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Inevitably links go out of date.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.


Simon Singh on ‘What the Bleep Do We Know’ *

May 19th, 2005 | Filed by

Movie claims to be about quantum physics but is complete bollocks.… Read the rest



In Our Time Does ‘Greatest Philosopher’ Poll *

May 19th, 2005 | Filed by

Plato? Kant? Alain de Botton? Nominate, vote.… Read the rest



Edward Skidelsky Reviews Simon Blackburn *

May 19th, 2005 | Filed by

Truth, reason, objectivity survive the demolition work of Nietzsche and James.… Read the rest



Republicans Move to Ban Women From Combat Support *

May 18th, 2005 | Filed by

Women are too distracting.… Read the rest



Anxious Men Wonder *

May 18th, 2005 | Filed by

Is Army stealthily violating ban on women in combat?… Read the rest



Ayaan Hirsi Ali Interview in the Guardian *

May 18th, 2005 | Filed by

Condition of women in Muslim communities an intractable problem which liberals and multiculturalists refused to address. … Read the rest



Charges of Religious Indoctrination at Air Force Academy *

May 18th, 2005 | Filed by

Fliers passed out in dining hall advertising the movie ‘The Passion of the Christ.’… Read the rest



B&W Speaks [audio - starts 34 minutes in] *

May 18th, 2005 | Filed by

ABC’s Late Night’s Phillip Adams chats with JS and OB about Dictionary.… Read the rest



History is Making a Surreal Comeback *

May 17th, 2005 | Filed by

The search for truth remains a work in progress.… Read the rest



Mathematics not Platonic but Communal *

May 17th, 2005 | Filed by

Some proofs are so long that mathematicians give up and agree to agree.… Read the rest



Russell Jacoby on Utopianism *

May 17th, 2005 | Filed by

Blueprint utopianism is no good, but the iconoclastic kind is another matter.… Read the rest



Public Money to Teach People to Talk to the Dead *

May 16th, 2005 | Filed by

‘Spiritualist’ group qualifies because it celebrates diversity.… Read the rest



Church and its Leader Free of Error on Morality *

May 16th, 2005 | Filed by

Which makes it difficult to apologize to, say, Jews. Oh well.… Read the rest



Cronyism in Academic Poetry?! Surely Not! *

May 16th, 2005 | Filed by

Foetry exposes the violent, blood-spattered world of poetry contests.… Read the rest



Just Pointing to Environmental Damage Not Enough *

May 16th, 2005 | Filed by

There is both a cost and a benefit and you have to weigh them up.… Read the rest



Animal Rights Disgrace *

May 15th, 2005 | Filed by

Parkinson’s sufferer called ‘Nazi.’… Read the rest



Irshad Manji Calls for Muslim Think Tank *

May 15th, 2005 | Filed by

Author wants changes in Islam’s stance on issues such as human rights.… Read the rest



A Little Sarcasm on ID *

May 15th, 2005 | Filed by

Science that doesn’t teach his religious beliefs is biased against his religious beliefs. Yeah right.… Read the rest



Quadratic Equations Rock *

May 14th, 2005 | Filed by

Analytical thought process in maths is a skill that will empower anyone.… Read the rest



History Matters, and That Includes Movie History *

May 14th, 2005 | Filed by

Epic films can include epic inaccuracies, historians point out.… Read the rest