Five of the best big reads: Chore wars - why do women still do more housework?

The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown most of the world off its axis. It's taken lives, impacted the health of thousands of people and interrupted our very way of life.

It's easy to be overwhelmed by all the information coming at you, so it's important to take your mind off things, even for a little while.

To help you with this we've pulled together some of our favourite big reads from our international partners. There's not a Covid-19 story in sight, promise.

Today we take a look at sexism and housework, why Hank Azaria stepped away from Apu, the man trying to save farming, whistleblowers taking on the world's leading accounting firms, and we meet the jeweller to the stars.

Sexism and housework

The emergence of the two-job family in the final decades of the 20th century wasn't accompanied by similar changes outside the workplace. Stressed and overworked women became resentful of their partners.

Keen to avoid this fate, Gavin Jackson of the Financial Times convinced his girlfriend to join him in an experiment.

The pair tracked the time they spent on chores. Here's what they learnt.

Why Apu from The Simpsons lost his voice

In the three decades that he has been a voice actor on The Simpsons, Hank Azaria has played dozens of Springfield's absurd denizens.

But in recent years, Azaria has become irrevocably associated with one Simpsons character in particular: Apu, the obliging Indian immigrant and proprietor of the town's Kwik-E-Mart convenience store.

Azaria has played the character since his first appearance in 1990 but he and the show have faced increasing condemnation from audience members who feel that Apu is a bigoted caricature.

The veteran voice actor explains why he stepped away from the character.

Jake Fiennes on the future of farming after Brexit

Two of his brothers, Ralph and Joseph, are already household names, but Jake Fiennes is an unlikely star of British farming.

On an estate in Norfolk, he's rewriting the post-Brexit rule book: how to work the land and protect the environment at the same time.

Robert Crampton of The Times meets him.

Richie Rich: Meet Instagram's diamond geezer

Richie Rich's name is the most subtle thing about him. He's the go-to jeweller for a generation of celebrities who want to show off just how minted they are.

Will Pavia of The Times meets the new king of bling.

Betrayed by the Big Four: Whistleblowers speak out

Four individuals have spoken out about their experience of harassment, bullying and discrimination at four of the most renowned names in the business world: EY, Deloitte, KPMG and PwC.

An FT investigation reveals a culture of fear at the world's leading accounting firms.