Why holding elections now may not be the best safeguard for Ukrainian democracy
A recent call by Ukraine’s former defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, for new national elections in Ukraine – which would be the first to take place in the country since 2019 – has sparked a renewed debate about whether it is possible to hold a legitimate vote in wartime. Under normal circumstances, Ukraine’s parliamentary elections would […]
Star Trek at 60: the secret of this pioneering series was its exploration of humanity, not aliens
When Star Trek first appeared on television screens 60 years ago, audiences expected science fiction to offer aliens, monsters and futuristic technology. What they encountered was something far more ambitious. From its very first broadcast episode on September 8 1966, Star Trek established that its true subject was the exploration of humanity itself. For all […]
AI means there’s no better time to study maths – but degrees are becoming less accessible
Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Once again, maths is the most popular A-level subject. There were 115,380 entries in the subject in 2026, an increase of 3.9% from 2025. Further maths AS-level entries enjoyed an 8.5% increase from 2025 as well. Moreover, recently published data from university admissions service Ucas for the 2026 application cycle showed a marked […]
Why do some people react so badly to mosquito bites? The answer lies in mosquito saliva
Your reaction to mosquito bites can even change over time. Marina Demeshko/ Shutterstock Two people spend an evening in the same garden and receive roughly the same number of mosquito bites. By morning, one barely notices them – while the other is covered in large, swollen, intensely itchy welts that linger for days. Most of […]
Late Fame: this tale of literary redemption is sad, tender and opaque
Kent Jones’s carefully wrought film Late Fame offers a wry eulogy for vanished bohemia and a deft meditation on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous dictum that “there are no second acts in American lives”. Almost half a century ago, Ed Saxberger (Willem Dafoe) was a minor figure on the New York poetry scene. But as Ed […]
How a ‘psychic’ horse named Clever Hans changed the way we do science
Do you sometimes wish that you had telepathic or other supernormal powers? Around a hundred years ago, some of the greatest minds in philosophy thought there were people who had such abilities. In fact, they even suggested that perhaps horses and dogs could have them too. At the turn of the 20th century, many great […]
Worries that social media is making children lose touch with reality echo ancient Greeks’ fears about theatre
Banning under-16s from social media was one of Keir Starmer’s last acts as prime minister before he stepped down in July 2026. Following Australia’s ban on under-16s in 2025, which turbocharged the debate globally, the UK ban is timetabled for early 2027. As Meta’s $18bn (£13.2bn) recent settlement over teen addiction to its online platforms […]
Narwhals are helping scientists map warm water hidden in Greenland’s fjords
You might be familiar with the narwhal – otherwise known as the “unicorn of the sea”. The whale species, with their iconic spiral tusks that can extend up to three metres long, live year-round in Arctic waters across Canada, Greenland and Russia. They attract committed tourists determined to see and photograph them in the wild, […]
The Bayeux tapestry’s lesser-known tale of bromance: William and Harold were friends before they were enemies
Wikimedia They weren’t always enemies. Before William of Normandy and Harold Godwinson were deadly adversaries on the battlefield at Hastings in 1066, vying for the throne of England, they were comrades and brothers in arms. It’s a tragic journey from unlikely allies to mortal enemies. And it’s one of the lesser-known stories in the Bayeux […]
How Aliens became the rare sequel that was as good as – or better than – the original
In 1986, seven years after the groundbreaking Alien, director James Cameron released its long-awaited sequel. Rather then trying to recreate Ridley Scott’s claustrophobic 1979 horror, Cameron transformed it into something bigger, louder and more militaristic. Forty years later, Aliens remains one of the rare sequels that can credibly stand alongside – and perhaps even surpass […]