redfiona99

Archaeology:

'Big void' identified in Khufu's Great Pyramid at Giza - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41845445 From 2017

Economics:

The island that swapped donkey rides for offshore cash - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41891360

Paradise Papers: The professionals' responsibility - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41902798

Education:

Free courses from Harvard - https://www.edx.org/school/harvardx

Free courses from MIT - https://ocw.mit.edu/search/#cat=engineering&subcat=nuclearengineering&spec=nuclearsystemspolicyandeconomics

Free courses from Yale - https://oyc.yale.edu/courses

Food:

Stinking Rich? Malaysia Aims To Cash In On China's Durian Craze - https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/06/02/728262024/stinking-rich-malaysia-aims-to-cash-in-on-chinas-durian-craze I have no doubt they are delicious, but the smell is literally the smell of a gas leak, which is off-putting if you've ever worked in a lab.

Healthcare:

NHS appeal for black blood donors 'drops straight knowledge' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-41898726

History:

In the shadow of Red October - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/Red_October

Housing:

The families living in modern day slums - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-41776369 From 2017, it has not improved

Law and order:

Stop-and-search: A BBC reporter's own experience - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41849256

Media:

Why George Orwell is returning to the BBC - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41886208 From 2017, about a new statue

Miscellaneous:

The hospital helping heal the Middle East - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-41886227

Former 'Teen Vogue' Editor Shares Her Memoir — And Her Manifesto - https://www.npr.org/2019/06/11/731380634/former-teen-vogue-editor-shares-her-memoir-and-her-manifesto

Politics:

Trump Xi: Property man meets career communist - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-41882084 - From 2017

Sport:

Cricket:

Ashes: Inside story of England's 5-0 defeat in Australia in 2013-14 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/41859201https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/41859201

Football:

Andrea Pirlo: The football genius who defied the number crunchers - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41903596 If you like the tiny snippet they give you of his autobiography, the whole thing is like that. He (and his ghostwriter, and the translator) writes like he played.

Rugby League:

Micky Higham: Ex-Great Britain hooker retires to take up Leigh off-field role - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/41887188 From 2017. In St. Helens at least, he'll always be under-rated because he was only very, very good, and the two hookers either side of him chronologically are 'the player voted the best Saint ever' and 'the only player ever likely to be voted above him'.

Technology:

'Do I Know You?' And Other Spam Phone Calls We Can't Get Rid Of - https://www.npr.org/2019/06/06/727711432/do-i-know-you-and-other-spam-phone-calls-we-can-t-get-rid-of

Both sort of based on the 9 days travelling I did in the middle of the month.

1 - I had to fly through Frankfurt Airport, which has stopped pretending it's not a portal to hell. Anyway, because the fight was 20 minutes late arriving, we got stuck in security and passport so missed our connection.

In the ~ 1 1/2 hour queue to get a new flight, I ended up talking to the person doing crowd control on the queue. He said, and I have reason to believe him, that it was like this in Amsterdam too, and he expects it to stay that way for at least a year and a half. Apparently, it's really hard to get staff nowadays. I believe him because colleague's sister used to be an air stewardess and was laid off during COVID, and it wasn't the first time she'd been nearly laid off due to industry instability. She now has a nice job, with more reasonable hours, working conditions etc, and I suspect that's true of many people who worked in the airline industry as a whole. So they're not getting the experienced people back and are having to train up those few people willing to do it.

1a - Yeah, the minute I got back, I told the travel company we book through that you need more than 45 minutes to clear Frankfurt.

1b - Passport control crowd control mostly just mocked Brits trying to go through the EU channel. Apparently, Brexit really means Brexit. (He was actually completely charming and apologetic if you weren't obnoxious.) [This was also true of Iceland, so it's not just Germany].

2 - When I got back, my bread had increased by 12% in 9 days. Inflation is not that bad my foot. Now I grant I get fancy bread (actually remarkably cheap for its level of fanciness) and I earn enough that 16p extra a week is not going to break me, but there are people out there where it would.

Economics:

Where are all the women in economics? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41571333

History:

YIVO ANNOUNCES DISCOVERY OF 170,000 LOST JEWISH DOCUMENTS THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN DESTROYED DURING THE HOLOCAUST - https://vilnacollections.yivo.org/Discovery-Press-Release

Why did Vikings have 'Allah' embroidered into funeral clothes? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41567391 I do think there may be a certain overstating of results in the traditional university press release sense

Benjamin Franklin's Son Died of Smallpox. His Notes on Vaccines Matter Now More Than Ever - https://www.mic.com/articles/109892/benjamin-franklin-s-son-died-of-smallpox-his-notes-on-vaccines-matter-now-more-than-ever?utm_source=policymicTBLR&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social Article from 2015. Truth, eternal

'Extraordinary' 500-year-old library catalogue reveals books lost to time - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/10/extraordinary-500-year-old-library-catalogue-reveals-books-lost-to-time-libro-de-los-epitomes

Miscellaneous:

The UK city where sex work is banned, but hasn't stopped - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41533411

About 10,000 people die each year because bystanders do not know how to do CPR if they see someone in cardiac arrest, the British Heart Foundation says. One woman says she owes her life to people who acted quickly when she collapsed. - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41569398 Actually interesting article about how to learn CPR, if we ignore the melodramatic tendencies of the BBC headline subeditors

Cheating death and drawing identity: Twenty years of art at Bethlem Hospital - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-41109442

Why is it so difficult to count dead people? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-41038987

Why is Friday 13th considered bad luck? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41012571

Apprenticeships: 'It's the money that puts people off' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/41599034

Photography:

In pictures: Association of Photographers Awards 2017 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-41567582

Politics:

The thoughts of Chairman Xi - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/Thoughts_Chairman_Xi Article from 2017

Sport:
Football:

Two posts from the build up to the first round of the 2017 FA Cup

FA Cup: TV commentator Martin Tyler eyeing first round with Hampton & Richmond - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41530544

FA Cup: Truro City aim to become first Cornish team in round one since 1969 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41580484

Truro were successful, beating Hampton & Richmond

Also from 2017

Hertha Berlin players 'take a knee' before match against Schalke - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41623019 Hertha tend to be good eggs

Rugby League:

Chester Butler: 'No-one believed my grandad was Colin Dixon' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/41592230

Rugby Union:

The story of rugby's injury crisis from the players, a coach and a doctor - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/41544641

Economics:

Is the UK reaching coffee shop saturation point? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41251451 From 2017

Are rented micro-homes the future for young singles? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41229775 I cannot shout 'no' loudly enough. The UK already produces stupidly small homes, do not encourage property developers to go even smaller.

Food:

The problem for the world’s most expensive spice - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41110151 Although this could go in the economics or politics section too. And I have an unfair advantage, I have many Iranian friends so I am aware that Iranian saffron is the best.

Miscellaneous:

Starting from scratch in Uganda - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41255233

Photography:

Pictures: Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 finalists - https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/41239953

Politics:

Tiger fur-lined robes... what do Saudi gifts to Trump mean? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41168257 From 2017

Sport:

Football:

Megan Rapinoe & Alex Morgan: World Cup winners join Juan Mata's campaign - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41270796 From 2017

Animals:

Scientists Unveil Ancient Sea Monsters Found In Angola - https://www.npr.org/2018/11/08/659551721/scientists-unveil-ancient-sea-monsters-found-in-angola

Economics:

Viewpoint: Why Modi's currency gamble was 'epic failure' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-41100610 From 2017

Geography:

An Interesting Fact About Every London Tube Station - https://thenudge.com/features/tube-facts/

Languages:

Trying to save South Africa's first language - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39935150

Miscellaneous:

Namibia's Himba people caught between traditions and modernity - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40247310

Slide Show: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Through the Years - https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/slide-show-ruth-bader-ginsburg-through-the-years

Should buying the morning-after pill be easier? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2k67StYBY0tMzNP1gs1xVSJ/should-buying-the-morning-after-pill-be-easier

Music:

Sia Is The 21st Century's Most Resilient Songwriter -https://www.npr.org/2018/11/06/664395501/sia-is-the-21st-centurys-most-resilient-songwriter

Politics:

Labour's Kezia Dugdale ‘was outed as gay against her will’ - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41082971 Also about other politicians's experiences of coming out.

Sport:

Athletics:

Doping: More than 30% of athletes at 2011 Worlds admit to doping - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/41084175

Football:

FA Cup: Billericay Town owner aiming for the Premier League - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40997071 From 2017, I think many things have changed with Billericay. They were the mid-2010s "that club with mad owners and wild plans".

Rugby union:

Premiership and Championship players to aid study into new head injury test - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/41094045

(An observation stated with half a conclusion, as economics is not my field, and I think at least 3 people on my f-list are more qualified to comment thereon.)

After the 2008 recession, Kevin Bridges was on Live at the Apollo, and he had this line about how the recession was affecting Glasgow, and how his London audience wouldn't get that because London wasn't affected in the same way, and I think the reason the government are having the screamers at the minute is because this recession is hitting the big cities as hard, if not harder than the provincial towns and cities.

Taking St Helens as an example, most of the high street got wiped out by the 2008 recession and then the following period of austerity. There isn't even a WH Smiths any more and the Marks and Spencers closed 2-3 years ago. Nothing's replaced them, so the high street is all charity shops and betting shops.

Birmingham meanwhile, a few smaller local independent retailers closed, a few large multinationals were replaced by other large multinationals.

But now, there are empty lots in central Birmingham, and in central London (according to the London corespondent). This time, the effects are hitting the cities too and it is therefore more visible. The things London/Birmingham/big cities are good at weren't as affected by the previous recession but the present situation (COVID and Brexit) are hitting the big city/London things as well.

(An interesting article - https://amp.ft.com/content/d8eb62ef-a1cb-4597-867b-15a79dbdcd5d)

Actors:

Obituary: Robert Hardy - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13783739

Robert Hardy: Harry Potter and All Creatures Great and Small star dies - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40818839

Economics:

Rise in Living Wage may have to wait, say small firms - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40824937 From 2017, so goodness knows how we're going to get one now. And it's like, it's not like inflation isn't going up and if the rise doesn't at least keep up with that, it's pretty useless.

Food:

Mormon Funeral Potatoes: The Carb-Heavy Meal For The End of The World - https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/05/30/613017175/if-it-s-the-end-of-the-world-make-sure-funeral-potatoes-are-on-the-table

History:

The friendship that survived the division of a nation - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-40749476

Miscellaneous:

How one man built a $51m theme park for his daughter - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-40742586

'We need to talk about male rape': DR Congo survivor speaks out - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40801782

'I beat my fear of water and plan to swim around Britain' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-40519155

She rang me as bombs fell... Then she vanished - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-40488225

50 years of gay rights - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/lgbtq_how_we_got_to_now

Photography:

In pictures: Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-40789348

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest 2017 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-40801658

Politics:

After Trump, "big data" firm Cambridge Analytica is now working in Kenya - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-40792078 From the 2017 Kenyan election, but important to note, they get everywhere.

How Kenya election puts strain on ethnically mixed couples - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40815064

The man who has focused on one word for 23 years - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-40781213 About the great Macedonian question.

Johnny Mercer: I'd never voted before becoming an MP - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40791838 According to a friend who is in his constituency, it shows and he's a useless MP.

Female politicians and babies: a lose-lose situation? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-40800687

Sport:

Cricket:

How one man (and his kit bag) is giving cricket-loving refugees hope in Serbia - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40814884

Football:

2017 FA Cup: AC London founded by a 16-year-old after London riots - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40685951

2017 FA Cup: Steve Hunt on life with Pele, Mick Jagger and managing Cowes Sports - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40605532

TOTTI'S FINAL SHIRT SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED INTO SPACE - https://www.asroma.com/en/news/2017/8/totti-s-final-shirt-successfully-launched-into-space

Art:

Flint iron ring sculpture plans met with criticism - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-40703954

Economics:

More than 2,500 products subject to shrinkflation, says ONS - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40703866

How formula milk shaped the modern workplace - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40281403

History:

How Britain supported the early release of Rudolf Hess - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40647291

Back from the Front: Tracking down WW1 grave markers - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-40446229 There's a quote in there, that really hits home. "One unusual marker is a wooden Star of David, at Broadgreen Cemetery, Liverpool, commemorating an unknown Jewish soldier.

Often it was impossible to identify an individual soldier's remains, and Merseyside has a particular concentration of markers for so-called "unknowns", probably brought back during pilgrimages by churches and other groups."

The King's Liverpool Regiment were my great grandfather's regiment but at least we know where he's buried, and I know lots of people didn't, because to this day, the Lancashires (which the King's Liverpool were amalgamated into) still send a representative to every funeral of a World War I unknown British soldier because there's a good chance he's one of theirs.

Miscellaneous:

Alice Cooper finds Warhol artwork after decades rolled up in storage - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40715105

Refugee children on Lesbos helped to face fear of drowning - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40580529

The extraordinary life of a 91-year-old beauty queen - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-40709840

Taiwan's Taoists protest against curbs on incense and firecrackers - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40699113 From 2017

The city that makes the most expensive boats in the world - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40681345

The last days of Phnom Penh's iconic White Building - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40652014

Music:

The brilliance of Scott Walker - explained! - https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/76b1d907-dc01-45e7-9b83-1cd2a0054da3

Sport:

Baseball:

PJ Conlon: Belfast-born pitcher to make Major League Baseball debut - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/northern-ireland/44029898 From 2018

Cricket:

England's World Cup win: The transformation of women's cricket - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40701196 From 2017.

Football:

Are serious knee injuries in the Premier League really at 'epidemic' levels? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40679002 From 2017

Rugby League:

Castleford Tigers: Why no hullaballoo for League Leaders Shield win? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/40698382 Possibly, just possibly, because, due to the existence of the actual title, we all know that the League Leaders Shield means nothing. I speak as a Saints fan. How many times have we won it and not gone on to win the league because of some disaster in the playoffs. I know the idea was to try and have the league actually matter after several complaints (including from Saints fans) that it was stupid that you could be miles ahead at the end of the actual season and it not matter at all. But it still doesn't, and giving a team the world's tiniest plate to make up for that does nothing.

Rugby Union:

Women's Rugby World Cup 2017: England XVs contracts will not be renewed - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40704070 From 2017, but I don't think they went back on their decision. It's one of those things where, for all that governing bodies talk a good game about sporting equality, for some reason, when there's a money shortage, the cuts are always to women's sport first. See also bobsleigh, see also football.

Technology:

How a 'smarter' power system might affect you - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40704036

Actors:

How I Became a Leading Man on Broadway—Stutter and All - https://www.playbill.com/article/how-i-became-a-leading-man-on-broadwaystutter-and-all

Economics:

What tally sticks tell us about how money works - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40189959

Photography:

In pictures: Celebrities in the raw - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-40518635

Politics:

The danger of political predictions in 2017 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40534957

Technology:

The coming battle over 'net neutrality' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-40494909

Economics:

Children's scooters added to inflation basket - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39265388

Language:

'The language more beautiful than words' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-39302109

Miscellaneous:

Prison smuggler: 'I brought mobile phones in for criminals' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39258076

'Don't bag up dog poo in countryside', MP urges owners - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39254072

'My friends call me Lara Croft' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-39260186

The politics of the office tea round - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39155646 In which I have had completely different experiences but ... I have odd experiences.

EU workplace headscarf ban 'can be legal', says ECJ - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39264845

Alabama town agrees in settlement to stop operating debtors’ prison - https://www.splcenter.org/news/2017/03/14/alabama-town-agrees-settlement-stop-operating-debtors%E2%80%99-prison

Is North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un rational? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39269783 From March 2017

Could your barber save your life? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39281204

Music industry:

Five ways the singles chart can be fixed - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39265093 Wherein Ed Sheeran is so all-conquering that they're going to change the rules.

Politics:

Trump and Brexit: why it’s again NOT the economy, stupid - http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/trump-and-brexit-why-its-again-not-the-economy-stupid/ From November 2016

Where liberal fight goes in the age of Trump - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39258416

Marine Le Pen - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/marine_le_pen

Sport:

‘Not far from death’: How fighters are risking their lives to make weight
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/a4372439-aef4-4f18-bd9a-d914e3f37f2a It's about MMA fighters but I suspect it's true for everything else with weight categories

The Gentrification of College Basketball - https://theundefeated.com/features/gentrification-of-ncaa-division-1-college-basketball/?utm_content=buffer6fe38&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Cycling:

Dame Sarah Storey: Paralympic cyclist launches elite women's cycling team - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/39283137 From March 2017

Football:

The accidental chairman, and the making of modern Leicester - https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/champions-league/2016-2017/the-accidental-chairman-and-the-making-of-modern-leicester_sto6092154/story.shtml The most Leicester story possible

Rugby League:

Super League playercam trial set to continue despite 'technical issues' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/39303947 Technical issues is code for Kurt Gidley threw a fit about having to wear it at half-time

Technology:

THESE FAILED APPS DISCOVERED A HIDDEN RULE OF THE WEB - https://www.wired.com/2017/03/these-failed-apps-discovered-a-hidden-rule-of-the-web/#.5upn8bcxu