We gave them that nickname because of the star system they came from. They were also the first. Their arrival seemed to come out of the blue, but then again, how could you possibly prepare for the world to be upended like that? The ship was just shy of five…

Why tax is actually great, and desperately needs a rebrand — How do you feel about tax? Do you think positively or negatively about giving the government a portion of your money each month from your paid salary, or each time you purchase goods and services? Do you think about it at all? Have you ever wondered where that money goes? Have you ever ‘done the math’…

Why we chose a new surname when we got married Anakin Skywalker. Bilbo Baggins. Holly Golightly. Peter Pan. Donnie Darko. Marty McFly. Lara Croft. Ellen Ripley. All iconic characters, with equally iconic names. Of course, these fictional people have characteristics that bring their name to life, but the letters and…

Quick note — throughout this, I only refer to two genders — male and female, and don’t reference racial identity either. This is not to deny the existence of and issues faced by other gender identities and races, but is only used to focus the discussion here. …

Early one morning in 1996, Malcolm Gladwell sits at his desk at the New Yorker office. He’s new here, having spent the last decade at the Washington Post, covering business and science stories. None of his previous work has garnered much attention but crucially he’s now spent 10,000 hours over…

It has now been 365 days since I last had an alcoholic drink. I did not stop drinking because my body is a temple, or out of some wholesome hipster celebration of soberness and getting to know the real me. …

The new Gillette advert certainly ruffled some feathers. What interested me most about it was not the advert itself (I had some thoughts about it that I summarise at the end of this), but the reaction to it, and just how angry the discussion around it became. Just watch this…

I’ve recently returned from a two week trip to Japan, and it’s safe to say it was one of the best holidays I’ve ever had. Rather than regale you with stories of karaoke, sushi, ryokan and give you tips on what to do, I thought it would be useful to…

Are all charitable causes equally good? Is donating ten pounds to the Doodle Trust (who rescue and rehome Doodles and Poodles throughout the UK) equally as important as donating to Doctors without Borders? We in the UK are a charitable bunch. In 2016, 61% of us gave money to causes…