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Savage House’s filth and farce are closer to the real bawdiness of the 18th century

Although critics have praised the performances in Savage House, the film itself has received a frosty reception. Tim Robey in the Telegraph described its “putrid stylings” as making it “impossible to enjoy”, dismissing it as a “rancid” and “rotten” period drama. Yet this allegedly “lowbrow” film captures the spirit of 18th-century culture more effectively than […]

Message drift: why things get taken out of context online and why it matters

Paper Trident/Shutterstock You are scrolling through your feed when a screenshot appears showing a public figure saying something surprising or controversial. Within minutes, it is everywhere. Some are angry, others defend it, memes parody it, and arguments spread across platforms. Later, you discover the person never quite said that exact quote. The words came from […]

I ran the Thames from source to sea – here’s what I discovered

In 2021, as the UK began to emerge from the third COVID lockdown, I embarked on a slow, long-distance run from the source of the River Thames to the sea. The run was a live artwork I called Thames Run: Source to Sea, as part of the Estuary 21 Festival Associated Programme. Following the course […]

Breaking free from fossil fuels is urgent but hard – Colombia shows why

Javier Crespo / shutterstock Colombia’s outgoing president Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla and the country’s first leftist leader, came to power in 2022. He promised something few leaders of fossil fuel-producing countries have seriously attempted: to reduce his country’s dependence on oil, gas and coal. Together with his vice-president Francia Márquez, a former environmental activist, […]

US and Iran’s exchange of strikes shows how far diplomacy has changed

A US Army Apache helicopter was downed near the Strait of Hormuz on June 8, with the two crew members rescued by an American sea drone. Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock The US military launched strikes against Iran on June 9 in response to the downing of a US Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz a […]

Footballer Christian Eriksen’s ICD kept his heart beating after he collapsed on the pitch – here’s how these devices work

Eriksen was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator after suffering a cardiac arrest in 2021. Vitalii Vitleo/ Shutterstock When Danish footballer Christian Eriksen collapsed during a friendly match recently, many people would have been surprised to see the footballer walk off the pitch after regaining consciousness. The event brought back memories of Eriksen’s cardiac arrest […]

‘Lime bike leg’: what doctors are seeing in ebike crashes

Peter Porrini/Shutterstock.com A man in his 30s arrived at the Royal London Major Trauma Centre after what sounded like a relatively minor cycling accident. He had been riding a shared ebike when he lost control and fell. By the time I met him, scans had revealed a complex fracture around his ankle where his shinbone […]

Hip dips: what are they and can you really get rid of them?

Jeorge/Shutterstock.com Hip dips are having a moment. The perfectly normal indentations that sit below your hips on the outer thigh have become the latest body feature to be scrutinised, fixed and agonised over on social media. But what are they? Can you actually get rid of them? And should you even try? Formally known as […]

Nasa names Artemis III crew, but a rocket explosion has thrown US Moon plans into turmoil

The Artemis III mission will involve launching the Orion spacecraft into low Earth orbit. Nasa/Esa/ATG Medialab Nasa has named the crew of its next Artemis mission, which it promised would be an “extraordinary demonstration of what is possible”. Artemis is the ambitious American-led effort to the return humans to the lunar surface by 2028. However, […]