Prevent Prevent
How a system designed to identify potential terrorists is catching innocent people and destroying freedom of speech.
Symbols Matter
As Barbados becomes a republic, there's a bizarre disconnect between the way foreign media and local people are framing what's happening.
The Ants Will Come and Tell Me
As the Empire was falling apart, Britain had a problem: how to keep control of all its former colonies and their resources as they became independent. Acting in good faith was, of course, out of the question. Many of the…
The Reality of Anti-Fascism
Reading The US Antifascism Reader lately gave some useful context on this much-maligned but essential movement. It's a collection of essays and speeches by historical figures from W.E.B. Du Bois to Franklin Roosevelt, Aimé Césaire to Barbara Ehrenreich, in which…
What Would Radical Happiness Look Like?
How can you be happy when others are suffering? It’s a question that’s bothered me throughout my life. Part of the problem, I think, is that in Western societies, we have defined the pursuit of happiness as an individualistic endeavour.…
Occam’s Razor and the Rise of Populism
Over the past few years, people have been wringing their hands over the rise of populism, whether it's far-right parties in Europe, Brexiteers in the UK or Trump in the US. Now, academics have found the rise in populism is…
Black History Month 2048
Celebrating airbrushed versions of the heroes of the past is easy. A more urgent task is to identify and support the heroes of tomorrow.
The end of TINA
Yesterday, I experienced something entirely new. I finally learnt what it felt like to celebrate an election result. To be honest, I’d given up hope of ever having this experience. I thought my politics were simply too far to the…
On the violence of borders
I recently visited Ceuta, a piece of the north African coast that belongs to Spain and is hence part of “Europe”. It was a very strange and disturbing experience to cross that border so easily just by showing my British passport,…