By Oliver Heath, Professor of Politics, Royal Holloway, University of London
Humphrey Southall, Professor of Historical Geography, University of Portsmouth
British politics has become increasingly volatile and fragmented, with no party able to command the substantial backing of the public that was once routine. The results from England’s local elections in May illustrate just how far politics has moved from the two-party dominance that characterised much of the 20th century. And at the centre of this change lies an important element: class.
In recent decades the electoral foundations of democracy have shifted, eroding the class basis that earlier voting habits were built upon. In the 2019 general election, Labour…
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By Lewis Fall, Senior Lecturer in Human Physiology, University of South Wales
We have all heard it: “It’s just in your head.”
When work deadlines pile up, financial worries linger or an unexpected public speaking obligation looms, we often treat anxiety as a purely psychological challenge – something to be overcome with a bit of willpower.
But our bodies don’t separate the psychological from the physical. Your brain is not an island, and anxiety does not stay trapped between your ears. It triggers a rapid cascade of biochemical changes that travel through the bloodstream…
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By Ben Soodavar, Lecturer, Department of War Studies, King's College London
Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz and Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah’s rocket attacks have boxed the US president into a corner.
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By Stephanie Vos, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Stellenbosch University
The 1960s is a significant era in Abdullah Ibrahim’s story. It’s a time when the South African master’s international career as a jazz pianist was gradually established and he laid the foundations for the signature sound that is recognised today as people reflect on his passing.
He is best remembered for evoking soundscapes that are recognisably South African: harmonisations of church hymns, Cape Town’s ghoema…
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By Hamza Benattia, Prehistory, University of Cambridge
For decades, stories about the ancient Mediterranean have centred on the grand cultures of Greece, Rome, Phoenicia and Egypt. North-west Africa seldom enters the picture before the arrival of Phoenician traders on the Moroccan coast about 3,000 years ago.
But archaeology is now revealing a different story.
Long before the first Phoenician ships (from today’s Middle East) sailed the western Mediterranean (between today’s north Africa and southern Europe), communities in what…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at press conference during a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025. © 2025 Markus Schreiber/AP Photo (Istanbul, June 25, 2026) – The arrest of at least 209 people in the Turkish capital, Ankara, ahead of the July 7-8, 2026 NATO summit there highlights Türkiye’s ruthless intolerance of freedom of speech and assembly, Human Rights Watch said today.In raids overnight between June 22 and 23, the police arrested people including political activists, lawyers, an academic, and a journalist who is a prominent…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Protesters hold US flags and placards during a nationwide "No Kings" rally in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 14, 2025, on the same day as President Donald Trump's military parade in Washington, DC. © 2025 LEANDRO LOZADA/AFP via Getty Images (Washington) – Trump administration policies threaten the exercise of human rights that are essential to democracy, Human Rights Watch said today as the country prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence. Human Rights Watch released a web feature that illustrates the breadth of new threats…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A Kenyan police officer, part of a UN-backed multinational force, patrols a street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, December 5, 2024. © 2024 Odelyn Joseph/AP Photo China is pressing the United Nations budget committee to defund numerous human rights posts in negotiations on the 2026-2027 UN peacekeeping budget, including essential personnel for the newly established UN Support Office in Haiti.China is recommending against funding for staff to monitor compliance by a new security force for Haiti with the UN’s human rights due diligence policy, according to a document summarizing…
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By Rebecca Scott, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Strategy, Cardiff University
The final season of The Bear begins with a rupture. A torrential storm floods the restaurant. Money is short. Deliveries are slashed. The building itself is under threat. The brigade are trying to hold the restaurant together while pursuing a Michelin star.
Throughout its run, The Bear has been fascinated by the painful romance of self-sacrifice: the idea that suffering,…
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By Christopher Newman, Professor of Space Law and Policy, Northumbria University, Newcastle
On June 5, 2026, Nasa ordered five astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to shelter in a docked spacecraft and prepare to abandon ship. The reason was a longstanding, but worsening, air leak in the Russian part of the station.
An hour and a half later, the alert was lifted, allowing the crew to resume their work. But the episode reminds us that humanity’s most expensive science experiment – and a remarkable symbol of international cooperation – is showing its age.…
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