How a Swedish king went on strike in 1768
Adolf Fredrik by Antoine Pesne Nationalmuseum/Wikimedia In 1768, towards the end of the period of Swedish history known as Frihetstiden, the Age of Liberty, King Adolf Frederick threatened to abdicate unless an extraordinary session of the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament, was immediately convened. The immediate issue concerned a new financial plan, but the king hoped […]
Is ten too young to be criminally responsible? Here’s what the evidence says
Gergitek/Shutterstock At ten years old, some children may still struggle to tie their shoelaces or use a knife and fork properly. Yet under the law of England and Wales, a child of this age is old enough to be held criminally responsible for their actions. This is the age at which, in the eyes of […]
Why US presidents end up cursing Benjamin Netanyahu
When the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered a strike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut on June 14, Donald Trump was not amused. Fearing that the attack threatened an agreement with Iran on ending the war between the two countries, the US president lashed out. Netanyahu, he said, has “no fucking judgment”. He was […]
Clean eating: why cutting sugar out of your diet might not be as healthy as it sounds – new study
everydayplus/Shutterstock.com Cutting all sugar from your diet sounds like the healthy thing to do. But a recent study suggests it may do more harm than good. Instead of improving metabolic health, it appears to make it worse. Before rewriting your shopping list, though, it is important to note that this research was conducted on rodents, […]
England’s sewage spills: why citizen scientists want to test for pollution themselves
Andy Soloman / Shutterstock.com Thousands of volunteers across England now regularly take out their own testing kits to study the levels of pollution in rivers and the sea. With sewage spills rarely out of the news, citizen water testing has become one of the most visible responses to England’s pollution scandals. A crisis of trust […]
AI saves time – so why does it make us feel guilty?
Productivity guilt is the uneasy sense that time saved through technology has to be justified. Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock We have built tools that save us hours in work. So why do so many people feel worse for using them? The answer has less to do with AI and more to do with what we […]
Four reasons electric vehicle targets shouldn’t be weakened
Serge Cornu/Shutterstock The UK government is preparing to water down its electric vehicle sales targets. Under the existing zero emission vehicles (ZEV) mandate, 80% of all new cars sold in Britain needed to be electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030. Following sustained lobbying from car manufacturers and trade unions, that figure could be revised down to […]
Is Australia’s social media ban for under 16s working?
Bricolage/Shutterstock When Australia banned under 16-year-olds from using social media in December 2025, it became a test case for a policy now being pursued by governments around the world. Six months on, the UK has announced plans to introduce its own social media ban in 2027, with France, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greece among other countries […]
Does screen time mean children are missing out on play?
banhan chueatong/Shutterstock In Toy Story 5, Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the gang are up against a new challenge: Bonnie’s tablet. Even Rex the toy dinosaur is worried about going extinct again. The storyline reflects a broader shift in childhood. Traditional toys increasingly share space with digital devices as part of children’s everyday play experiences. There […]
What makes the ideal digital icon? A psychologist explains
wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock Digital icons are everywhere – and usually, we interpret these visual symbols in the blink of an eye. Who today doesn’t know that a wastebasket means “delete” and a magnifying glass means “search”? Yet icons’ meanings can be deeply shaped by culture, experience and technological history. So what seems obvious to one person may […]