Britain is getting hot and steamy.
From railway arches in Peckham to windswept beaches in Fife, public saunas are popping up across the country, promising warmth, connection and a break from that traditional British pastime of drinking alcohol.
On The Weekend Intelligence, Ibby Caputo sweats into Britain’s booming sauna scene— where wellness culture meets genuine need. Inside the heat, she finds Gen Z ditching the pub for sober Saturday evenings, unpaid carers prescribed steam, and strangers bonding through sweat, silence and shared endurance.
From the intimacy of the sauna bench to the icy shock of the North Sea, this is a story about bodies, belonging, and why Britain is learning to sweat together.
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Music by Blue dot and Epidemic
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