
Its official: inequality, climate change and social polarisation are bad for you
Jan 11, 2017 17:35 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
This years Global Risks Report from the World Economic Forum warns that rising income inequality and societal polarisation could create further problems if urgent action isnt taken - and thats after the car-crash that was...
Slave heritage is big business, tainting the diaspora's bonds with Africa
Jan 11, 2017 16:11 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
Ghanas meandering coast is dotted with numerous forts and castles. These monuments were built between the 15th and 17th centuries by early modern European chartered companies. They were initially used for trading gold and...

Do art and literature cultivate empathy?
Jan 10, 2017 15:50 pm UTC| Life
A common argument for the value of the arts is the claim they cultivate empathy. Reading literature, viewing quality cinema and listening to fine music refine our sensibilities and make us better and more humane or so the...
The meritocracy is a smokescreen for inherited privilege
Jan 10, 2017 15:16 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life Politics
The politics of naming who is called what by whom can be used as a weapon, something we saw a great deal of in 2016 against a backdrop of the rise of populism generally. Sometimes it felt absurd: billionaires taking back...
No proof music lessons make children any smarter
Jan 10, 2017 14:42 pm UTC| Life
Music is one of the most beautiful and powerful creations of humankind, and its powers are well known making us happy and sad or relaxed and excited. And more generally, music can induce powerful feelings as Bono the...

Feeling so emotional: why we rage about religion on Facebook
Jan 09, 2017 23:49 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
On Christmas Day, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg used his website to tell the world that he was not an atheist any more. In this way, the billionaire used Facebook to express his feelings about religion, like many social...

In Sudan, movies made by researchers change the way people see female genital cutting
Jan 09, 2017 23:41 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
Female genital cutting and the international response surrounding the practice represent incompatible cultures coming together in a shrinking world. According to UNICEF, in 2016, an estimated 200 million girls and women...