The debate around racism in football often focuses on how to tackle the more blatant forms of abuse frequently seen in stadiums. But more recently we’ve seen it shift to the question of whether or not sport is the right place for such “political” activity as anti-racist actions – with some politicians suggesting it should remain a neutral ground on all issues.

England men’s football manager Gareth Southgate recently argued that players had a duty to enter the debate on racism, but that when his team took the knee before matches – an action synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement – they weren’t making a political statement. Yet scholar of race and sport Paul Campbell argues that the long, politically contentious history of racial discrimination in sport shows the act of taking the knee is always political.

Meanwhile, there was confusion when the government started referring to concerns about the “Nepal variant” of coronavirus, despite the World Health Organization reporting that it was “not aware of any new variant”. But emerging information reveals that the situation is still worth keeping an eye on. And a new study has found that collapsing insect populations are linked to the building of dams, in part because they make water clearer and leave darker aquatic insects more vulnerable to being eaten by fish.

Kuba Shand-Baptiste

Society and Arts Editor

PA Images/Alamy

Taking the knee in football: why this act of protest has always been political

Paul Ian Campbell, University of Leicester

Those who booed the England team for their anti-racist demonstrations are part of a long tradition of silencing protest in sport

Marco Taliani de Marchio/Alamy Stock Photo

‘Nepal variant’: what we’ve learned so far

Sally Cutler, University of East London

There are 36 cases of the so-called 'Nepal variant' in the UK.

Over 40% of all insects, like this tropical dragonfly, are in decline. Scottslm/Pixasbay

Insect population collapse: new evidence links it to dams

Liam N. Nash, Queen Mary University of London

New data from tropical and subtropical regions suggests insects are declining thanks to dammed rivers

Health + Medicine

Politics + Society

Arts + Culture

Business + Economy

Environment + Energy

  • Counting mammals, birds and dung beetles could be vital for saving the Amazon

    Filipe França, Lancaster University; Alexander C. Lees, Manchester Metropolitan University; Jos Barlow, Lancaster University; Yves Bas, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN)

    We know surprisingly little about the millions of animals, plants and birds that live in the Amazon – here’s how we can understand them better.

 

Featured events

What is a character based approach to digital citizenship education?

Online, Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Birmingham

Research Festival 2021

Online, Plymouth, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Plymouth

Essex Human Rights Online Summer School

University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Essex

Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis (Online Event)

University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Essex

More events
 

Contact us here to have your event listed.

For sponsorship opportunities, email us here