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Inevitably links go out of date.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.


Wolfgang Mommsen 1930-2004 *

Aug 13th, 2004 | Filed by

German historian opposed revisionist accounts of Holocaust.… Read the rest



Knowledge is More Than Cultural Capital *

Aug 12th, 2004 | Filed by

It can make the world a better place; downgrading the struggle for knowledge is reactionary.… Read the rest



Blame Atheism! *

Aug 12th, 2004 | Filed by

For what? Oh, everything. Holidays, strikes, Europe. Why not after all?… Read the rest



The Repatriation Issue *

Aug 12th, 2004 | Filed by

Critics angered by assertion of tribal rights over needs of science and knowledge.… Read the rest



Another Myth Shot Down *

Aug 12th, 2004 | Filed by

Marco Polo did not go to China, okay? He read some books he found in Persia. … Read the rest



Declinism in France *

Aug 12th, 2004 | Filed by

‘so out of breath, so indebted, so closed in its own prejudices’ – narratives of decline are fun.… Read the rest



Shock News – The DaVinci Code is Fiction! *

Aug 12th, 2004 | Filed by

People who think it’s fact should be herded into a crop circle and beaten with The Bible Code.… Read the rest



Cloning of Human Embryos Given Go Ahead *

Aug 11th, 2004 | Filed by

Just wait for the complaints of religious maniacs…… Read the rest



Education for its Own Sake or for a Job? *

Aug 11th, 2004 | Filed by

Gradgrind, Clarke; golf course management or utterly purposeless history study.… Read the rest



Is Islam Religion or Political Ideology? *

Aug 11th, 2004 | Filed by

Both. ‘Religion is what makes Islamic political ideology so dangerous.’… Read the rest



Evidence for Social Brain Theory *

Aug 11th, 2004 | Filed by

Did humans evolve large brain to negotiate and manipulate complex social relationships?… Read the rest



Style – Communication or Self-expression? *

Aug 10th, 2004 | Filed by

Truth-telling, therapy, sharing? Facts, beauty?… Read the rest



Come Back to the Raft Ag’in, Martin Honey *

Aug 9th, 2004 | Filed by

Two guys, a long river trip, Heidegger: now playing at your local cinema.… Read the rest



Phallocentric Theorizing When It’s at Home *

Aug 9th, 2004 | Filed by

‘Acephalic Litter as a Phallic Letter’ – and that’s not a parody!… Read the rest



Is Al-Jazeera Biased? More Than Others? *

Aug 9th, 2004 | Filed by

Is an Arab-language satellite news network funded by US Congress ‘the free one’?… Read the rest



Paranoia at Historians’ Convention *

Aug 9th, 2004 | Filed by

Does Keith Windschuttle have an agenda or is he merely pointing out mistakes?… Read the rest



Munchausen’s by Proxy That Wasn’t *

Aug 8th, 2004 | Filed by

Doctor banned from child protection cases for three years.… Read the rest



Oh So That’s Why Everyone is so Perky *

Aug 8th, 2004 | Filed by

There are traces of Prozac in UK drinking water. Some worry, others don’t.… Read the rest



Prozac in the Water *

Aug 8th, 2004 | Filed by

But it’s heavily diluted, so just think of it as homeopathy.… Read the rest



Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? *

Aug 8th, 2004 | Filed by

Doctor accuses man of killing his own children on the basis of TV documentary.… Read the rest