Mountains of fire: what hillwalking with my father taught me about the origins of oil exploration

| Insights & Views

Far over the misty mountains cold, Dad read. Every evening before my light was turned out, he read me a story about a hobbit who left his comfortable burrow to journey to the Lonely Mountain. Searching for gold at the...

My new history of romanticism shows how enslavement shaped European culture

| Insights & Views

According to one strand of history, slavery was abolished when Europeans found their conscience. According to another, it was abolished when it stopped being profitable. Both approaches tend to underplay the significance...

Street lamps aren’t the only form of artificial light pollution – here’s how to create darker nights

| Insights & Views

Without a view of the stars at night, Don McLean would never have been able to write Vincent and Vincent van Gogh would not have painted Starry Night. Viewing a sky full of stars is part of what makes us human. The light...

Older adults who follow healthy diets accumulate chronic diseases more slowly – new study

| Insights & Views

Imagine two people in their 70s. Both are active, live independently and enjoy life. But over the next 15 years, one of them develops two or three chronic illnesses heart disease, diabetes, depression while the other...

Smart cities start with people, not technology: lessons from Westbury, Johannesburg

| Insights & Views

African cities are growing at an incredible pace. With this growth comes a mix of opportunity and challenge. How do we build cities that are not only smart but also fair, inclusive and resilient? A smart city uses digital...

Kippie Moeketsi at 100: the soul-stirring story of a South African jazz legend

| Insights & Views

Its 100 years since the birth of reedman Jeremiah Morolong Kippie Moeketsi on 27 July 1925. He was one of the most influential saxophonists shaping South Africas modern jazz style. His death in poverty in 1983, when Black...

Africa’s smallholder farmers are using bright ideas to adapt to climate change: G20 countries should fund their efforts

| Insights & Views

Across most of Africa, rural communities grow their own food, relying on smallholder agriculture. But climate change is threatening this way of life. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and degraded soils are already...