Naya Pakistan: Can a New Pakistan Renew its Old Relations With India?
As Imran Khan takes office, will his dreams of a ‘Naya Pakistan’ undo years of hostility between his country and India?
Beneath the Surface: How Personality Dominates Love Island
Despite the ubiquitous perfect bikini bodies and ripped abs, ITV2’s Love Island actually reveals how its viewers desire authenticity
God Save the Desert Queen: Defending the Memory of Gertrude Bell
One of the most influential figures of the 20th century, Gertrude Bell, risks being forgotten as local councils are failing to protect her childhood home from shady property developers.
Love Island: A Dysmorphic Reality for Men
Criticisms of ITV’s Love Island for promoting unrealistic physical perfection tend to focus on how this puts pressure on women. But men also suffer from such unattainable expectations.
Football: An Alternative Religion?
Using religious language to express one’s devotion to football might be dismissed as being irreverent. But is there a more serious side to football as an ‘alternative religion’?
‘You write with the body. It’s a physical act’ – David Almond Interview
Author David Almond explains how he finds the extraordinary in the ordinary and how his Catholic upbringing in the North East influenced his writing.
The Eighth Amendment is Repealed: Now for Northern Ireland
After the vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment, Ireland must take a more liberal stance towards abortion. But where does that leave Northern Ireland, which now has one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe?
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Review – A Toothless Hybrid
The latest instalment from the Jurassic World franchise intriguingly draws on both gothic horror and disaster movies. But it nevertheless fails as a coherent and convincing monster blockbuster.
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft, Review: An Imaginative World with Unimaginative Characters
In ‘Senlin Ascends’, Josiah Bancroft has created a richly fantastical world that does much more than recount a straightforward adventure. But it is let down by its overblown language, reductive depictions of women and a confusing conclusion.
A Quiet Place, Review: An Effective Horror-Thriller with a Disturbingly Conservative Subtext
John Krasinski’s ‘A Quiet Place’ should be applauded for its positive portrayal of Deafness and masterful handling of tension. Shame about the conventional family structure it reinforces.