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Inevitably links go out of date.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.


Profile of Maryam Namazie *

Apr 5th, 2006 | Filed by

She rejects attempts to silence all criticism of theocratic regimes as ‘racism’ or ‘Islamophobic.’ … Read the rest



Football, Race and ‘Identity’ *

Apr 4th, 2006 | Filed by

Leipzig fans spit and hoot at Nigerian footballer. There’s solidarity for you.… Read the rest



Christians in Afghanistan *

Apr 4th, 2006 | Filed by

Persecution has turned Afghan converts into a closely knit underground organization. … Read the rest



Dude, I Bedazzled These Jeans *

Apr 4th, 2006 | Filed by

Padma Lakshmi like talks to a Times reporter.… Read the rest



Phyllis Chesler Talks to John Sutherland *

Apr 4th, 2006 | Filed by

Sutherland quotes the wisdom of Islamophobiawatch.… Read the rest



Dennett Replies to Bunting and Ruse *

Apr 4th, 2006 | Filed by

Reporters should avoid being complicit in publicity stunts by the likes of Dembski.… Read the rest



Empire of Pseudoscience Peddled in Schools *

Apr 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

Just kicked Brain Gym Teacher’s Edition around the room for two minutes and feeling minty fresh.… Read the rest



Exercise Brain Without Pseudoscientific Nonsense *

Apr 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

A popular technique with a scientific explanatory framework that is barkingly out to lunch.… Read the rest



Ronald Aronson: the Left Needs More Socialism *

Apr 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

The left is doomed without a vision, a sense of direction and an effective call to arms.… Read the rest



Peer Review and ‘Media Science’ *

Apr 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

How do we tell good science from bad? By looking at how it is published.… Read the rest



Study Finds Prayer Non-medicinal *

Apr 3rd, 2006 | Filed by

Intercessory prayer doesn’t help and, if mentioned, may hinder.… Read the rest



Fouad Ajami on Sen’s ‘Identity and Violence’ *

Apr 2nd, 2006 | Filed by

The Almohads’ pitiless warriors put to the sword the fabled world of Andalusian tolerance.… Read the rest



Professors Called Liars and Bigots *

Apr 2nd, 2006 | Filed by

LRB article on Israel lobby set off firestorm, drawing condemnation from left and right.… Read the rest



LRB Editor Defends Article *

Apr 2nd, 2006 | Filed by

Some charge anti-Semitism, others call article a shoddy piece of pseudo-academia.… Read the rest



Stephen Greenblatt on Marlowe *

Apr 2nd, 2006 | Filed by

Is there any connection between his spying and his writing?… Read the rest



An Alumni Mag Profile Gone Horribly Wrong *

Apr 2nd, 2006 | Filed by

Scott McLemee notes a confusion between sententious comments and profound thought.… Read the rest



Yardley Reviews a Memoir by John McGahern *

Apr 2nd, 2006 | Filed by

‘In that one life of the mind, the writer could live many lives and all of life.’… Read the rest



Pakistan Considers Extraditing Blasphemers *

Apr 1st, 2006 | Filed by

Oregon bloggers on the list because they published the Motoons.… Read the rest



Catholic Bishop Questions Vatican Condom Ban *

Apr 1st, 2006 | Filed by

Bishop notes papal teaching also includes the law: ‘You should not kill.’… Read the rest



Danish Muslim Organizations Sue Editors *

Apr 1st, 2006 | Filed by

Lawyer calls text and drawings ‘gratuitously defamatory and injurious’.… Read the rest