New towns are back – but this time they must be more walkable
Richard Whitcombe / shutterstock The UK’s next generation of new towns form a central part of the government’s growth strategy, while also promising to address the housing shortage. Unlike the low-rise, car-dependent towns built after the second world war, these proposed towns are intended to be denser, more walkable and built around public transport and […]
From Iran to Ukraine, lasting ceasefires remain elusive
Mediators in both the Iran and Ukraine wars have struggled to achieve meaningful ceasefires. Although the US and Iran reached an initial two-week truce on April 7, brokered by Pakistan, the agreement has been fragile from the beginning. By May 11, Donald Trump had declared that the ceasefire was “on massive life support” and has […]
The Bayeux Tapestry tells only the winner’s story – but the other side can be found in old English texts
King Harold swearing oath on holy relics to William, Duke of Normandy Wikimedia, CC BY As the Bayeux Tapestry comes to London, the year 1066 and the Norman Conquest are in the spotlight. The tapestry – an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres long, created soon after the events it depicts – tells the story of […]
Why Javier Milei’s inflation ‘miracle’ in Argentina is more of a mirage
When Javier Milei took over as president of Argentina in December 2023, monthly inflation was 25.5%. The annual rate for that year was 211%. Now it has plummeted. Milei, a rightwing populist famous for wielding a chainsaw on stage to make a point about fiscal conservatism, made cutting inflation a central part of his campaign. […]
Can engaging in the arts slow ageing, as a recent study suggested?
becauz gao/Shutterstock.com Can spending more time engaging with the arts, such as visiting galleries, museums, singing or painting, really lead to a longer and healthier life? It’s certainly an appealing idea. And it’s not implausible. Stress is bad for your health, and spending your free time doing something engaging, like visiting an art gallery, seems […]
Putin and Xi: Russian president’s China trip shows for the second time in a week how rapidly the world order is changing
Hot on the heels of his summit with US president Donald Trump, China’s Xi Jinping hosted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Beijing on May 19 and 20. Headlines spoke of multiple trade agreements, warnings against a return to the law of the jungle in international relations, and a joint declaration on building a multipolar […]
Five questions over Nigel Farage’s £5 million donation
Questions about a £5 million gift to the leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage from a crypto billionaire simply won’t go away. As someone who spends their life thinking, writing and talking about money in politics, I’ve been left with at least five questions that remain unanswered. These centre not just on the donation and […]
Why a 1,500-year-old monastic rulebook still challenges what it means to live a meaningful life
Saint Benedict delivering his rule to the monks of his order, Monastery of St. Gilles (from a manuscript made in 1129). WikiCommons What might a sixth-century monastic rulebook have to say about how we live today? Living by the Rule: Contemporary Meets Medieval, the centrepiece of this summer’s exhibitions at the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich, […]
Decarbonising everything is impossible – here’s why
MOLPIX/Shutterstock, CC BY-NC-ND Walk into any supermarket and you are surrounded by carbon. Not the kind measured in parts per million in climate reports, but carbon in its most tangible form: the polymer shell of a shampoo bottle, the insulation behind the ceiling tiles, the synthetic fibres in the bag hanging from your wrist. These […]
Teen self-harm: responses should focus on social context, not just mental health
Halfpoint/Shutterstock Around one in six adolescents worldwide report having self-harmed at some point in their lives. In England, an NHS mental health survey of 2,370 children and young people found that more than one in three young adults aged 17 to 24 had self-harmed. Typically, responses to self-harm focus on the individual – diagnosis, treatment […]