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Europinion •

How the US Media Should Respond to Four More Years of Donald Trump

Here we go again. On November 5th the most dramatic political comeback was completed, as Donald Trump returned to the White House four years after losing out to Joe Biden. Half of America rejoiced, while half wallowed in fear and trepidation of what a second Trump term might bring. There are certainly valid reasons for concern. Trump’s previous time  in the White House ended with his attempt to undermine  the peaceful transfer of power that is essential to the democratic system  by inciting Capi...
Europinion •

The Rhetoric Dilemma

The U.S. Presidential election is upon us, and the world is questioning how voters could possibly give their backing, again, to Donald Trump despite his role in the 2021 Capitol attack and the inflammatory language he and his supporters routinely bandy about. Whether it be his attacks on his political enemies as “vermin” who he will “root out”, his claims that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the United States, or his recent musings on how Liz Cheney would feel when “the guns are trained...
Medium •

Why Labour should avoid the temptation to extend cuts to sport

This summer showed the unifying power of sport and its potential to inspire, if anything this sector should receive more investmentLast week, The Times broke the news that Labour has frozen a £35m funding package for English cricket agreed by Rishi Sunak in April. This will remain on hold in the lead up to the Autumn spending review, while Olympic sports and the Football Foundation may also receive cuts.The new Labour government has emphasised the mess the previous Conservative government left t...
Medium •

Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs are the closest thing to the peak Poch era, but with one gaping hole

And we’re back. It didn’t really feel as though we were ever away. With the Euros followed by the Olympics there was barely a chance to catch a breath before the Premier League hit our screens again and attention turned to whether anyone can stop the Pep juggernaut.For most, if any team can do it, it would be Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, fresh off a second consecutive runners up finish. Liverpool no doubt have the players, but can they adjust to life without Klopp? So far, so good for Arne Slot’s men...
Medium •

Lex Fridman’s Interview with Donald Trump illustrates the limitations of conversational podcasts

Dissecting the recent Donald Trump interview on the Lex Fridman podcast highlights the limitations of the new age conversational podcast format. Podcasts have exploded in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging as a platform for thinkers to discuss and promote their ideas, reaching a potentially limitless audience.This has particularly benefited academics, providing opportunities to speak in-depth about their area of expertise, rather than relying on short quotes in a journalist’s artic...
Medium •

Slow Horses Series 4 Episode 1 Review: Lamb and his merry band of rejects return in Apple's flagship hit

Jackson Lamb and his merry band of ‘rejects’ are back for the fourth instalment of the brilliant Slow Horses series based on Mick Herron’s spy novels. The show has become known for its witty, sarcastic humour and the grotesque anti-hero Lamb, played by Gary Oldman, who returns with all the gruesomeness the character has become known for, as well as a new penchant for Jaffa Cakes. Oldman must be having a ball playing Lamb, who farts and insults his way through a frantic 45 minutes of television.A...
Medium •

This Olympics provided an antidote to the UK riots

And so it came to a close. After two weeks of sporting drama in the form of photo finishes, somersaults and breaking, the Paris 2024 Olympics wrapped up with Tom Cruise descending from the roof of the Stade de France and a tragic pun from IOC President Thomas Bach. In the blink of an eye, we all forget about our new found obsessions with speed climbing, synchronised diving and the keirin, before we’ll inevitably do it all over again in four years time.On Monday morning, I was left with a sort of...
Medium •

Is wastewater analysis the future of virus surveillance?

Wastewater in Scotland is being analysed for traces of COVID-19, with 8,086 samples tested in 2023. But what is the purpose of this process and is wastewater virus analysis an effective tool to guard against future virus outbreaks?An FOI sent to the Scottish Environment Agency (SEA) revealed over the past four years wastewater testing for COVID-19 has risen from 870 samples analysed in 2020, to 8,086 in 2023, with the process having seen a surge in funding and interest since the...
Medium •

Why virtual reality ‘inception attacks’ are particularly malicious

The concept of the ‘metaverse’ exploded into the public discourse when Facebook changed its company name to Meta in October 2021, to signal a shift in its focus from primarily social media to incorporating virtual reality (VR) commercial products. This has included its ‘Meta Quest’ VR headsets which are now on their third iteration.But after recent reports that researchers have exposed potentially major security flaws in the Quest VR headsets, by hacking in via ‘inception attack...
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