What’s the likelihood of a devastating climate feedback triggered by global warming and methane hydrate destabilisation? — In order to limit global mean temperature rise to well below 2°C, as recommended by the Paris Agreement, we must keep greenhouse gas emissions within a finite carbon budget. However, calculating this budget is complex — in part due to the unknown impact of climate feedbacks: processes that amplify or…

And what do the black-and-white photos on your Instagram have to do with it? — You may have picked up on a new wave flooding your Insta: black-and-white selfies accompanied by the hashtag #challengeaccepted. You may even have been tagged by a friend with an accompanying message like “Women are always being criticised — by men, by the media, and even by one another. Let’s…

On having a non-Anglophone name in the West. — What’s your name? Say that again? Could you spell that for me? Oh…that’s a lovely name. Is there anything I can call you for short? What violence is this My name is sweetness and salt Honey and moonlight Steeped in olive oil and lilac But you You with your slimy…

A heart-breaking confessional. — “If Black and Brown people don’t want to be discriminated against, they should go back to where they came from.” Raised Black and British in suburbia, there were two other Black kids at school. One of them was my brother. My dad taught me — consciously or otherwise — if…