Will AI be good or bad for the climate? Here’s what the latest evidence on energy use suggests
Is AI a climate change villain, whose insatiable hunger for electricity will roast the planet? Or will it help predict where the next climate disaster will strike and what to do about it? In order to weigh these questions up, a good starting point is with AI’s energy consumption. The 2015 Paris agreement was a […]
How dyspraxia can exhaust children and exclude them from social activities
Dreams Come True/Shutterstock Ask a parent of a child with dyspraxia what happens around 4pm, and many describe the same scene. Their child has spent a whole school day gripping pencils, fastening buttons and keeping up in the playground. By the time they get home, they are exhausted. That exhaustion can easily be mistaken for […]
When Europe’s monastic libraries were looted, Britain’s richest book collectors went hunting
In 1790, the London bookseller Thomas Payne sold a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, the earliest printed book, to George John, 2nd Earl Spencer. He charged him £370 – an enormous sum at the time, roughly equivalent to £878,000 today – as part of a package deal which included two other early theological works. As […]
Animals: Ben Affleck stars in this thriller about a politician who can’t hide his ugly side
As the new Netflix thriller Animals began, I wasn’t sure how its 106-minute runtime was going to keep me sympathetic to the plight of a wealthy American politician. Ben Affleck, directed, co-wrote and stars in the film as Mark Kimball, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate. Animals begins with Kimball staking much of his wealth and […]
Autism and ADHD: people need support before diagnosis, but getting one can change their lives
For some adults, receiving an autism or ADHD diagnosis can transform how they understand themselves, but finding appropriate mental health support can remain difficult. VH-studio/Shutterstock I hated myself so much…and now I love myself. I’m not perfect. But I’ve accepted myself now. That was how one person described the impact of receiving an autism and […]
What was going on with the dancing in Sense and Sensibility? A Regency expert explains
I’m not going to lie. When I saw Georgia Oakley’s new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, I was swept away. The expansive pastoral landscapes and rocky seascapes are breathtaking. The pond scene at Norland House Park with its stately, if overgrown, stone steps and wild purple flowers was perfection. Each scene is a visual delight, […]
The Holborn and St Pancras byelection doesn’t answer the big questions about British politics – but it provides hints
Holborn and St Pancras is a very unusual constituency. While often referred to as being in “north London”, a significant chunk of it covers the west end, including parts of Covent Garden, Fitzrovia and all of Bloomsbury. It is also home to three of the UK’s largest mainline train stations, two of the three Inns […]
The gut-muscle link: why fermented foods could boost muscle health
Protein-rich fermented foods, such as kefir, cottage cheese and yoghurt, may be good for both the gut and the muscles. Mariya Surmacheva/ Shutterstock Gut health and muscle health are often thought of as separate concerns. The first brings to mind eating fibre and probiotics, while the other centres on, exercise and protein. But researchers are […]
Art imitates art in Barbara Kingsolver’s new book – what to read, see and watch this week
Barbara Kingsolver’s new book is a canny feat of art imitating art. Partita is about a pianist, Livia, looking back at her life and trying to understand what art means to her. It’s structured the same way the composition from which it takes its name is. A partita consists of a series of dance movements, […]
Jane Eyre: a Musical – an intimate Brontë adaptation that misses the novel’s darkness
Jane Eyre may describe herself as “plain, and little”, but how do you make a little musical about a literary heroine who looms so large? That question lies at the heart of Jane Eyre: a Musical, currently on at London’s Southwark Playhouse. Adapted by John Caird and Paul Gordon from Charlotte Brontë’s novel, the production […]