Will there ever be a reliable lie detector?
For as long as we have been human we have looked for some way of telling when we are being…
Russia had nothing to do with Brexit
In light of Russia’s abhorrent invasion of Ukraine, certain corners of the internet have become obsessed – yet again – with Russia’s supposed…
What motivates Peter Thiel apart from the desire for more wealth?
If you’ve only heard one thing about Peter Thiel (and many have heard nothing at all) it is that he…
TikTok intifada: the role of new media in old conflicts
The TikTokisation of global politics
Life on Earth is too tame for eccentric American billionaires
For many of us, Elon Musk is a hard man to like. He’s the richest man in the world (or…
Cashing in on Covid: the traders who thrive on a crisis
When we think of those lurching moments last spring when it became clear that much of the world, not just…
Facebook has called the Australian media’s bluff
In 2021, it’s not uncommon to hope that everyone involved in an argument can lose, or to suspect that pretty…
The problem with ‘immunity passports’
The many dangers of ‘immunity passports’
Were there any links between Cambridge Analytica, Russia and Brexit?
In July 2018, Elizabeth Denham – the woman in charge of enforcing the UK’s laws on data protection – appeared…
Unplugging Huawei will be harder than it looks
There is nothing some Conservatives like talking about more than Huawei. Each new development in global politics is a new…
How did the UK’s pandemic preparations go so wrong?
How was Britain so ill-prepared for a pandemic?
The UK isn't taking the risk of contact tracing fraud seriously
Experts have a get-out clause of which politicians can only dream when they are speaking from the podium at press briefings.…
The R-number – and the danger of false certainty
Not much about Boris Johnson’s Sunday night television address was clear. The one definite new measure – one which will…
Can we trust Neil Ferguson’s computer code?
Newspapers aren’t the place to debate expert advice on a crisis. Advisors advise, ministers decide. We should keep politics out…
The price of oil just hit $0 a barrel. What’s going on?
If you’ve ever wanted to own a barrel of oil, today might be your lucky day – for the first…
Don’t be deceived by Covid stats – we know a lot less than the numbers suggest
Covid-19 and the fog of data
Who is monitoring the 200 million videos available daily on YouTube?
On 25 April 2005, Jawed Karim sent an email to his friends announcing the launch of a new video site…