Donald Trump has launched another ‘Red Scare’ in the US – it’s a favourite tactic of the right
President Donald Trump’s recent speech at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial was a key moment in his carefully choreographed America 250 weekend. Though partisan and rambling in typical Trumpian style, the speech stood out for its focus on a theme which has increasingly dominated his rhetoric over recent months: the dangers of communism. Communism is […]
Wildfires: why media coverage doesn’t always make the climate connection
The front page of the Times on July 25 carried a photograph of three people sitting under a striped parasol on the sand near Lacanau in southwest France, looking out to sea. Beyond them, the sky was rust-orange as a wall of wildfire smoke climbed above the treeline. The caption described it as a “dramatic […]
As mayor, Andy Burnham’s climate record was strong – this city knowledge is key to decarbonising the UK
Mistervlad/Shutterstock When Andy Burnham walked into Downing Street on July 20 as the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade, he promised to act as a “circuit-breaker for Britain”. Burnham is the first UK premier to come straight from running a major city region. Used well, that experience could transform the UK’s response to the […]
Why women should strength train at every stage of life
SeventyFour/ Shutterstock Women who are inactive can lose up to 10% of their muscle mass each decade after the age of 30. This matters, because muscle isn’t only key for strength or how we look. It supports bone, brain, hormonal, metabolic and mental health, as well as confidence, independence and long-term wellbeing. Women’s lives and […]
When England crashes out of a football tournament, the stock market takes a dive
On July 15 2026, England were just five tantalising minutes away from their first men’s World Cup final since 1966. But that was before Argentina scored two goals to claim victory in stoppage time. The next morning, the professional reputation of England’s head coach Thomas Tuchel had taken quite a hit. So too had the […]
Strictly Come Dancing: the hidden injury risks behind the sparkle and glamour
Master1305/Shutterstock.com Excitement is building again with the announcement of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing contestants. As celebrities prepare to swap everyday life for sequins and the ballroom, they’ll also be putting their bodies through one of the most physically demanding experiences on television. Last year’s series offered a reminder of those demands when Dani Dyer […]
Beatrix Potter was obsessed with fungi – and she was quite the naturalist
Beatrix Potter’s animal illustrations are distinctive, but she was also an established naturalist. SvetaArtStore/Shutterstock Before I became a mycologist, I knew Beatrix Potter as the author of some of my favourite childhood books. It was only years later that I learned she was also a serious student of fungi. The discovery delighted me, but also […]
Andy Burnham’s No 10 North has a precedent – in medieval York
Andy Burnham’s decision to establish No 10 North, a permanent northern base for the prime minister’s office, has been hailed as an ambitious shift in state power. Supporters see it as a long-overdue attempt to rebalance political power away from Westminster. Critics have questioned the practicalities of moving part of the machinery of government beyond […]
Updating Darwin: biologists are returning to an older theory to explain anomalies in evolution
Evolution is a fact of life. So much so that even the theory of evolution is evolving. Lately, a centuries-old discredited idea has been making a strong comeback. It helps us explain scientific observations that according to standard evolutionary theory should be impossible. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Wikimedia, CC BY-SA I’m referring to Lamarckism, named after theoretical […]
Falling birth rates mean schools are closing – affecting whole communities
Aleksandr Khmeliov/Shutterstock As another academic year ends, some schools will be closing their doors permanently due to falling numbers of children. In England, declining birth rates over the last decade have led to over 100 schools, predominantly in urban areas, permanently closing. This relatively recent phenomenon is unprecedented in modern times. The last drop in […]