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It’s a perfect weekend to head outside for a spot of gardening — neaten the foliage, mow the lawn, plant some future blooms as the summer approaches. Could there be a lovelier way to spend an afternoon than pottering around among the flowerbeds? Perhaps, but, after all, every rose has its thorn, and we learned this week that your garden is a far, far more dangerous place than you might realise.
In a list of four threats hiding in your rhododendrons, an emergency medicine consultant warns that tetanus lurks in soil, especially if it contains the manure that roses crave, and bacteria that cause legionnaires’ disease can thrive in your compost heap. And don’t even get him started on how “efficiently” a power tool can lop off a digit. But fear not, while very undesirable, these unpleasantries are easily avoided by taking some simple steps, which are also listed in the article underneath all the horrors.
What would Freud make of the brutal filial antics on display in the final episode of Succession earlier this week? We’ve put Shiv, Roman and Kendall on the couch for a spot of psychoanalysis and the results are as terminal as you might expect. However, dear viewer, did you ever consider the role you yourself have played in the Roys’ psychodrama? What if you and your desire for the “suspension of pleasure” are really the problem here? As our author points out, you craved a satisfying ending to the Waystar Royco rivalry but getting it would necessarily bring the curtain down on your favourite show. So you “longed for something that violently prevents it at the
exact same time”. Please don’t send your therapy bills to me.
A key theme in Succession has always been the siblings’ unshakeable confidence in their own intelligence. That must, in part, stem from the stereotype that ultra rich people must be pretty smart to get to where they are — never mind that in the Roys’ case the bank of dad is largely the source of their wealth. But what really is the link between affluence and brain power? A dive into the data reveals a complex picture.
Also this week, find out where our rubbish goes thanks to a question from a young Conversation fan, brush up on your leadership skills with this guide – and read this review that made me, unexpectedly,
want to go and see the Little Mermaid remake.
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The soil you use for your roses may contain something sinister.
Mariia Boiko/ Shutterstock
Stephen Hughes, Anglia Ruskin University
Gardening is often seen as a relaxing, harmless pasttime – but that isn’t always the case.
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Courtesy of HBO
Giovanni Sala, University of Liverpool; Fernand Gobet, London School of Economics and Political Science
Education, contacts and luck can play a considerable role when it comes to building up wealth.
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Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin in the final episode of Succession.
Courtesy of HBO
Daniel Brookes, University of Bristol
Though we desire the Succession ending we want, we long for something that violently prevents us from getting it at the exact same time.
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Leadership potential.
GaudiLab/Shutterstock
Zara Whysall, Nottingham Trent University
In the rapidly changing, ambiguous and unpredictable world of work, future leaders must be able to learn fast.
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GOLFX/Shutterstock
Ian Williams, University of Southampton
Rubbish can be reused or recycled – or it may end up in a dumpsite.
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Robyn Muir, University of Surrey
In The Little Mermaid, audiences finally get to see Ariel in all her powerful, adventurous glory.
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Paul Whiteley, University of Essex
The relationship between net migration and support for the governing party is positive.
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Cressida Bowyer, University of Portsmouth; Keiron Roberts, University of Portsmouth; Stephanie Northen, University of Portsmouth
Making less plastic and reusing what exists should be the priority.
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Rita Issa, University of East Anglia
High temperatures are also a cause of illness and death for migrants.
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Jasmine Fledderjohann, Lancaster University; Maureen Owino, York University, Canada; Sophie Patterson, Lancaster University
Everyone should have the right to have, or not have, a child and to parent with dignity in a safe environment – but food insecurity makes this difficult.
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