A new book outlines the mistakes and missteps that made UK pandemic worseThere was a distinctive moment, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, that neatly encapsulated the mistakes and confusion of Britain’s early efforts to tackle the disease, says M…
The Secret of Life by Howard Markel review – science and misogyny
A cinematic account of toxic masculinity among 1950s DNA researchers – and a celebration of scientist Rosalind FranklinThe first page of Howard Markel’s comprehensive history The Secret of Life reads like the opening scene of a movie. “On February 28, …
Rationality by Steven Pinker review – reason and beyond
Our powers of reason have undoubtedly made the world a better place. So why are we so in thrall to fake news? ‘Rationality ought to be the lodestar of everything we think or do.” This is the opening sentence of Steven Pinker’s call for a return to reas…
Geoengineering by Gernot Wagner review – a stark warning
Spraying aerosols into the atmosphere may be fraught with risk, but to dismiss it out of hand is irresponsible, a climate scientist arguesGernot Wagner has spent a large part of his life thinking about solar geoengineering, and even he thinks it is “nu…
Should scientists run the country?
Covid has put academics like Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance at the heart of policymaking, but electing better politicians could be the answerHow many lives would have been saved in the pandemic if the UK government had truly “followed the science”? …
A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century review – sciencey self-help
Evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein show how human nature is at odds with modern society, in a study soaked in pseudoscienceImagine discovering a fence in the middle of a desert. Not immediately seeing its purpose, you might think…
From Boudicca to modern Britain: the dream of island utopias, ruled by women
Once the British Isles were seen as a stronghold of female leadership. Patriarchal culture pushed these stories to the geographical margins – yet they live on, a force too potent to ignoreThroughout history, the idea of islands where women rule has bee…
Wainwright prize for nature writing goes to James Rebanks for English Pastoral
Award comes during booming year for nature books, with sales over the last two months reaching £2.8mJames Rebanks’s story of his family’s farm in the Cumbrian Fells, English Pastoral, has won the Wainwright nature writing prize, praised as a “seminal w…
Crude Britannia by James Marriott and Terry Macalister review – a harrowing read
A story of missed opportunities and industrial decline is told with rare insight and vivacityThis November the eyes of the world will turn to Glasgow. “Cop26 meeting is last chance, says Alok Sharma as he backs UK’s plan for new oil and gas fields,” th…
The Brilliant Abyss by Helen Scales; Below the Edge of Darkness by Edith Widder – reviews
Two books on the mysteries of the deep ocean take very different approaches in stressing the urgent need for conservationDivers investigating an underwater canyon off California made a startling discovery in 2002. They found a dead whale that appeared …