Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
Why is violence against women acceptable? 
Oct 30th, 2017 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bruce Gorton asks.… Read the rest
Haredi women and feminism
Jan 1st, 2016 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Haredi women are the breadwinners, but don’t talk to them about feminism.… Read the rest
India: prominent scholar murdered
Aug 30th, 2015 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Police suspect the involvement of Hindu extremists in the murder of Dr Malleshappa M Kalburgi, former Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi.… Read the rest
IS beheads antiquities scholar in Palmyra
Aug 19th, 2015 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Khaled Asaad, 82-year-old scholar who worked for over 50 years as head of antiquities in Palmyra, was executed by IS on Tuesday.… Read the rest
Bangladesh: atheist blogger hacked to death
Aug 7th, 2015 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Niloy Neel was hacked to death by a gang armed with machetes in Dhaka.… Read the rest
Alom Shaha on why non-belief needs diversity
Apr 10th, 2014 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Encountering diversity can help us realise the possibility of being someone new, someone different, someone better.… Read the rest
Boston Globe reviews Plato at the Googleplex
Mar 15th, 2014 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Goldstein’s ventriloquism allows Plato to serve as a foil for the preoccupations of the 21st century.… Read the rest
Slate reviews Plato at the Googleplex
Mar 15th, 2014 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Plato on Cable News” has him exchanging blows with a bloviating Bill O’Reilly clone named Roy McCoy.… Read the rest
Martin Robbins on the return of Bora Zivkovic
Jan 4th, 2014 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Not sexually harassing women’ is not optional; it’s not a ‘bonus extra’ in the job description.… Read the rest
Universities UK withdraws advice on gender segregation
Dec 13th, 2013 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
UUK has withdrawn guidance on the gender segregation of audiences in lectures and debates after the prime minister said it should not be allowed to happen.… Read the rest
Martin Pribble on leaving the online atheist “community”
Dec 13th, 2013 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The times of satisfaction are outweighed by feelings of frustration and hopelessness.… Read the rest
Turkey sentences atheist blogger to jail
Dec 13th, 2013 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sevan Nisanyan accused a Turkish court of issuing a “politically-motivated” verdict after it sentenced him to jail on charges of illegal construction.… Read the rest
The Homeschool Apostates
Dec 5th, 2013 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They were raised to carry the fundamentalist banner forward and redeem America, but now the Joshua Generation is rebelling.… Read the rest
Sara Khan on gender segregation and inequality
Nov 25th, 2013 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Segregation perpetuates discriminatory social norms and practices, shaping male attitudes about women and restricting the decisions and choices of women.… Read the rest
John Hawks on the new skull from Dmanisi
Oct 19th, 2013 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The essential claim: the shape variation among these four Dmanisi crania is approximately the same as the shape variation among all East African early Homo.… Read the rest
In Theresa May’s surreal world, feelings trump facts
Oct 16th, 2013 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
When the European Commission asked Britain for proof that sly continentals were sneaking into our hospital beds, Whitehall replied that its demand for hard facts was an affront.… Read the rest
Ofsted report on Al-Madinah school in Derby
Oct 16th, 2013 | Filed by Ophelia BensonInadequate in all categories.… Read the rest
Udo Schuklenk responds to some myths about atheism
Oct 13th, 2013 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The probabilities are vanishingly low for the God proposition.… Read the rest
