Current Affairs
Press F to Pay Respects: The Death of the Phone Call
Once upon a time—by which I mean about 10 years ago—if you wanted to speak to someone, you would pick up the phone and actually call them. Radical, I know. But somewhere between the rise of WhatsApp, Messenger, and text messages, we collectively decided that hearing another human voice was an outrageous inconvenience, and now the humble phone call is about as popular as dial-up internet and non-ironic landlines. It is not that messaging ...
Why Do We Give Foreign Aid?
Foreign aid. That thing angry people love to whinge about whenever the government dares to spend a penny outside our borders. “Why are we giving money to other countries when we have problems here?” they cry, usually while misunderstanding both the numbers and the entire point. So, let’s break it down, shall we? It’s Not Just Charity – It’s Self-Interest Yes, it’s lovely to help people in need, but foreign aid isn’t ...
Dunning-Kruger Effect: When Ignorance Becomes a Superpower
In today’s topsy-turvy, fucked up world, the Dunning-Kruger effect—a cognitive bias where the less one knows, the more one believes they know—has become the unlikely hero of our socio-political narrative. It’s as if the world has collectively decided that ignorance is indeed bliss, and who needs experts when we’ve got impulsive gut feelings? Right-wing populism has surged, fuelled by a disdain for experts and a love for “common ...
The Obsession with Growth is Destroying Britain—And the Economy
In the government’s relentless pursuit of economic growth, nature has become collateral damage. Ministers boast that they won’t let bats, newts, or any environmental concerns stand in the way of new roads, houses, and infrastructure projects. But this mindset is not just short-sighted—it’s dangerous. If the natural environment collapses, so does everything else. What good is GDP growth if our rivers are dead, our air is toxic, and our ...
Have We Learnt Nothing? A Reflection on Our Collective Amnesia
“Never Again”: A Slogan, Not a Solution “Never Again.” The words echo through time like a self-congratulatory pat on the back, a phrase we cling to in the vain hope it absolves us of complicity. We love to trot it out whenever a historical documentary airs, as though repeating it is enough to ward off future atrocities. But in reality, it’s become little more than a hollow mantra, one that sounds noble but requires no actual ...