|
If the Hollywood rumour mill is to be believed, Lily Gladstone is on course for an Oscar this weekend for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. Should she take a gong, Gladstone would be making history as the first Native American to win an academy award.
The role is significant in this story, too. Killers of the Flower Moon is an unflinching account of the brutal murder of tribespeople during a period of the early 1900s known as the Osage reign of terror. Ahead of tomorrow’s ceremony, you can read up on that story here, in an article that expresses why it would be so significant for Gladstone to take home the best actress trophy.
In a spate of left-field interventions, Britain’s rightwing politicians have exhibited a new found love for conspiracy theories. First Liz Truss gambled on us all having forgotten what we saw with our own eyes during her premiership, insisting that the “deep state” was to blame for the implosion of her administration, rather than, say, any of her own outlandish incompetence. Then, Lee Anderson, apparently hoping that none of us who actually live in London would
notice, made a bizarre claim that our city is being controlled by religious extremists. The reality, Lee, as anyone in the capital will tell you, is that it is controlled by baristas. And we’re all just fine with that arrangement.
What’s really happening when the people in charge blame unseen forces for their own failings? And does it really work as a political tactic? I asked Adam Koper to fill us in on the logic behind all this Qanonsense.
Yesterday marked a decade since Malaysian Airways flight MH370 disappeared without trace, less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur airport. One of the most expensive rescue efforts in history was immediately launched and yet the wreckage was never found. In the years since, an informal network of professional and amateur sleuths has continued to plug away at the MH370 mystery, mapping currents, analysing hydroacoustic data and piecing together potential flight paths from what radar information is available. They’ve learned a lot along the way, but it may be that the last pieces of the puzzle will only fall into place when one key piece of technology becomes available.
Also this week, how to pick the perfect pants for the health of your nether regions, what a new book reveals about Stanley Kubrick, and where the law stands on rampant speculation about the Princess of Wales’s health.
|
Apple+
Jacqueline Fear-Segal, University of East Anglia
Gladstone has used her platform in the run-up to this year’s awards season to highlight issues affecting Native American communities in America today.
|
EPA/Shawn Thew
Adam Koper, Cardiff University
When Liz Truss blames shadowy elitists for her failings as prime minister, she is leaning into a tried-and-tested formula.
|
An image from 17 March 2014 showing Filipino artists with a depiction of flight MH370, created to express solidarity with the passengers.
AMIEL MENESES / EPA IMAGES
Jamie Pringle, Keele University; Alastair Ruffell, Queen's University Belfast; Ruth Morgan, UCL
Despite advanced technology and search techniques the rugged seafloor can hide objects much larger than a plane.
|
Sylvia Biskupek/Shutterstock
Adam Taylor, Lancaster University
‘Make sure you always wear clean pants’ isn’t just something your mum used to say – keeping your underwear scrupulously clean could stop you from getting ill
|
Shaun Jeffers/Shutterstock
Gemma Horton, University of Sheffield
Even those who seek out the spotlight have a legal right to privacy.
|
|
|
-
Eoin McLaughlin, University College Cork
Degrowthers advocate cutting investment as a way to reduce use of precious resources, which is exactly what the UK government has been doing for the last 40 years.
-
Claudia Hillebrand, Cardiff University
Daniela Klette was working as a maths tutor in Berlin under an assumed name.
-
Fiona McCall, University of Portsmouth
It was sometimes thought that men who had sex with men would give birth to monsters.
-
Nathan Abrams, Bangor University
25 years after the death of the legendary director, a new book offers fresh insights into Stanley Kubrick’s personal and professional life.
-
Dania Albini, University of Exeter
Sewage fungus is actually not a fungus. Our expert explains what it is, where it lives and what can be done to reduce outbreaks in polluted rivers.
|
|
