Food

The meat paradox: How your brain wrestles with the ethics of eating animals

— Psychologists have described a ‘meat paradox’ in the minds of meat-eating animal lovers.

HS2

What Rishi Sunak scrapping HS2 – and promising a new ‘Network North’ – means for the north of England

— Infrastructure development in Northern England has been increasingly muddled in recent years. Few will be convinced by Rishi Sunak’s new pledge to fix this.

Racism

Discrimination is the biggest career obstacle for women of colour in the NHS

— Black and minority ethnic women are the most likely of all NHS staff groups to experience discrimination from patients or colleagues. Systemic discrimination is the single biggest impediment to their career progression.

Long-Read

Brexit: Unsettled and still not settleable

— Brexit has failed to secure public support for its current form, with the latest opinion poll showing roughly half of the population would vote to rejoin the EU, and a clear majority thinks it was a mistake to leave the EU.

UK Politics

Political leaders need a grand narrative – Rishi Sunak’s is a story of decline

— The prime minister has acknowledged that a narrative of national decline is setting in – but he has been unable to disentangle himself from it.

Nagorno-Karabakh

Nagorno-Karabakh: The world should have seen this crisis coming – and it’s not over yet

— If Azerbaijan is not punished for its aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh, there’s every chance it will try to capture more Armenian territory.

Education

Too often learning ‘British history’ means learning ‘English history’

— If history is to be of any use to those who study it, it ought to help them understand the nature of the country and society they live in.

Analysis

Does AI have a right to free speech?

— If we decide that AI helps us think freely, we may need to give it rights too.

Language in Politics

Donald Trump’s truth: Why liars might sometimes be considered honest – new research

— A study highlights how belief-speaking in politics, even when detached from factual accuracy, can shape political discourse and influence public perception of honesty in politics.

War in Ukraine

Ukraine War: Mixed signals among Kyiv’s allies hint at growing conflict fatigue

— As the war nears 600 days, there are signs that support for Ukraine could be beginning to waver in some parts.

UK Politics

Age, not class, is now the biggest divide in British politics

— The latest findings from the British Social Attitudes survey suggest younger voters appear to have little faith that public spending will be directed their way.

Climate Policy

How Sunak’s back-pedalling on net zero could damage efforts to decarbonise Britain’s homes

— The government’s unpredictable approach to energy-efficiency has cost progress to net zero before.

Electric Vehicles

Why delaying the ban on petrol and diesel cars won’t slow UK’s shift to electric vehicles

— The switch to electric vehicles is already well under way in the UK. Research even suggests it may now be unstoppable – regardless of what the government does.

COVID-19

Why are those lost to COVID not formally memorialised? How politics shapes what we remember

— Hundreds of thousands of red hearts adorn a wall directly opposite parliament, yet successive prime ministers have nothing to say about officially marking the lives lost in the pandemic.

Public Health

Why taxing ‘junk food’ to tackle obesity isn’t as simple as it seems

— Tony Blair has called on ministers to tighten food regulation, including adding levies to foods high in fat, salt, and sugar.

Long-Read

Why the UK’s wealthiest 10% are turning their backs on the rest of society

— You may feel little sympathy for people in the top bracket of earnings, but don’t let that stop you from reading. Like it or not, their views and actions matter to everyone.