Confessions II: why Madonna still matters
Every time she releases a new album, journalists and social media commentary insist that Madonna is over. They are usually, eventually, proven wrong. This debate has emerged again now Madonna is on the promotional circuit for her new album Confessions II. Despite the positive response to the music released so far, she is drawing controversy […]
The Bayeux tapestry and the hidden history of the women who embroidered it
The Bayeux tapestry and a medieval illustration of a woman weaving. BL Royal 20 C V, f. 30v, illuminated manuscript/Wiki Commons/Canva For the first time in nearly 1,000 years, the Bayeux tapestry is returning to Britain. The 70-metre embroidery will be displayed at the British Museum from September. The tapestry depicts the Norman Conquest of […]
Comet from another star has a composition unlike anything else in our solar system
An image of 3I/Atlas from the Hubble telescope shows the teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust emanating from its solid, icy nucleus. NASA, ESA, David Jewitt (UCLA); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI) Astronomers have revealed new details about the make-up and age of a visiting comet that was born around a distant star. They conclude that the […]
Schools should teach children more about how money works
vectorfusionart/Shutterstock I recently volunteered to teach some lessons in finance to pupils at a primary school. Over six sessions, I spoke to a group of ten and eleven-year-olds about things like value, savings, cost and risk. The talks were not meant to turn the children into investors, or to teach them to price derivatives or […]
Five hidden pitfalls of fitness tracking
LightField Studios/Shutterstock Many people in the UK now use apps, smartwatches or wearable devices to track their physical activity. Fitness trackers promise to help users become fitter, happier and healthier versions of themselves. For many people, they can be useful: a nudge to move more, a way to notice patterns, or a reminder that activity […]
Why Poland’s president is invoking wartime history in a dispute with Volodymyr Zelensky
There have long been tensions, political, economic and cultural, between Poland and Ukraine. But that hasn’t prevented Poland from being the biggest supporter of its neighbour, taking in millions of Ukrainians fleeing the war, about 1 million of whom have remained. And in 2023, Poland conferred its highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle, […]
From falling to flow: why you should take up bouldering as a hobby for reasons beyond exercise
Duet PandG/Shutterstock Shortly after I started my PhD at the end of 2016, a small, community-focused bouldering wall opened on the street I lived on. I was completely new to climbing at the time but thought: why not give it a go. Almost a decade later my love affair with bouldering is still going strong […]
Spider fangs are one of their scariest features – new fossils reveal their origins
Urokodia lived some 518 million years ago, and had early versions of fangs. Xiaodong Wang The publicity posters for the 1955 cult monster movie Tarantula! displayed a giant spider rampaging across the Arizona desert and clutching a poor human victim in its viciously long fangs. The film captured our fear of spiders, their creepy crawly […]
America at 250: five times the US constitution has come under threat
Donald Trump supporters march towards the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. bgrocker / Shutterstock The story of the US is, in many ways, remarkable. It achieved independence against the odds, its constitution has lasted more than two centuries and its democracy has weathered war, economic depression, social upheaval and political change. But reflection on […]
Cape Verde’s World Cup success reflects a nation that has repeatedly defied the odds
For decades, the west African island nation of Cape Verde was perhaps best known for the music of late singer Cesária Évora. This summer, however, the Atlantic archipelago has gained fame for a different reason: football. As one of the surprise stories of the 2026 Fifa World Cup, Cape Verde has captured the imagination of […]