Posts in tag

Sheffield Doc/Fest


Obsession is a strange bird. While most people seem to flit in and out of this kind of myopic tunnel vision, for a small minority it never falters. It becomes something which takes over their entire life. Occupies every waking moment. It’s all they can ever think about. A dream that they simply must realise, …

John Assange

When WikiLeaks published a dossier of leaked intelligence, the Iraqi and Afghani war logs, in 2010, it brought founder Julian Assange into direct conflict with authorities across the world. In the years leading up to this these revelations, the Iceland-based organisation had been releasing documents to partners The Guardian, The New York Times and Der …

If the fashion industry was a country, it would be the third biggest polluter behind China and the United States. Just let that sink in for a minute. People want the latest and the best fashions. Clothes are seen as disposable. To be worn and then discarded after a bit of wear and tear. To …

Lyra McKee

The signing of the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998 brought a dark and bloody chapter in Northern Ireland’s history to an end. Offering the promise of a lasting peace for future generations. However, whilst the accord has just about held, the violence never stopped. Indeed, there have subsequently been 160 ‘security-related’ deaths in …

While there are huge issues with the music industry today, especially around the monetisation of streaming services, there’s no doubting it has never been easier to get your music out there. Whether anyone will listen to it is another question entirely, given the overwhelming amount of choice on offer. It’s even relatively cheap and simple …

In 1969, after years of exploration, oil was discovered in the North Sea. The 1970s saw the discovery of the two biggest fields on the UK continental shelf. Clair, which is west of Shetland and Forties, which is east of Aberdeen.  This unearthing has driven the UK economy and financial markets in the subsequent decades, …

The stack of confiscated chainsaws outside of Bobby's office

On the face of it, Palawan appears to be the epitome of an island paradise. The archipelago, located at the western reaches of the Philippines, is the home to beautiful rocky coves, clear lakes, a long and luscious coastline and a beautiful verdant interior. While agriculture is the main industry, it has become a popular …

The #MeToo movement highlighted a horrendous truth that many women already knew. However, this public wave of anger created an environment where people felt able to speak out for the first time. According to ONS data, almost half of all women (aged 16-59) questioned had been the victim of sexual assault at least once. Most …

The war in Ukraine has once against shone a light of the oppressive and authoritarian regime in Russia. While Putin might allow a few people to vote for someone else in parody elections or even an occasional outburst of anger, the information ordinary Russians receive is tightly controlled. Their movements monitored if they show even …

While Columbia has some of the more progressive women’s rights legislation in South America, that doesn’t mean to say that being a girl or woman in the country is easy. Far from it. Levels of domestic abuse are eye-watering and abortion is extremely restricted. Violence is almost endemic in many areas of a nation where …