TOK: Emotion
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Striker fights on for free school meals
Is Marcus Rashford an exception or an inspiration? The Premier League striker grew up poor and hungry, but is now using his fame to fight for children going hungry during the lockdown.
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The Machine rules – you have been warned
Will we value human contact more after the lockdown? A 111-year-old story by EM Forster is proving extraordinarily prophetic about social isolation and our relationship with technology.
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Germany reboots football behind closed doors
Could English football lose its top spot? The Bundesliga is the first European league to resume matches under strict social distancing rules – stealing the Premier League’s global audience.
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Obama blasts Trump as ‘chaotic disaster’
Will there ever be another Barack Obama? A new row has exploded between the former US president and Donald Trump. It has left many yearning to find “a new Obama” to help heal the world.
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The greatest outburst of joy ever – for some
Is history best told through human stories? Tomorrow is the 75th anniversary of VE Day, and the eyewitness accounts of those who were there vividly evoke its mixture of joy and sadness.
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Germany: England’s spot-kick curse is a myth
Do we focus too much on the negative? For 30 years, England’s national football team has been losing penalty shootouts. But new research shows English players are far better than we think.
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A millennial love story for ‘Normal People’
Do ‘normal people’ exist? The 2018 literary sensation by Irish author Sally Rooney has been turned into a 12-part TV drama. What’s all the fuss about and what does it mean to be normal anyway?
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‘Lives pulled apart for no good reason’
Who is more out of touch: the tabloids or Meghan and Harry? Exactly 100 days after Megxit, the couple are under vicious fire for announcing a boycott of four popular British newspapers.
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We are what we eat – and what we mistreat
Did our cruel treatment of animals lead to the coronavirus? Experts tell us that the conditions leading to new infectious diseases are the same ones that inflict horrific harms on animals.
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The sound of one million hands clapping
Should we applaud more? Last night, millions in Britain followed dozens of other countries celebrating health workers by bringing our hands together – an ancient and profoundly human act.
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No greater love: the priest who gave his life
Is sacrificing one’s life the most powerful act of kindness? Reports say that an elderly priest in Italy gave up his respirator so that a younger man, a stranger, could survive the virus.
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In the footsteps of Lincoln, Gandhi, Gorbachev
Is this one of those turning points in history? This was the week a British prime minister declared a state of emergency and called on a nation to come together to fight a deadly enemy.
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A man with a cough walks into an empty bar
Is it wrong to make jokes during a crisis? The pandemic – like many tragic and difficult situations throughout the centuries – has brought fear, but also inspired a tidal wave of humour.
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Do not lose hope: we can defeat the virus
Should the media publish more good news? The Covid-19 outbreak is frightening and deserves our attention. But amidst all the doom and gloom, there are hundreds of encouraging developments.
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‘Everyone suddenly burst out singing’
Could the virus help bring us together? Social distancing is the new normal as the pandemic takes over the world – but some people predict that, in other ways, we may become closer than ever.