Reading about Lord Byron – the Romantic poet infamously dubbed ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know'– you’d be forgiven for thinking he was more myth than man. There’s the pet bear he kept at Cambridge after the university banned dogs, the skulls from his family crypt that he used as flower pots – and, of course, the rumours of his myriad affairs.

One of the reasons hard facts about the poet are so difficult to come by is that his memoirs were burned after his death. But, fortunately, we do have many of his letters. In this long read, expert in LGBT+ literary history Sam Hirst pieces together what they tell us about the queer romance – and heartbreak – that inspired Byron’s poetry.

To turn from one eccentric to another, Russ Cook is a 27-year-old British man who has recently accomplished the astonishing feat of running the length of Africa. Exercise expert Dan Gordon explains the effect this gruelling stunt (equivalent to running 385 marathons back-to-back) has on the human body.

And while Cook’s physical adaptation was voluntary, some animals have no choice but to change to cope with extreme conditions. Take these Oxfordshire birds as an example.

If you’ve been asked by a child to explain, I don’t know, what dark matter is 🤯, how eye colour is made 🤔 or how much money there is in the world 😬, then you’ll be as excited and relieved to hear about the new Curious Kids podcast we’re launching in association with the Fun Kids radio station next Sunday! We’re so eager we made a trailer 🚀 and we’d love for you to have a listen.

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