Craig Robertson, University of Oxford
When Elon Musk took over Twitter and changed its name to X, many users vowed to move to another platform. First was talk of a shift to Mastodon that never seemed to catch on. Then Meta tried to make Threads appealing by linking the app to Instagram – but this hasn’t had much cut-through either.
Takao Maruyama, University of Bradford and Vincent Charles, Queen’s University Belfast
The state pension age in the UK is currently 66. Yet 9.5% of people aged 66 and older (1.12 million people) were still working, according to the most recent data from the UK’s Annual Population Survey (July 2023 to June 2024). This figure has been rising over the past decade, increasing from 8.70% (880,000 people) in July 2013 to June 2014.
After the fall of the al-Assad regime in Syria, large stockpiles of the illicit drug captagon have reportedly been uncovered.
The number of people who read for fun appears to be steadily dropping. Fifty percent of UK adults say they don’t read regularly (up from 42% in 2015)
and almost one in four young people aged 16-24 say they’ve never been readers, according to research by The Reading Agency.
Michael Bankole, Royal Holloway University of London
Kemi Badenoch has become the first Black leader of a UK-wide political party. But her ascent is unlikely to translate into meaningful gains for Black Britons.
Rebecca Brown, University of Oxford
Parents frequently lie to their children. “No, you can’t have any chocolate – it’s all gone,” when there’s a jumbo bar of Dairy Milk in the cupboard. “No, you can’t have my phone to watch YouTube – the battery’s flat,” when it’s at a solid 65%.
Chris Greenough, Edge Hill University
Hollywood actor Luke Evans writes candidly in his memoir about his experience growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness – and having to deal with religious and homophobic prejudice.
Black music record stores have always been more than just places to buy records. These spaces became lifelines for communities, cultural hubs where people gathered, shared stories and connected over a shared passion for music.
From the early days of the Windrush generation to the present, these stores have been a vital part of the Black cultural experience. For many, they were crucial in shaping not just their musical tastes, but their sense of identity and belonging.
Lars Cornelissen, Independent Social Research Foundation
The Guardian and anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate have revealed the existence of a new network of far-right intellectuals and activists in an undercover investigation. Called the Human Diversity Foundation (HDF), this group advocates scientific racism and eugenics. Although it presents itself as having a scientific purpose, some of its figureheads have political ambitions in Germany and elsewhere.
Christopher Patrick Hawkins, University of Staffordshire
In the modern world we are all constantly connected, but this comes with risks. As most cybersecurity specialists will tell you, the biggest vulnerability in any system is the user – whether at home or work.