Puzzles Roundup: Guardian, FT, Chemistry World

The Guardian crossword editor recalled a warm tribute to Araucaria (John Graham) at a Guardian party attended by Timothy West and Prunella Scales, with West describing how the couple met via an Araucaria crossword. Editors reviewed the October and November “Genius” puzzles and highlighted winners from a cluing conference that recognized audacious and evocative clues. The Financial Times has expanded its puzzle offerings—adding the Daily Cryptic, Polymath and weekend puzzles on ft.com and iOS/Android apps. Chemistry World’s November 2025 issue is publishing four downloadable prize puzzles with monthly book-voucher awards. Regional outlets continue to run word-game features, including the Mercury News listing 58+ words found in “VANISHED,” while RTÉ’s Radio1 web player alerts listeners to disable ad blockers or whitelist the site to stream and documents keyboard playback controls. A DailyKos curated roundup links to reporting on smart-device privacy, anti–facial-recognition glasses, AI risks, climate impacts on aviation, and related politics and sports coverage, urging stronger privacy protections and caution with AI deployment.