inadequate visions of gender equality

Inequality in the workplace impacts all areas of our lives, from health and self-development to economic security and family life. But, despite the world’s richest countries’ long-avowed commitments to gender equality, there is so much to fix – and so much we don’t see. The most lucrative industries are male-dominated- yet half of men think they’re the ones being discriminated against. Women work more hours than men and accumulate less wealth- while many children want more time with their dad. Patriarchy Inc, reveals how the status quo is harming us all, in our working lives and beyond. Drawing on social … Continue reading inadequate visions of gender equality

People’s right to think, teach and speak are routinely violated

In Western world, free speech is held up as core value, but there is widespread discord and disagreement about what freedom of expression means. In China, India and across the Islamic world, unorthodox views about politics, sex, and religion are repressed and people are often punished for expressing them. Amidst perennial imbalances of power, continually evolving cultural taboos, dramatic new technologies and a fast-changing global media landscape, where free speech comes from- and how we might think about it- are critical questions. Through lens of history, freedom of speech is not an absolute from which societies and regimes have drifted … Continue reading People’s right to think, teach and speak are routinely violated

Max Verstappen won Suzuka F1 Grand Prix

Suzuka 6th April 2025 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fended off a race-long challenge from the McLarens Lando Norris and Oscaf Piastri to win the Japanese Grand Prix. Verstappen’s fourth consecutive victory at Suzuka, only two seconds between him and Norris, moving him within one point of Norris at the head of the drivers’ championship. Rain overnight and on the morning of the race helped ensure there was no repeat of the grass fires that affected practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday. Verstappen led the two McLarens for the entire first stint, the three lapping closely together. Verstappen and Norris stopped … Continue reading Max Verstappen won Suzuka F1 Grand Prix

Ultimate vigilante story

The Feather men is the riveting story of a secret organization whose efforts by a private British vigilance committee, founded in England in the late 1960s.  Their 14-year attempt to eliminate a band of coldblooded contract killers of a number of British ex-servicemen in Britain and abroad. From 1977 to 1990, three hired assassins known as the Clinic tracked down and murdered four former British soldiers, one at a time. Each of the assassinations was carried out in such an ingenious fashion that there would be no hint of foul play, but one clue these killings has in common was that … Continue reading Ultimate vigilante story

A penguin rescued from oil pollution

THE PENGUIN LESSONS cert 12 in UK cinemas now Adapted from a novel by Jeff Pope about Tom Michell’s post as a teacher in anupmarket boarding school in Argentina, in 1976, Steve Coogan plays the part ofthe teacher and adopter of a penguin to enchanting effect.Director of this film – Peter Cattaneo is already acclaimed for several verypopular movies including The Full Monty and Military Wives.Acclaimed actor Jonathan Pryce plays the Headmaster of the school where abomb goes off just as the new teacher is arriving. Argentina is an unstableplace to live in the times documented with politically motivated wars … Continue reading A penguin rescued from oil pollution

Mindful nature of human identity

Masud Husian, a neuroscience professor at Oxford university, whose emotionally powerful book delves deeply into the nature of individual human identity and how this relates to our belonging to a supportive social group. Husain examines, the way injury and disease transformed the lives of seven patients  with very different experiences. The thread uniting them is that all were “confronted by the very real possibility of social exclusion, because their behaviour had changed so significantly. As a consequence of the cognitive effects of their brain disorder, they were no longer considered acceptable within their social networks” he writes. The resulting isolation exacerbated … Continue reading Mindful nature of human identity

The Great Mughals

THE GREAT MUGHALS – ART, ARCHITECTURE AND OPULENCE.Average entry price £22. CLOSES 5 MAY. VICTORIA AND ALBERTMUSEUM – MANY OTHER SECTIONS IN THE V AND A COMPLETELYFREE OF CHARGE. CLOSE TO A NUMBER OF TUBE STATIONS – CHECKWITH TFL FOR MORE DETAILS for example OF STAIRS FREE ACCESS. A piece of history miraculously conserved and displayed in manyforms.This detailed and awe inspiring exhibition celebrates the Golden Ageof the Mughal court in India (about 1560 – 1660) under the reigns ofAkbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.https://www.vam.ac.uk/southkensington/visit.See the bejewelled dagger and scabbard (c 1620), the portrait ofShah Jahan holding an emerald by Muhammad … Continue reading The Great Mughals

You can’t outrun the past

When New York law professor, Tom Layward’s wife, Amy’s infidelity was revealed, he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest daughter turned eighteen. Twelve years later, while driving her to Pittsburgh to start university, he remembers his pact. It is a commitment born of spite and pride, unlikely to stand the test of time. As soon as his daughter is settled in her dorm, though, he gets in his car and starts driving. His destination – friends, relatives, exes, the basketball courts beloved of his youth – is anywhere but home. It doesn’t help that Tom’s job in … Continue reading You can’t outrun the past

Swimming with dolphins…

A English girl named Ishmaelle “born in a windswept cottage in the coast of Kent in the year  1843,” where she grows up swimming with dolphins. After the death of her parents and infant sister, her brother, Joseph, leaves to find work as a sailor. Call Me Ishamelle reimages the epic battle between man and nature in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick from a female perspective. Guo was inspired by a real-life story of 18-year-old Rebeca Ann Johnson who sailed out of Nantucket to Massachusetts, as the American Civil War breaks out in 1861, as part of the crew of the Nimrod, … Continue reading Swimming with dolphins…

“Britain’s passion for esoteric Black music”

After the world war, the UK and America were the dominant forces responsible for emergence and evolution of nightclubs and electronic dance music from the 1950s onwards. Transatlantic Drift traces the rhythmic journey of dance music, following the pulse as it bounced between Europe, North America and Caribbean. Music, dance styles and nightclub spaces are not created in isolation; they are shaped by collective influences and shared experiences. Two British academics, Milestone, a sociologist, and Morrison, music journalism lecturer, reveals the interconnected story of dance music, taking in hotspots such as New York, Detroit, London, Manchester, Chicago, Düsseldorf and Ibiza. Britain’s love … Continue reading “Britain’s passion for esoteric Black music”