Taung child: the controversial story of the fossil discovery that proved humanity’s common origins in Africa – podcast: The cast of the Taung child skull found in South Africa in 1924. Didier Descouens/Wikipedia Commons, CC BY-SA One hundred years ago, a paper was published in the journal Nature that would radically shift our understandings of …
Plan to ‘retain and explain’ controversial statues is flawed – the act of writing history is so often biased: The long-awaited government guidance on the official “retain and explain” policy suggests the UK’s contested statues and monuments be retained as long as additional context is provided. But given their controversial past, how do we go …
Philip Guston: controversial delayed Tate show asks ‘what would it be like to be evil?’: American painter Philip Guston’s (1913-1980) work was filled with creative innovation. But the paintings he is best known for are the series of cartoonish hooded figures begun in the late 1960s. Guston called these painted characters “hoods”. They represented members …
Sex education review: controversial proposals risk failing young people: Juice Verve/Shutterstock Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has brought forward a planned review into sex education in English schools. This is in response to concerns raised by Conservative MP Miriam Cates over sex education that is “age-inappropriate, extreme, sexualising and inaccurate” being taught in schools. Nearly 50 …
Ghana’s plan for a grand new national cathedral is controversial – but will it attract pilgrims and tourists?: An artist's impression of Ghana's envisioned National Cathedral. Image courtesy www.nationalcathedralghana.org The building of Ghana’s spectacular $ 400 million national cathedral designed by famed architect David Adjaye has stalled amid an economic crisis. The plan has drawn …
Chris Brown: a fandom expert on how racialised loyalty helps the controversial singer retain his fans: American singer Chris Brown’s reputation is as well known as his music. In 2009, he was sentenced to five years’ probation for assaulting his then girlfriend, fellow singer Rihanna, and he has been involved in other controversies over the …
George Santos: why the Republicans aren’t doing anything about the controversial congressman, yet: Republican Representative George Santos has been continuously embroiled in scandal since his election in November 2022. The controversial congressman for New York’s 3rd district has admitted embellishing his election campaign. He misled the electorate about his education, falsely claimed his grandparents “survived” …
Speaker Kevin McCarthy: how backroom deals have put controversial Republicans into key roles: When California Representative Kevin McCarthy finally earned the speaker’s gavel earlier this month after an unprecedented 15 rounds of votes on the House floor, it required a slew of backdoor deals. McCarthy was tight-lipped about all the concessions he had to make …
From a ‘deranged’ provocateur to IBM’s failed AI superproject: the controversial story of how data has transformed healthcare: US health data pioneer Ernest Codman at work on his national registry of patient outcomes, 1925. Roy Mabrey/Boston Medical Library Just over a decade ago, artificial intelligence (AI) made one of its showier forays into the public’s …
Balenciaga’s controversial new campaign and the long history of ‘shockvertising’: A Balenciaga billboard in Seoul, South Korea. Shutterstock Kim Kardashian is refining her personal brand. Right-wing news outlet Fox TV is gaining viewers through attention-grabbing headlines. Photographer Gabriele Galimberti is gaining notoriety. All this is due to a recent advertising campaign from leading global fashion …
Viktor Orbán’s controversial ‘Greater Hungary’ scarf explained: A recent football match between Hungary and Greece – two countries that didn’t even qualify for the World Cup – would have been quickly forgotten were it not for the sartorial choices made by one of the spectators. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán was in attendance, sporting a …
Resignation honours: what are they, why are they so controversial and can the system ever be changed?: Time for a quick quiz. What links Nadine Dorries, lockdown-rule-flouting London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey and David Ross, a Tory donor embroiled in a scandal after funding a prime ministerial holiday to Mustique. If you answered, “They are …
Boris Johnson: four ways this controversial prime minister tested the British parliament to its limits: Flickr/Number 10, CC BY-NC-SA Boris Johnson’s tenure as British prime minister is nearly over, ending a fractious period for parliament and the wider political system. His two and a half years in Downing Street have exposed some of the vulnerabilities …
Why ‘mercy’ killing wild animals is so controversial: Freya the walrus was killed in Oslo after officials decided she posed a threat to humans. Sheard Photography/Shutterstock Two wild animals that strayed from their ordinary habitats and into close proximity to humans were recently killed in high-profile cases. The life of Freya the walrus was ended …
Salman Rushdie: where to start with this pioneering and controversial author: Untitled design On the eve of India’s 75th anniversary of independence (August 15), the 75-year-old Salman Rushdie was stabbed multiple times on stage in New York. Thankfully, the author survived the attack. But you might be wondering how a writer came to be the …
Did Sweden’s controversial COVID strategy pay off? In many ways it did – but it let the elderly down: Talita Rocha/Shutterstock As much of the world shut down early in the COVID pandemic, Sweden remained open. The country’s approach was controversial, with some calling it “the Swedish experiment”. But almost two-and-a-half years after the pandemic …
Facial recognition technology: how it’s being used in Ukraine and why it’s still so controversial: Facial recognition technology is controversial in many countries. Shutterstock Facial recognition technology is being used in warfare for the first time. It could be a game changer in Ukraine, where it is being used to identify the dead and reunite …
The controversial Victorian novel that argued against the Deceased Wife’s Sister’s Marriage Act: Dinah Craik. National Portrait Gallery It was once illegal in Britain for a woman to marry the husband of her dead sister. Under the the Deceased Wife’s Sister’s, legally, they were seen as brother and sister, making such marriages incestuous. While it …