Learner profile: Reflective
-
Pack your bags – it’s holiday time after all!
Is a change as good as a rest? Many families everywhere are thrilled about the return of the summer holidays as lockdown restrictions are eased and “air corridors” are announced this weekend.
-
Shock research: Humans now fatter than pigs
Is it wrong to be fat and lazy? Many of us now have more body fat than pigs, scientists said yesterday. But for most of history, being plump and idle was regarded as the goal of a good life.
-
Eureka! Bees talk with ‘toots’ and ‘quacks’
Should bees run the world? Bee colonies are highly organised and hugely successful societies built on cooperation and hard work. Some say we have a lot to learn from these social insects.
-
Thousands join march as protests spread to UK
Could the virus help kill racism? The high number of black victims of Covid-19, together with the murder of George Floyd, has focused people’s minds on a history of shameful injustice.
-
In a crisis, we need to see the bigger picture
Can the arts save your life? Books, films, music, and paintings are helping many people through the lockdown. But not everyone considers them essential, and artists are struggling to get by.
-
Social life cancelled in coronavirus lockdown
Is it morally wrong to socialise? Boris Johnson has followed other countries in recommending strict social distancing to lessen the impact of Covid-19 – but will people put it into practice?
-
Coronavirus: the maths behind the panic
How worried should we be? The headlines shout: “killer virus”, “crisis”, and “confusion”. Italy accuses misleading media of creating an “infodemic”. But what do the numbers say?
-
Row explodes over Amazon Nazi-hunter show
Is it wrong to tell fictional stories about the Holocaust? A new TV show about vigilante justice has been accused of sensationalising the genocide of millions for entertainment purposes.
-
Goodbye to tasty treats as Lent begins
Is giving things up a good idea? Today is the start of Lent, when Christians traditionally deprive themselves of something they enjoy. But the practice is common to other religions too.
-
China, Covid-19 and the future of communism
Could Covid-19 be the death of communism? Demands for freedom of speech and anger at the government’s handling of the epidemic are plunging China into its biggest crisis in 30 years.
-
Revealed: the machine that spied for America
Was this the greatest intelligence coup ever? A coding device that was used for decades by scores of countries has been exposed as an American trick to read all their top secret messages.
-
Outrage over top author’s support for genocide
Can you separate a writer’s work from their political views? A furious attack just published in the Washington Post lambasts a Nobel Prize-winning author for defending war crimes in Bosnia.
-
One woman’s fight to capture whiff of the past
Should there be museums for smells? As our lives move online and artificial intelligence takes over, some think it has never been more important to preserve culturally important aromas.
-
Trust is dying across the world, says survey
Whatever happened to good faith? People no longer believe that it is possible for institutions to do the right thing AND be competent. This is creating an unprecedented wave of cynicism.
-
Controversial film Joker set for bumper Baftas
Is Joker immoral? Now poised for ample awards, the deeply troubling 2019 film immediately inflamed debate over its depiction of extreme violence and worries about copycat behaviour.