‘Political loyalties and antipathies were always central to his reception.’… Read the rest
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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
The Victorians and Shakespeare
Feb 18th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCrucial question: who owned Shakespeare, the elite or the people?… Read the rest
Confronting a Fashionable View of Empire
Feb 18th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonNow widely asserted that British public culture was deeply ‘imperialized,’ but was it?… Read the rest
Getting to Auschwitz Punctually
Feb 18th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonDeborah Lipstadt on the surrealism, embarrassment, cold, and memories at the death camp.… Read the rest
James Buchan Reviews Book on Al-Jazeera
Feb 18th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIf honour trumps liberty and comfort, al-Jazeera may be less a force for democracy than for Arab nationalism.… Read the rest
Deity Makes Hash of 10 Cmndmts, Needs Help
Feb 17th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonEnjoy life. Don’t steal. Don’t hog the remote. Work out every day.… Read the rest
Fun in Florida
Feb 17th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWith those zany folks who believe in ‘the Rapture’.… Read the rest
Is Sectarianism a Myth or a Problem?
Feb 17th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAnd do Rangers and Celtics games defuse tensions or stoke them?… Read the rest
Ernst Mayr’s What Makes Biology Unique?
Feb 16th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBiology as a scientific discipline, what it means to be a species, more.… Read the rest
Does ‘Spiritual Healing’ Work?
Feb 16th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWell, the ‘healing energy’ is elusive, but the placebo effect is solid.… Read the rest
Life Slowly Improving for Women in Afghanistan
Feb 16th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMillions of women and girls have returned to work and school since fall of Taliban.… Read the rest
Harry Frankfurt
Feb 16th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘I could never make up my mind what I was interested in, and philosophy enabled you to be interested in anything.’… Read the rest
Intelligence Without Language
Feb 15th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonNew research casts doubt on the claim that intelligence requires language.… Read the rest
Three Powers: Britain, Russia, Madame de Staël
Feb 15th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonA political and literary intellectual in an age when women weren’t expected to be either.… Read the rest
Scott McLemee on Harry Frankfurt on Bullshit
Feb 15th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIndispensable for those at the fragrant crossroads of academe and journalism.… Read the rest
Brenda Maddox on Women and Science
Feb 14th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonShock-horror: she doesn’t care whether women go into science or not.… Read the rest
Competing for Title of ‘Most Sensitive’
Feb 14th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonTendency to assume loudest religious groups represent everyone in their communities.… Read the rest
Fatwa on Rushdie Reaffirmed
Feb 14th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘History shows that the Muslims have in no era accepted their sanctities being defiled.’… Read the rest
A Certain Storman ‘Norman’ Geras on Radio
Feb 13th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonFamous obscure Marxist talks about blogs and Iraq war.… Read the rest
President of NAAS Contradicts Michael Behe
Feb 13th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Because “intelligent design” theories are based on supernatural explanations, they can have nothing to do with science.’… Read the rest