The Great Emu War
There are military defeats, and then there is the Great Emu War. A lesser-known, delightfully…
Fish and Chips: From Immigrant Food to British Institution
Fish and chips feels so thoroughly British that questioning its nationality seems almost impolite. It…
DNA Ethnicity Estimates: Can Your Saliva Really Tell You Where You Come From?
You spit into a small plastic tube, put it in the post and wait for…
The Order of St Patrick: The Knighthood Ireland Left Behind
There are institutions that disappear with a bang, and there are institutions that simply stop…
Sinbad the Sailor: Seven Voyages and Absolutely No Lessons Learned
Sinbad the Sailor may be literature’s greatest argument against the idea that people learn from…
Autoimmunity and the Mystery of Biological Friendly Fire
Your immune system has one job that sounds wonderfully simple: identify things that do not…
The Strange Love Life of the Emu
Romance among emus begins with a rather important reversal of expectations. The female does much…
Kublai Khan: The Mongol Who Conquered China and Lost an Empire
Being the grandson of Genghis Khan must have made family expectations rather uncomfortable. Build a…
Pumpernickel: The Bread That Takes All Night
Most bread tries to make life easy. Mix flour with water, persuade some yeast to…
The Lewis gun: Odd, Loud and Loyal
The Lewis gun looks like the sort of thing a steampunk enthusiast might dream up…
Mr Speaker and the King: How a Dangerous Medieval Job Became Politically Neutral
Watch the election of a new Speaker of the House of Commons and something rather…
Marco Polo: The Traveller Who Saw Too Much to Be Believed
Marco Polo had a credibility problem that feels surprisingly modern. He returned to Venice with…
When Bad Photography Became Good
For most of photography’s history, progress had a fairly obvious direction. Cameras became sharper. Film…
The Elephant Bird: Bigger Than an Ostrich and Stranger Than the Legends
Madagascar has never shown much interest in producing ordinary wildlife. It gave the world lemurs…
Sleep for Sale: How Melatonin Became a Modern Ritual
Melatonin did not begin life as a lifestyle accessory. It began as a hormone, first…
Why Lemurs Are Much Stranger Than They Look
A lemur can look like a monkey, move like a cat, stare like an insomniac…
Nelson Before the Column: The Complicated Man Behind the Monument
Horatio Nelson has spent more than two centuries standing above Trafalgar Square, watching London traffic…
Westminster Abbey: Where Britain Buries Its Heroes and Crowns Its Monarchs
Westminster Abbey looks as though someone tried to turn the whole of British history into…
How to Survive Jet Lag on an Ultra-Long-Haul Flight
In July 2026, an Airbus A350 completed a remarkable test flight from Melbourne to Toulouse.…
Chronotypes: Why Spanish Night Owls Sleep Better Than British Early Birds
You're sat at your desk at 8:30 in the morning, three coffees deep, and you're…
The University of Oxford: Where Genius, Chaos and Latin Collide
The University of Oxford has inspired many things: awe, envy, wildly dramatic novels, and probably…
Claydon House: A Stately Home with a Flamboyant Identity
From a distance, Claydon House appears unusually restrained. Its weathered stone front looks symmetrical, dignified…
The Zohar: A Suspiciously Convenient Book of Splendour and Secrets
Some books explain the world. Others seem determined to make it more mysterious. The Zohar,…
Sherry Was Never Actually Invented
Sherry has the sort of reputation that makes people sit up straighter. It appears in…
Tzimtzum: Why Creation Began with Divine Withdrawal
Imagine an infinite divine presence filling absolutely everything. There is no outside, no empty corner…
The Accidental Invention of Tapas
Picture a dusty Andalusian tavern, a glass of sherry and a sudden gust of wind…
Heracles: The Most Popular Demigod in the World
Heracles strides through ancient stories like someone who knows every room belongs to him. People…