TRENDS
David Chipperfield: how the 2023 Pritzker prize winner creates buildings that last
5 David Chipperfield projects that embody his imperative to achieve something that will stand the test of time in serving the people who need it.
TRENDS
Becoming Frida Kahlo: New documentary paints a compelling portrait of the Mexican artist
HEALTH-AND-FITNESS
Long COVID linked to air pollution exposure in young adults – new study
Air pollution from vehicles in particular was linked with greater likelihood of long COVID.
TRENDS
Ousmane Sembène at 100: a guide to the life and work of the ‘father of African cinema’
In his 100th year, a look back at the impact of Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène, the 'father of African cinema', who was the first to make a film in an African language, and pioneer of 1950s-'60s African cinema. His neorealist films, moved away from European cinema, to show African life and working-class people stripped off all stereotypes.
HEALTH-AND-FITNESS
How running can help you cope with stress at work
Running builds resilience. In particular, it can help us with our ability to cope with failure. But it comes with its own risks.
HEALTH-AND-FITNESS
I bonded with COVID vaccine sceptics over saunas and Mother Earth rituals – this is what they taught me
Why this group of people in Hälsingland, Sweden, are staunchly against COVID-19 vaccinations - early observations from a four-year research project.
TRENDS
ChatGPT is great – you’re just using it wrong
The G, P, T in ChatGPT stands for generative pretrained transformer. ChatGPT doesn’t try to write sentences that are true. But it does try to write sentences that are plausible.
WORLD
Is terrorism returning to Pakistan?
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, faction of the Pakistan Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the Peshawar mosque suicide bombing.
TRENDS
Melodramatic potboilers, worthy classics and DIY escapism: a brief history of the beach read
While the term “beach read” itself is relatively recent, first appearing in publishing lists and booksellers’ catalogues in the early 1990s, traditions of summer reading are much older.
BUSINESS
What ancient wisdom can teach businesses about sustainable finance
Some businesses in certain parts of the world operate based on respect for all living beings, not just humans – particularly in countries that adhere to dharmic religions such as Jainism and Hinduism.
TRENDS
Netflix’s The Pale Blue Eye uses a fictional whodunnit to explore the origins of Edgar Allan Poe
For the most part Netflix’s film concentrates on developing the whodunit, favouring loose Poe-esque tropes over overt clichés.
ENTERTAINMENT
All the cinema (and sequels) we have to look forward to in 2023
From the new Ant-Man film to a slasher Winnie the Pooh, Vol. III of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' to Ryan Gosling as Ken in 'Barbie', here's the list of Hollywood films — good, bad and ugly — slated for release this year.
ENVIRONMENT
Earth harbours 20,000,000,000,000,000 ants – and they weigh more than wild birds and mammals combined
Estimating ant numbers and mass provides an important baseline from which to monitor ant populations amid worrying environmental changes.
TRENDS
Online safety: what young people really think about social media, big tech regulation and adults ‘overreacting’
In this “post-digital era” where the use of social media is taken for granted by children as young as 12 and in some cases even younger – hearing their perspectives is a critical part of understanding how best to monitor and regulate the online landscape.
TRENDS
Review: Netflix's 'Lady Chatterley’s Lover' reduces this tale of class conflict to a simple love story
In the film, industrial unrest is condensed to a passing street protest. And the mining village (Tevershall) looks more like a pretty Dorset village than a Midlands colliery town in the 1920s.
TRENDS
The five best fiction books of 2022
Our academics have read hundreds of books this year and out of those, we have managed to pluck these five.
TRENDS
Banksy in Ukraine: how his defiant new works offer hope
By being painted on bombed out buildings, the images reflect how the experience of war disrupts the everyday, juxtaposing the mundane with the extraordinary.
TRENDS
World Cup 2022: Fifa’s clampdown on rainbow armbands conflicts with its own guidance on human rights
The long-term impact of the Qatar World Cup on LGBTQ+ issues in football, despite the verbal condemnation of the discrimination by some, may be felt for many years to come.
HEALTH-AND-FITNESS
Weight loss treatments are not a permanent fix – that doesn’t mean they ‘don’t work’
Rather than dismissing effective treatment options because of weight regain, we should be honest with people about what treatments can achieve and the likelihood of needing ongoing support.
WOMEN-IN-FICTION
Joan Didion for sale: the auction of the author’s belongings reveals the grand fiction of her image
Whole generations of writers continue to make themselves in the fantasy of her image, though the affordances of a life in writing are no longer what they were.
SPORTS-TRENDS
Why Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal is priceless — and unforgettable
That 1986 one-handed goal was one of soccer’s most iconic events for a number of reasons, Falklands War included, but nothing takes away from the genius of the GOAT — Diego Maradona
LIFESTYLE-TRENDS
Why some like it hot: The science of spiciness
Spiciness is a burning sensation caused by capsaicin in food. When we eat spicy food, capsaicin stimulates receptors in our mouth to trigger a reaction. They are supposed to deter us from consuming food that burns, but do they?
HEALTH-TRENDS
What long-term opioid use does to your body and brain
Matthew Perry, aka 'Friends' Chandler Bing, reveals, in his new autobiography, 'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing', that his colon burst was a result of his addiction to opioid painkillers
ENVIRONMENT
3 things a climate scientist wants world leaders to know ahead of COP27
Past global climate talks had one thing in common: the lack of progress. COP27 must lead to a rapid transition away from fossil fuels and more support for countries dealing with the biggest climate change impacts, else these global talks are just a sham
