How should England pay for social care? Germany, Norway and Sweden take very different routes
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has brought forward the deadline for Baroness Casey’s report on social care reform to 2027, from the original 2028. He has now proposed widespread changes to how social care is funded at the Labour party conference in Liverpool. His plan is a National Care Service, which he says will be as […]
Soheila Sokhanvari’s painstaking miniatures memorialise the stolen lives of Iranian cultural icons
A photograph survives, but the life around it has been dismantled. A voice remains on an old recording, but the singer has been forbidden to stand before an audience. A face flickers across a cinema screen, while the woman it belonged to has lost her work, her home and the right to be publicly remembered. […]
Dark kitchens are popping up everywhere, but what are they and why does it matter?
Delivery-only kitchens prepare meals for customers who may never see where their food is made. Just dance/Shutterstock When you order food through an app, how much do you know about where you’re purchasing from? This could be a restaurant on the local high street, or one located in a warehouse on a faraway industrial estate. […]
Celebrity Traitors: research suggests that the likes of Bella Ramsey and James Blunt will find the game tougher than it looks
The Traitors has become essential viewing for millions of fans. The TV game show, in which a group of “faithfuls” try to identify a smaller number of hidden traitors, is all about truth and lies. And it looks very easy from the sofa. For the 2026 celebrity version, contestants including singer James Blunt, mathematician Hannah […]
If he wants to secure legitimacy for electoral reform, Andy Burnham must stick to these rules
Andy Burnham has announced a national commission on electoral reform, and made a commitment to put changing the voting system in Labour’s next general election manifesto. The implication seems to be that he wants to enact reform without a referendum. That aspiration is understandable. The UK last held a referendum on the voting system in […]
America’s final military withdrawal from Iraq is a major bonus for Iran
The last of the US-led coalition forces are leaving Iraq. It’s a significant bonus for Iran. The withdrawal date, September 30, was also the date by which Baghdad had pledged to bring numerous powerful Iran-backed militias under state control. But this deadline looks certain to be missed. This effectively means that, at a moment when […]
Burnham delivered honesty and emotion – but what about the promises? Our experts assess his plans
In his first party conference speech as prime minister, Andy Burnham pledged to change the country – but warned of pain ahead as he puts his ideas into action. A panel of experts assesses his chances of success. Risking it all for social care Catherine Needham, Professor of Public Policy and Public Management, University of […]
How can the same El Niño cause drought in one part of the world and floods in another?
Sea surface temperatures on August 25, 2026, compared to 1991-2020. The red streak of hot water is evidence of a strong El Niño. EU Copernicus Marine Service, CC BY-SA The Pacific Ocean is warming unusually quickly, and this year’s El Niño has already surpassed previous records. Forecasters expect it to strengthen even further before approaching […]
US tech leaders are urgently calling for rules on AI – China already has them
Recent warnings from American AI leaders have created the impression that the world is only beginning to confront the dangers of advanced artificial intelligence. Dario Amodei, chief executive of tech company Anthropic, has called for governments to intervene to slow the development of increasingly powerful AI models. His proposal begins with independent evaluators embedded inside […]
Wolves did not save Yellowstone – why were we so desperate to believe they did?
You might be among the 46 million people who’ve seen a video showing how wolves changed Yellowstone, or you may have heard some other version of this story. Yellowstone, which covers nearly 3,500 square miles of the western United States, was the world’s first national park. Its pioneering reintroduction of wolves, which began in 1995, […]