Taskmaster returns: five lessons in creativity from TV’s most absurd challenges
The Bafta-winning comedy game show, Taskmaster, has returned to Channel 4 for its 21st series. Part of the show’s long-running appeal is its lighthearted exhibition of human creativity. Recently, I was part of the Warwick Business School Lead out Loud podcast with Alex Horne, the show’s creative mastermind and star, to talk about Taskmaster’s lessons […]
Why the US and Israel’s alliance endures – even when it strains
Israel and the US have maintained a close alliance for decades. Their recent joint air campaign in Iran has once again underscored the depth of this partnership. Yet while the strength of their relationship is widely acknowledged, the reasons behind it remain contested. At the centre of this debate lies the question of whether US […]
National Car Parks is in administration – some big companies are so dependent on debt that they can’t adjust to change
chrisdorney/Shutterstock When the UK’s biggest private car park company went into administration last month, some motorists might have been surprised. How could National Car Parks (NCP), a company that charged so much for parking, at so many prime sites across the country, run out of road? Maybe it was down to a drop in commuters […]
How commercial sand dredging is reshaping the largest lake in the UK – new study
Algal blooms on Lough Neagh have harmful effects on wildlife and water quality. Studio 70SN/Shutterstock At Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland, sand has been dredged commercially for decades. Large vessels remove sand from the lakebed and transport it to the shore. Because this happens underwater, the scale of the activity is largely invisible. Regulation has […]
US blockade of Strait of Hormuz ratchets up tensions with China ahead of Trump visit to Beijing
The Trump administration’s decision to carry out a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has raised tensions in the Persian Gulf to new and more perilous levels. The move was announced by the US president, Donald Trump, after negotiations over a ceasefire with Iran broke down on April 11, partly due to Iran wanting […]
Waking at 3am every night? Here’s what may be going on
tigercat_lpg/Shutterstock It’s 3am. The room is dark, the house is silent, but your brain is suddenly wide awake. Many people find themselves waking at roughly the same time each night and start to wonder whether something is wrong with their sleep. Waking during the night is actually a normal part of sleep. Most people wake […]
All The President’s Men at 50: how a trusted US media covered politics in the 1970s
This month marks the 50th anniversary of a much-revered classic of American cinema, All The President’s Men. The 1976 movie starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman was an adaptation of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s 1974 book of investigative journalism detailing their two-year unravelling of the Watergate conspiracy. The shocking scandal brought down a president […]
From ‘market value’ to levelling up, the manosphere is shaped by a financial mindset
oneinchpunch/Shutterstock Louis Theroux’s recent Netflix documentary Inside the Manosphere shines a spotlight on masculinity influencers and the dangers of online misogyny, conspiracy theories and anti-feminist ideologies. Responses to the documentary have ranged from outrage to disbelief, criticising how the manfluencers treat the women in their lives and discussing the importance of role models in countering […]
The UK is spending more on defence – but is raiding the aid budget the best way to pay for it?
In March, the UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper made a statement to parliament setting out the government’s international aid priorities. With an aid budget significantly smaller than it was five years ago, Cooper proposed which countries and programmes would receive support. This was the first time MPs and the public heard any spending detail after […]
My surname makes people laugh – so I turned it into a research communication tool
Surnames shape our identity. They can be a point of reflection, especially if the surname is rare, has a unique meaning, or holds special sentimental value. They often spark curiosity about family history or the need to carry on a legacy. I have what many might think is an unfortunate or embarrassing surname – Mycock. […]