The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsI imagine that a couple of hundred years ago the idea of recording and playing b…
‘Galactic Britain’: how Cornwall is winning the European space race
Following the publication of the National Space Strategy last week, photojournalist Jonny Weeks explores how the south-west is primed for Britain’s first sovereign rocket launch“When we first started, people would laugh at us,” says Melissa Thorpe as s…
How do we talk to teens about sex in a world of porn?
Teenage boys’ easy access to violent sexual images is creating a crisis for them – and for women, argues the anti-porn campaignerViolence against women is never far from the news, but currently it is high on the agenda – and porn features again and aga…
The latest revelations mark the beginning of the end for the House of Zuckerberg | Carole Cadwalladr
The Observer’s investigations into Facebook in 2018 exposed a toxic culture. But still the business thrived. That might be about to changeA whistleblower standing before Congress. A global scandal involving Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg missing in action a…
Supreme court, Facebook, Fed: three horsemen of democracy’s apocalypse | Robert Reich
These unaccountable bodies hold increasing sway over US government. Their abuses of power affect us allThe week’s news has been dominated by the supreme court, whose term began on Monday; the Federal Reserve, and whether it will start responding to inf…
UK takes on Elon Musk in the broadband space race
A heavily criticised investment in OneWeb could bring the government a first bite at the lucrative satellite internet marketThey are invisible to the naked eye, but can leave a streak of light across an astronomer’s telescope. Above our heads, the cons…
China is cutting its tech giants down to size. Should the west learn from this? | John Naughton
Xi Jinping has grasped a fundamental truth in his quest to win the technology race – that internet companies are all ultimately disposableThis is story of two parallel universes. Over in the western one, neoliberal capitalism rules. In the other – the …
Facebook is ‘biased against facts’, says Nobel prize winner
Philippines journalist Maria Ressa says social media firm is threat to democracy and failing to halt spread of misinformationThe campaigning Philippines journalist Maria Ressa, who was last week awarded the Nobel peace prize, has launched a stinging at…
888 app plan to protect women ‘sticking plaster that reinforces victim blaming’
Activists say UK government-backed proposal places onus on women to safeguard themselves rather than address societal problemsLabour and campaigners have criticised a government-backed proposal for a service to protect women travelling alone as “a stic…
‘Welcome to the party’: five past tech whistleblowers on the pitfalls of speaking out
Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower, joined a growing list of Silicon Valley former employees to call out company policiesWhen Frances Haugen revealed she was the Facebook whistleblower who supplied internal documents to Congress and the Wall St…