Africa has the highest rate of forest loss in the world – what the G20 can do about it

| Insights & Views

Africa needs its forests for sustainable development, poverty reduction, food security, and to make the continent more resilient to climate change. They take up 23% of the continent. At 674 million hectares in extent,...

Climate justice for Africa: 3 legal routes for countries that suffer the most harm

| Insights & Views

Climate change lawsuits have become a new way for countries to assert their rights against actions that degrade the environment. But African countries have yet to fully exploit this route. In the Netherlands, the court...

Ukraine ‘spiderweb’ drone strike fails to register at peace talks as both sides dig in for the long haul

| Insights & Views

News of the spectacular spiderweb mass drone attack on Russian air bases on June 1 will have been uppermost in the minds of delegates who assembled the following day for another round of direct talks between Russia and...

The strategic defence review means three new approaches for the UK

| Insights & Views

The UK governments new strategic defence review has laid out a blueprint aimed at making Britain secure at home, strong abroad. The review represents a change in how the government thinks about the UKs defence amid a...

Moby-Dick doesn’t deserve the ‘difficult’ label – this sea romance was once loved by office workers, sailors and children

| Insights & Views

I am currently writing a biography of Herman Melvilles 1851 novel, Moby-Dick. The most important thing I have learnt is that Moby-Dick is not as is often presumed a difficult book. I claim this on the basis of those who...

Sirens: the dark psychology of how people really get drawn into cults

| Insights & Views

Like other quirky TV shows that explore coercively controlling groups, Sirens leans into the wackiness of cult life. Set on a remote island, an affluent community exists under extravagant rule of Michaela Kell aka Kiki...

What if the Big Bang wasn’t the beginning? Our research suggests it may have taken place inside a black hole

| Insights & Views

The Big Bang is often described as the explosive birth of the universe a singular moment when space, time and matter sprang into existence. But what if this was not the beginning at all? What if our universe emerged from...