How Latin America’s right use humour – and why it has deep historical roots
Future Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro sits on the shoulders of a supporter during a rally in Juiz de Fora, south-eastern Brazil, in 2018. Antonio Scorza / Shutterstock Humour plays a key role in the political communication of rightwing populist leaders in Latin America. Politicians including Javier Milei in Argentina, Nayib Bukele in El Salvador and […]
From moral decay to pure escapism: how attitudes to reading have changed over three centuries
Ask someone today why they enjoy reading novels and they will likely say it allows them to escape real life and immerse themselves in a different world. This escapism is seen as positive, but for centuries novel reading was thought to corrupt readers for precisely these reasons. This year is the UK’s National Year of […]
Three ways boredom can actually be a benefit
Tiantip Deedet/ Shutterstock Boredom is something many of us will do everything we can to avoid. We fill our time with social media, books and TV programmes and keeping our schedules packed with plans. But boredom doesn’t always need to be seen as something negative. Boredom may, in fact, be good for you – but […]
The ten best short novels under 150 pages – chosen by experts
Which short novel would you recommend? ProStockStudio/Shutterstock A novel doesn’t need to be a hefty tome to change your life. Forget War and Peace (1,200 pages) or Les Misérables (1,400 pages); these expert recommendations are under 150 pages – short enough to tear through over a weekend. 1. Train Dreams by Denis Johnson (2011) In […]
What really happens to your data when you click ‘delete’?
Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock Deletion is a common part of modern life. We send files and folders to the recycle bin all the time, and often get rid of unwanted personal accounts. But do you know what really happens when you hit the “delete” button? The process of deletion is often poorly explained by tech providers. Lack […]
The EU has fined Google a billion dollars for ignoring competition rules – but will it have any effect?
The European Commission’s decision to fine Google €890 million (US$1 billion) for failing to comply with the EU Digital Markets Act sounds like a significant financial and political intervention against one of the world’s largest technology companies. The ruling is certainly further evidence of Europe’s desire to regulate US big tech platforms more strictly. But […]
Air filters don’t stop you catching infectious respiratory diseases, landmark study indicates
Who wants to get rid of the Hepa filter? Monkey Business Image/Shutterstock.com There was an energetic push to install air-filtering devices in schools and care homes when the COVID pandemic struck. However, these devices had rarely been tested in real situations looking at infection outcomes in people. Because there was no solid proof that these […]
New theory on how six-tonne Stonehenge rock was transported from Scotland thousands of years ago – on a glacier
muratart/Shutterstock Built from stones weighing between 2 and 25 tonnes, the structure of Stonehenge demonstrates a scale of construction hard to imagine before the invention of the wheel. The mystery deepens when you consider that the stones are not from the local bedrock. So why these stones, and how did they get there? Recent work […]
A.I. at 25: the Spielberg film that feels more unsettling than ever
A quarter of a century ago, Steven Spielberg released one of the most unusual films of his career: A.I. Artificial Intelligence, a futuristic fairytale about a robot boy programmed to love. Yet the movie’s origins lay not with Spielberg but another giant of cinema. For more than two decades, Stanley Kubrick had wrestled with the […]
Violent crime in your area could be affecting your mental health
William Barton/Shutterstock Victims of the approximately 1 million violent crimes committed in England and Wales every year may experience physical, emotional and financial harm, and feel more fearful and less trusting. But our new research shows the harmful effects of violent crime also reach beyond their victims, and can affect the wellbeing of whole neighbourhoods. […]