Case studies in strategic optimism from the Greco-Turkish War to the end of the World War II.

A brief history of the fallacy of liberation from the wars of the French Revolution to the end of the long 19th century.

The public release of ChatGPT has permanently contaminated the Web. Welcome to the world of Average Garbage Forever.

To unravel the myth of the 'aggressive' snake we have to look at the world from their perspective.

Putin's disastrous invasion of Ukraine has revealed the indiscriminate nature of Russian propaganda.

Tracing the origins of 'life admin' from sacrificial servants, to human computers, chatbots and Potemkin AI.

The surprising and somewhat tortuous etymology behind the English words for tortoises, turtles and terrapins.

A brief look at the increasingly rare Superb Parrot and its unlikely ecological niche.

Reflections from a foray into the highlands of Georgia.

How our metaphors for the internet determine success and failure in the messy world of software design.

In this edition of ‘do as Richard says, not as Richard does’ we look at Morocco’s traditional leather industry and I’ll explain why you shouldn’t accept invites to medieval sweatshops.

One of the first things I did after finishing my undergraduate degree in media studies was watch the whole industry of journalism collapse in on itself like a rotting shack held together by ivy.

When Amy and I visited Hawaii we discovered that, even on an island, surf is never guaranteed.

As the Covid infections have ticked upwards and lockdowns have dragged on there’s been plenty of time to dwell on our current situation.

Wherein I draw tenuous connections between the current Coronavirus shemozzle and the great pandemics of the ancient world.

The police were the first Georgians I met. Arriving in the capital, Tbilisi, at ten to midnight there were police officers waiting on the tarmac.

Back in 2015 Amazon unveiled a promotional campaign for their TV adaptation of Philip K. Dick's famous novel The Man in the High Castle.

On a rocky stretch of coastline on Hawaii’s Big Island a group of marine biologists are studying the lifecycle of the octopus - a creature that lives fast and dies young.