Front Lines

Why insects are disappearing and what it means for our future

ByMarco MagriniAug 4, 2026

The evidence is mounting. From butterflies to beetles, insects are disappearing at an alarming rate – and the consequences reach far beyond our windscreens

The new geopolitics of undersea data cables

ByDoug SpechtJul 28, 2026

As nations compete for digital dominance, the ocean floor has emerged as the newest and least visible stage for geopolitical…

Why York’s ghost tours are rewriting the city’s hidden history

ByAndrew BrooksJul 23, 2026

Ghost tours, witchcraft and themed attractions turn marginalised histories into spectacle – creating a cityscape haunted as much by commerce as by the dead

The £5billion question: what Britain’s drone splurge really buys

ByDoug SpechtJul 21, 2026

Why investing billions in military autonomy may leave diplomacy as Britain’s most neglected security strategy today Keir Starmer chose a…

How PFAS are poisoning our world

ByMarco MagriniJul 7, 2026

From human cooperation to the chemistry of life, bonds hold our world together – but PFAS show what happens when…

How UK online safety laws could reshape the geography of digital spaces

ByDoug SpechtJun 16, 2026

The new borders of Britain's digital landscape are being redrawn by online regulation

The World Cup team waiting at the border

ByDoug SpechtJun 8, 2026

From a training base in Tijuana, Iran's players prepare for a tournament hosted by a country now at war with their own

Tropical ocean with school of little fish in underwater. Ocean background

How warming oceans could trigger a Super El Niño and weaken Atlantic currents

ByMarco MagriniJun 1, 2026

For decades, the oceans have absorbed the heat of human-made climate change. Now, that stored energy may be returning with compound interest

How AI is reshaping land, power and democracy

ByDoug SpechtMay 28, 2026

As governments race to build AI infrastructure, communities across the world are discovering that the environmental and democratic costs of data centres are increasingly being pushed aside

How war language dehumanises people and justifies violence

ByAndrew BrooksMay 28, 2026

From the trenches of the First World War to the skies over Tehran, racialised slurs have helped cast enemies as less than human

West Bengal is home to around 100 million people – more than the population of Germany.

West Bengal enters the Hindutva era

ByGeographical ContributorMay 27, 2026

As the BJP takes power in West Bengal for the first time, Muslims in one of India’s most politically important border states fear that the language of law and order is becoming a tool of exclusion