhoea. Contaminated food – especially herbs, salad and soft fruit – are common sources of outbreaks and infections.

The UKHSA noted that cyclospora doesn’t naturally occur in the UK and there is no risk of spread from person to person.

If you do happen to consume something that’s contaminated with the parasite, symptoms of infection can include frequent (and sometimes explosive) watery diarrhoea, abdominal cramping, bloating, nausea, flatulence, low-grade fever, loss of appetite and weight loss.

While cyclosporiasis is usually mild and most people improve typically in a few days without any treatment, infections can be more serious or prolonged in people who are immunocompromised. In this instance, antibiotics may be needed.

The UKHSA said it anticipates a rise in travel-associated cases linked to increased summer travel to Mexico and a potential increase in cases linked to travel to the USA, where a widespread outbreak has also been reported.

Dr Philip Veal, consultant in travel health at UKHSA, said travellers to Mexico and other areas where the infection is more common can reduce their risk by “following good food and water hygiene measures, including drinking bottled water and eating thoroughly cooked food, even when staying in high-end all-inclusive resorts”.

“We also advise avoiding certain foods such as fresh uncooked berries and herbs, unpeeled fruit and salad items,” he added.

If you develop symptoms after returning from travel, seek medical attention and inform your healthcare provider of your travel history, the expert advised.

Robert Jenrick has accused Andy Burnham of launching a “death tax” to pay for his social care reforms.

But the government has not actually confirmed any new levies linked to fixing the struggling sector.

The prime minister held a press conference on Wednesday to reveal his three-point plan to overhaul the broken care system.

That includes speeding up an independent review for how to set up a national care service, prioritising the workforce, and launching cross-party talks with the Lib Dems and the Tories.

Neither Reform nor the Greens were invited to Burnham’s discussions about fixing social care yesterday.

Reform leader Nigel Farage said it was clear the PM “is conspiring behind closed doors with the failed political establishment to foist further tax rises on the country.”

But the Conservatives have insisted they will only work with the government if it rules out further tax rises.

Burnham also called for political unity on Wednesday.

He said: “We have to find common ground and listen to others to find a way forward. It’s time to draw a line under people playing politics when the human cost of that means carers struggling, families paying the price and our NHS buckling under the strain.”

But in a press conference on Thursday, Jenrick – Reform UK’s Treasury spokesperson – claimed Burnham has spent the last two decades pushing to introduce a new so-called “death tax”.

The Labour politician has previously backed the idea of a blanket 10% levy on inheritance when he was health secretary under Gordon Brown.

However Downing Street has said this week “there are no plans for this”.

“If that was his sole aim, there are other ways to fund it, like cutting foreign aid or benefits for migrants. No,” Jenrick said.

“He’s shown again and again that he thinks the savings that you’ve earned, no matter how little that you’ve scrimped and saved for. Whether you’re rich or poor, he says, the tax man deserves a bit more.”

Jenrick said Burnham was “Labour’s answer to the Pied Piper”, who is “playing an enticing tune but actually leading… our country into more desperate trouble.”

He continued: “Andy Burnham knows rightly, to be fair, that [Reform] will never go along with a betrayal of people who’ve paid in their whole lives. And make no mistake, that is what Andy Burnham is planning to do. That is the purpose of the talks that the other parties are now engaged in.”

He claimed Burnham’s new tax, on top of inheritance tax, would “cost families almost £30 billion a year”, describing it as a “truly extreme proposal”.

He said while the social care system “needs to change”.

He claimed Burnham is also looking to scrap technology used to consolidate patient details and help hospitals, GPs and the care system communicate.

That tech is provided by Palantir which also provides software for the Israeli Defence Forces.

Jenrick said the prime minister is “going to scrap the tech that’s actually working to help discharge in hospital” because the “British Islamists were unhappy about it” and Burnham wants to “get a few votes back”.

He claimed his party would keep the technology in place, cut benefits overseas aid and funding for quangos, and “pay care workers properly”.

“This country does not lack money for care. It lacks a government with the courage and determination to put its own people first,” the Newark MP said.

Hunter Biden wasn’t interested in playing polite when asked if the relationship between the Biden and Trump families was just as ugly behind the scenes as it appears in public.

During a nearly three-hour sit-down on Barstool Sports’ Macrodosing podcast, the former president’s son and attorney-turned-artist disputed the idea that animosity between Democrats and Republicans was all political theater, sending a sharp “Fuck them” to US President Donald Trump and his entire brood.

“I’m not running for anything, so I can say whatever the fuck I want,” he said, unleashing his highly uncensored opinion on everyone in Washington, DC, he thinks double-crossed his dad, former US President Joe Biden.

That included calling Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) a “piece of shit” who “fucked” his dad over by pressuring him to drop his 2024 bid for reelection following his infamous debate against Trump.

The younger Biden also gave a firm “fuck that” to the expectation that former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was owed respect for all she’s done for the Democrats, telling his hosts, “I don’t have anything nice to say about her.”

But he reserved his sharpest takedown for Trump, saying, “Fuck him, fuck his sons, fuck his daughter … All of them. The whole family down to the grandchildren.”

Telling the Barstool boys he hoped the Trump name would be forever tarnished, Biden said he had no problem with his tirade going viral.

“What would you expect me to say about a man that treats my father that way publicly?” he asked. “What would you expect me to say about a man that treats my mother that way, that treats my sister that way? They stole her fucking diary and published it, said my dad is a pedophile.”

Biden rejected the “all is fair in love and war and politics” defense before finishing with a firm “Fuck them and fuck that.”

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