Smartphones are helping filmmakers tell the stories the movie industry overlooks
When my feature documentary Motherboard was released, I was in my late 50s. I had filmed it over 20 years, on five generations of smartphones, documenting the pain, joy and comedy of raising my son Jim alone. When I became pregnant at 38, I found myself single and broke. I was working long hours as […]
Immigration and asylum bill: why yet another attempt to overhaul the system won’t work
The UK government’s immigration and asylum bill puts forward a number of proposals to overhaul the asylum system. These include changes to how human rights are interpreted, and requiring refugees to pay back some of the support they receive. If passed, it will be the fifth immigration act adopted since 2022. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood […]
State of emergency in Crimea as Ukraine focuses pressure on ‘jewel in Putin’s crown’
Vladimir Putin has finally acknowledged that Ukraine’s relentless drone attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure are having an effect. Speaking to the ruling United Russia party on June 28, the Russian president confirmed that his country is facing “a certain shortage” of fuel and that “strikes on our infrastructure sites are creating problems”. In fact, the […]
Confessions II: why Madonna still matters
Every time she releases a new album, journalists and social media commentary insist that Madonna is over. They are usually, eventually, proven wrong. This debate has emerged again now Madonna is on the promotional circuit for her new album Confessions II. Despite the positive response to the music released so far, she is drawing controversy […]
The Bayeux tapestry and the hidden history of the women who embroidered it
The Bayeux tapestry and a medieval illustration of a woman weaving. BL Royal 20 C V, f. 30v, illuminated manuscript/Wiki Commons/Canva For the first time in nearly 1,000 years, the Bayeux tapestry is returning to Britain. The 70-metre embroidery will be displayed at the British Museum from September. The tapestry depicts the Norman Conquest of […]
Comet from another star has a composition unlike anything else in our solar system
An image of 3I/Atlas from the Hubble telescope shows the teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust emanating from its solid, icy nucleus. NASA, ESA, David Jewitt (UCLA); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI) Astronomers have revealed new details about the make-up and age of a visiting comet that was born around a distant star. They conclude that the […]
Schools should teach children more about how money works
vectorfusionart/Shutterstock I recently volunteered to teach some lessons in finance to pupils at a primary school. Over six sessions, I spoke to a group of ten and eleven-year-olds about things like value, savings, cost and risk. The talks were not meant to turn the children into investors, or to teach them to price derivatives or […]
Five hidden pitfalls of fitness tracking
LightField Studios/Shutterstock Many people in the UK now use apps, smartwatches or wearable devices to track their physical activity. Fitness trackers promise to help users become fitter, happier and healthier versions of themselves. For many people, they can be useful: a nudge to move more, a way to notice patterns, or a reminder that activity […]
Why Poland’s president is invoking wartime history in a dispute with Volodymyr Zelensky
There have long been tensions, political, economic and cultural, between Poland and Ukraine. But that hasn’t prevented Poland from being the biggest supporter of its neighbour, taking in millions of Ukrainians fleeing the war, about 1 million of whom have remained. And in 2023, Poland conferred its highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle, […]
From falling to flow: why you should take up bouldering as a hobby for reasons beyond exercise
Duet PandG/Shutterstock Shortly after I started my PhD at the end of 2016, a small, community-focused bouldering wall opened on the street I lived on. I was completely new to climbing at the time but thought: why not give it a go. Almost a decade later my love affair with bouldering is still going strong […]