Athol Fugard: the great South African playwright who captured what it means to be human: I was shocked to learn that the famous South African writer Athol Fugard had passed away. I had known his age to be 92 but somehow I never expected him to die. He was always a survivor. When I think …
Why Village People’s YMCA is actually a great fit for team Trump: It was a bizarre sight watching a huge gay 1970s disco hit being performed at Donald Trump’s 2025 pre-inauguration rally. Many prominent artists from Beyoncé to Bruce Springsteen prohibit Trump from using their music. So why do Village People – a band synonymous …
The great poetry in Van Gogh’s work and a bewitching antihero – what you should watch and do this week: This article was first published in our email newsletter Something Good, which every fortnight brings you a summary of the best things to watch, visit and read, as recommended and analysed by academic experts. Click …
Edward Webster: South African intellectual, teacher, activist, a man of great energy and integrity, and the life and soul of any party: Eddie Webster (82), sociologist and emeritus professor at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, who died on 5 March 2024, lived a huge life, …
Encyclopedia Britannica once published a catalogue of humanity’s ‘102 Great Ideas’ – and it created more questions than answers: Shutterstock In its January 26 1948 issue, Life magazine published a feature showcasing the “102 Great Ideas” of western civilisation. The project was the brainchild of Mortimer Adler, a professor of philosophy and law at the …
Tom Wilkinson: an actor of great humanity who seldom played the lead but dominated the screen: It is rare that the news of the death of an actor brings with it a pang of loss for something more than their craft, something perhaps more profound. But such was the public regard and affection for Tom …
Christmas consumption – what would the great economic philosophers think?: UNSW Thomas Yang/Shutterstock Even during a cost of living crisis, with interest rates and inflation high, the average spending per person for Christmas 2023 in the UK is expected to reach as much as £974. Retailers, advertisers and a sense of tradition continue to encourage …
Google’s Gemini AI hints at the next great leap for the technology: analysing real-time information: Rafapress / Shutterstock Google has launched Gemini, a new artificial intelligence (AI) system that can seemingly understand and talk intelligently about almost any kind of prompt – pictures, text, speech, music, computer code and much more. This type of AI …
John Hlatywayo: remembering a great Zimbabwean artist who was woefully neglected by history: John Hlatywayo, who has died at 96, was a great painter, sculptor and mentor. However he is woefully neglected in the art history of Zimbabwe and southern Africa. Belonging to an early generation of Zimbabwean artists, Hlatywayo was overshadowed by international interest …
The Great Escaper: Michael Caine’s final film is Britain’s answer to Saving Private Ryan: The Great Escaper is an engaging exploration of love, loss, memory and trauma. It’s also the final film for its star, Michael Caine, as he has recently announced his retirement. The film tells the real story of Royal Navy veteran, Bernard …
Great Fire of London: how we uncovered the man who first found the flames: The Great Fire of London by Josepha Jane Battlehooke (1675). Museum of London If you had been in London on September 2 1666, the chances are you’d remember exactly where you were and who you were with. This was the day …
El Anatsui review: the great Ghanaian sculptor is the talk of London: The international art world is celebrating the Ghanaian artist El Anatsui in London. On 9 October, a gigantic installation of three new works – Behind the Red Moon – opened at the Turbine Hall at the prestigious Tate Modern, displaying what Anatsui is …
Accidental managers: why people who are great at their job can fail when they get promoted: Studio Romantic/Shutterstock There’s a saying that people don’t quit their job, they quit their boss. And poor management certainly has a lot to answer for in the UK workplace. A staggering 82% of new managers in the UK are …
Great Expectations: new theatrical adaptation sets Dickens novel in partition-era Bengal: We set eyes on Pip, the protagonist of Charles Dickens’s 1861 novel Great Expectations, for the first time in the churchyard where his parents and brothers are buried. The vision of the boy in front of the ruins of his family is one of …
South Africa’s great white sharks are changing locations – they need to be monitored for beach safety and conservation: South Africa is renowned for having one of the world’s biggest populations of great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). Substantial declines have been observed, however, in places where the sharks normally gather on the coast of the …
Why Pope’s message to young Russians not to forget ‘great Russia of Catherine II and Peter I’ has not gone down well in Ukraine: Pope Francis’s video speech to the All-Russian Meeting of Catholic Youth in St Petersburg, urging them to “not forget their heritage” has caused quite a stir. What struck a bitter chord …
Sylvia Mdunyelwa, one of South Africa’s great jazz vocalists, kept music traditions alive: If Miriam Makeba is hailed as the South African vocalist of her generation who brilliantly embraced (and actually shaped) global music sounds, and Sathima Bea Benjamin as the experimenter who entranced the modern jazz scene in Europe and the US, then Ncediwe …
Planks and wall sits are best for lowering blood pressure – here are six more reasons they’re such great exercises: Isometric exercises can be performed pretty well anywhere at anytime. BearFotos/ Shutterstock If you were told to do more exercise to lower your blood pressure, you might think you’d need break out you running gear …