What Patriot Platform tells us about how the far right in the UK is changing its tactics
Anti-migrant protests in Dover and Portsmouth may look like another manifestation of a familiar phenomenon. In recent years, the UK has seen repeated demonstrations and rioting over asylum hotels, small-boat crossings and immigration. This time though, the gatherings consisted of black-clad men in balaclavas, organised by a man who calls himself a devoted Christian. The […]
How ‘positive’ stress could improve the welfare of zoo animals
Pelicans have resided in St James’s Park, London for 360 years. But the current flock have been a summer sensation due to the first hatching of chicks in the park’s history. Pelican breeding in zoos is demanding for these birds, because the right environmental and social conditions need to come together. Rather than simply being […]
‘Peaceful’ Sweden once sought nuclear weapons. That legacy still shapes defence planning
Jeppe Gustafsson/Shutterstock For decades, Sweden has fostered a self-image as something of a world record-holder for peace, celebrating more than two centuries since it was last at war. But this record involves some creative accounting. The narrative, for example, excludes Sweden’s participation in modern-day military operations in Afghanistan and Libya. Nor has Swedish “peacefulness” been […]
The Anthropocene was rejected as a geological epoch – but the idea is still changing how we see the world
The Anthropocene became part of the zeitgeist after Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen launched the idea in 2000. This is the notion that a crescendo of human impacts has recently propelled the Earth out of the relatively stable climatic conditions of the Holocene epoch, during which human civilisation developed and flourished, to produce a new kind […]
The weight-loss drug divide: private prescribing is lowest where need is greatest
Caroline Ruda/Shutterstock For many people living with obesity, Wegovy and Mounjaro offer the possibility of substantial weight loss without surgery. Yet data from one private provider points to a troubling divide: prescription rates of these drugs in England are lowest in communities where obesity is most common. Wegovy contains semaglutide, which acts on the GLP-1 […]
The autonomy paradox: how more freedom at work can leave you feeling powerless
VH-studio/Shutterstock You may know the feeling. You’re supposed to have finished work for the day, but later, during your evening meal, you start mentally preparing for tomorrow’s meeting. Or just having a quick check of your emails while you half watch TV. You might not mean to, or even want to. It’s just something that […]
Why the government’s debt is growing – current public spending pressures explained
The UK has seen the cost of its bonds rise more quickly than other major economies. Westlight / Shutterstock Pressure to make cuts in public spending has intensified in recent weeks, with increased calls on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to find savings urgently. The need to reduce expenditure has become more pressing as the cost […]
Too hot to learn: how climate change hurts children’s chances from birth
Costea Andrea M/Shutterstock Children across Europe have returned to school after a summer of extreme heat. As the climate warms, one question is becoming harder to ignore: how can students learn when classrooms become dangerously hot? Extreme weather is likely to disrupt schooling more often in the years ahead. But climate change can influence a […]
The Bayeux tapestry is really an embroidered comic strip
The Bayeux tapestry is many things: a public statement, a massive work of collaborative art, a staple of the teaching of British history. The 70-metre-embroidered cloth depicts the events of the Norman conquest, culminating in the 1066 Battle of Hastings and the death of Harold II. Since its creation in the 11th century, the Bayeux […]
Iran war: Tehran’s assertive rhetoric signals a new and dangerous phase in conflict
Iran’s threat to target American warships with an enhanced ballistic missile appears to mark a new and potentially more dangerous phase of the Middle East conflict, six months in. Tehran says its solid-fuel Qassem Basir missile enables it to “take action against any threat, even before it is carried out”. Reports have suggested that the […]