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Inevitably links go out of date.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.


More on Carl Sagan *

Dec 21st, 2006 | Filed by

Audio, video, reminiscences from friends, more.… Read the rest



Postmodernism and Shopping *

Dec 20th, 2006 | Filed by

Modern retailers are only just getting to grips with the fragmentation of narratives.… Read the rest



R Joseph Hoffmann on the Baylor Religion Survey *

Dec 20th, 2006 | Filed by

The study is so “extensive” that cherry-picking topics is the only way to do it the injustice it deserves.… Read the rest



Leakey Fights Church Campaign Against Fossils *

Dec 20th, 2006 | Filed by

Evangelical church leaders want Kenya’s national museum to hide hominid fossils in back room.… Read the rest



Bad Astronomy on Carl Sagan *

Dec 20th, 2006 | Filed by

Who died ten years ago today.… Read the rest



Remembering Carl Sagan *

Dec 20th, 2006 | Filed by

A lot of people do.… Read the rest



Little Atoms Remembers Carl Sagan Friday *

Dec 20th, 2006 | Filed by

Special edition commemorating Sagan on 22nd December, with Ann Druyan, Louis Friedman, more.… Read the rest



Cornell Remembers Sagan *

Dec 20th, 2006 | Filed by

‘Carl was a candle in the dark. He was, quite simply, the best science educator in the world this century.’… Read the rest



France’s Best-selling Philosopher [link fixed] *

Dec 19th, 2006 | Filed by

‘Against the rabbis, the preachers, the imams, ayatollahs and mullahs, I persist in preferring the philosopher.’… Read the rest



Satan is Hot *

Dec 19th, 2006 | Filed by

Over the past half-century, the Devil has rarely been out of fashion.… Read the rest



Teacher Threatens Students With Hell *

Dec 19th, 2006 | Filed by

‘If you reject his gift of salvation, then you know where you belong. If you reject that, you belong in hell.’… Read the rest



Theo Hobson Attempts a Joke *

Dec 19th, 2006 | Filed by

He probably thinks women aren’t funny.… Read the rest



Paola Cavalieri on Animals and Justice *

Dec 19th, 2006 | Filed by

Does extending rights to animals weaken rights for humans?… Read the rest



David Thompson on Art Bollocks Revisited *

Dec 18th, 2006 | Filed by

Art bollocks has become institutionalised and normalised, is now almost the default way of writing.… Read the rest



Two Books of Philosophy That Aren’t Really *

Dec 18th, 2006 | Filed by

Colin McGinn on Shakespeare’s philosophy and a Critique of Criminal Reason.… Read the rest



The Financial Times Does Lunch with Dawkins *

Dec 18th, 2006 | Filed by

‘I don’t want just to annoy people – I want to change people’s minds.’… Read the rest



Anti-Ahmadinejad Students Flee for their Lives *

Dec 18th, 2006 | Filed by

His supporters have threatened them with revenge.… Read the rest



Jesus and Mo on the Efficacy of Prayer *

Dec 17th, 2006 | Filed by

God is amazing.… Read the rest



Jesus and Mo Quiz the Barmaid *

Dec 17th, 2006 | Filed by

Why are atheists so angry at the religious?… Read the rest



Jesus and Mo on the War on Christmas *

Dec 17th, 2006 | Filed by

They want people to remember it’s Jesus’s pretend birthday.… Read the rest