When satire could destroy a career: the scandals of Georgian politician Charles James Fox
Political satire has mocked the powerful for centuries. But in an age of endless headlines, rolling news and social media outrage, satire can often feel strangely powerless. In Georgian Britain, satire had the power not just to entertain the public, but to shape reputations and destroy careers. Satire meant a scandal could define a politician […]
How to know if it’s time to quit your first job
PeopleImages/Shutterstock Actor Emily Blunt was recently asked for advice for young women who hate their jobs. Her response – to quit and pursue what you want or love to do, even if it earns no money – generated polarised reactions. Many people bristled at the financial impossibility of following this advice. Others rightly pointed out […]
The hidden assumptions that leave nurses exposed to sexual harassment
Dragana Gordic/Shutterstock Three in five nursing staff and students who responded to a 2021 survey by Nursing Times and Unison said they had experienced sexual harassment at work. For many, it had come to be treated as part of the job. More recent figures suggest the problem persists. In the 2025 NHS staff survey for […]
Why researchers may be getting mental health inequalities wrong
Melitas on Shutterstock More than five years after the murder of George Floyd forced institutions to confront racial injustice, it is worth asking what has actually changed. As an associate professor of forensic psychology, I’ve been considering this question in relation to research – in particular, how universities produce knowledge about the communities that are […]
Birds masturbate, and that’s perfectly normal
mycteria/Shutterstock For captive animals, engaging in natural behaviour is a pillar of the animal welfare framework. But when it comes to sex, one important behaviour has been largely ignored, and sometimes even punished: masturbation. Solo sex is surprisingly common across the animal kingdom. It is well documented in primates. Tortoises are surprisingly vocal during their […]
Finland is Europe’s most digitalised country – but older people are still left behind
MAYA Lab/Shutterstock Around the world, countries are moving towards a more digital way of life. Governments have promoted digitalisation of public services to improve efficiency, cut costs and meet modern demands for speedy responses. Yet this push for the digital has caught some people by surprise. Many older adults now feel they face another hurdle […]
Could a gut microbe help reduce weight regain after dieting? New study suggests it might
Research found a particular gut microbe may help to prevent weight regain. Prostock-studio/ Shutterstock Losing weight is hard. Keeping it off is often even harder. Research has shown that most people who intentionally lose weight regain at least some of it within a few years. This is often attributed to lack of “willpower”, but the […]
Reform UK surged in the Scottish election. Here’s where the party picked up the most support
The Scottish parliamentary election in May saw Reform UK return the same number of MSPs to Holyrood – 17 – as Scottish Labour. This remarkable result – effectively from a standing start – showed that the party is now a force to be reckoned with in Scotland just as in other parts of the UK. […]
Whistler by Ann Patchett: a pacy metafiction where rich people are nice to each other
In Ann Patchett’s 11th novel Whistler, a former stepfather and stepdaughter, Eddie and Daphne, meet again by chance after 44 years. They rekindle their bond (before long, Eddie is introducing Daphne as “my daughter”) and revisit the events that prompted Eddie’s abrupt departure from her life when she was nine. Eddie is a fiction editor […]
Backrooms: why being trapped in the film’s endless corridors feels a lot like modern life
In Backrooms, the latest horror film from production company A24, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Clark – a failed architect who accidentally slips out of reality. He ends up trapped in an endless labyrinth of yellow-tinted rooms, humming fluorescent lights and eerie, disembodied sounds – the “Backrooms”. The film is an adaptation of a popular internet horror […]