Rumour mill: Did Peter Dinklage die and come back to life? (originally published in the focus)

admin 12 October No Comments

2 minutes

Peter Hayden Dinklage, known the world over for portraying Tyrion Lannister in HBO series Game of Thrones, isn’t dead. But everyone thought he died – or did they? The rumour, if there was one, was […]

Features

Don’t let your protest let off steam, or alleviate your guilt: Translate solidarity into policy — into education

admin 23 July No Comments

5 minutes

Clearing through my old university things, I found a 100-page political zine recounting some of the responses to the murder of Michael Brown. Brown was a black teenager from Missouri who was shot six times […]

Features

Don’t clap for our NHS, Vote for It

admin 18 May No Comments

5 minutes

More and more, commentators are delicately questioning the method and/or madness behind our weekly ritual—the Clap (no, not that clap). Why do we clap for the NHS? What can previous love-ins teach us about bringing […]

Features

Forgotten Victims: Spare a thought for India’s Muslims during coronavirus

admin 30 March No Comments

4 minutes

Victimhood and suffering are relative. India’s Muslim population has been dealt severe blows in recent months. Now they have to reckon with coronavirus as it encroaches upon Indian soil, and a nationwide lockdown. In December […]

Features

The Day the Earth Slowed Down: The Three Gorges Dam is damn big, and that’s not all

admin 30 March No Comments

7 minutes

It is of mythical proportions, impossible to truly grasp. It makes mountains look like molehills and molehills look like very small piles of dust. That’s right, I’m talking about China’s 3 Gorges Dam, astride the […]

Features

A Most Slippery Man: Amusing notes on the inventor of Vaseline

admin 28 March No Comments

3 minutes

More than just a man, Sir Robert Chesebrough was the inventor of Vaseline. And most slippery he certainly was. Though not in the negative sense of the word. On the contrary, much can be said […]

Features

Silver Linings Playbook: Is the coronavirus a necessary wake-up call?

admin 22 March No Comments

7 minutes

Coronavirus has struck at an interesting time. These are turbulent days. Commentators speak in seismic proportions of ‘before’ and ‘after’ replacing such indulgencies as past and future. We are living in the midst of an […]

Food/Drink

Milking the issue – arguments about the best milk substitute

admin 6 March No Comments

9 minutes

Milk substitutes get a lot of flak — they are hypocritical, they are unhealthy, they are bad for the planet, they use too much water, they shouldn’t be called milks, and so on. In trying to sort wheat […]

Sri Lanka

Sexual harassment in Sri Lanka is ubiquitous. Are women safe?

admin 25 June No Comments

14 minutes

Shocking statistics abound, yet travel bloggers, tourist boards and travel agencies are ardent in their praise of Sri Lanka’s invariably hospitable locals. We have a duty to inform.

Politics

Why we need to politicise Eurovision

admin 31 May No Comments

4 minutes

Breaking point has been reached: the Israel-Palestine conflict has spilled over into the domain of mass entertainment.

Politics

Why was Winston Churchill removed from office? (originally published in the focus)

admin 12 October No Comments

4 minutes

What led to Winston Churchill being removed from office in the fabled ‘11th hour’ of World War II? In 1945, his Conservative Party lost the general election and Churchill resigned as Prime Minister of the UK. Instead, […]

non-fiction

Why do people troll? The psychology of online trolling (originally published in the focus)

admin 12 October No Comments

5 minutes

Why do people troll? What’s the psychology behind it? Trolling has been around since the Old Norse word ‘troll’, meaning giant or demon, migrated into the English language. But trolling has since taken on a new […]

non-fiction

What does death of the author mean? Can you still enjoy a controversial author? (originally published in the focus)

admin 12 October No Comments

4 minutes

The death of the author is a curious thing. JK Rowling is back in the firing line. With the hashtag #RIPJKRowling trending on Twitter and the flames of condemnation burning bright, many are asking whether or […]

non-fiction

RIP ‘Me and the boys at 2am looking for beans’, Reddit’s dankest meme (originally published in the focus)

admin 12 October No Comments

4 minutes

“Me and the boys at 2am looking for beans” was once a kingpin in the world of memes. It commanded legions and led to the creation of merchandise. Now, the meme is dank. Could it […]

Features

“This might be a world first”: Deep fried water in America? Still Reddit relevant, still weird

admin 12 October No Comments

3 minutes

It may come as a surprise to some that an American has solved one of the major problems of our time. How do you deep fry water? It may come as an even bigger surprise […]

Features

The Paradox of ‘Shopping Responsibly’: Why you should mend your clothes

admin 26 July No Comments

6 minutes

The Bottomless Fashion Glut ‘Official figures regarding the amount of clothing produced each year do not exist, but it is estimated that between 80 and 100 billion pieces of clothing are produced each year.’ LSX As a […]

Features

The Reactor in the Room: Time for Nuclear Power?

admin 18 May No Comments

10 minutes

‘Despite long-standing public concern about the safety of nuclear energy, more and more people are realizing that it may be the most environmentally friendly way to generate large amounts of electricity’ National Center Org Nuclear […]