Why we need *some* borders between us
Borders are often a bad thing because they create separation that is unconducive for what are generally considered to be socially desirable outcomes. And they're often instituted to maximise polit…
VM
1664 posts
Ocean-safe consumption
2 min read
Just spotted this ad on the website of The Better India, a journalism website that focuses on "positive stories": India's nationwide lockdown has many important lessons – including the…
Eight years
1 min read
On June 1 last year, I wrote: Today, I complete seven years of trying to piece together a picture of what journalism is and where I fit in. Today, I begin my ninth year as a journalist. I'm happ…
The virus and the government
1 min read
In December 2014, public health researchers and activists gathered at a public forum in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to discuss how our perception of diseases and their causative pathogens influences our…
The life and death of 'Chemical Nova'
4 min read
You know how people pretend to win an Oscar or a Nobel Prize, right? Many years ago, I used to pretend to be the author of a fictitious but, blissfully unmindful of its fictitiousness, award-winning s…
A caveat for peer-review
3 min read
Now that more researchers are finding more holes in the study in The Lancet, which claimed hydroxychloroquine – far from being a saviour of people with COVID-19 – actually harms them, I wonder where t…
The WHA coronavirus resolution is not great for science
4 min read
On May 19, member states of the WHO moved a vote in the World Health Assembly (WHA), asking for an independent investigation into the sources of the novel coronavirus. Their exact demands were spelle…
The Wolfram singularity
4 min read
I got to this article about Stephen Wolfram's most recent attempt to "revolutionise" fundamental physics quite late, and sorry for it because I had no idea Wolfram was the kind of guy wh…
Good journalism is still around
2 min read
This morning, a trusted scientist called my attention to a tweet thread by Jordan Fischer listing the many good stories journalists in the US had done that had improved the lives of people. The scient…
Partial review: 'Hitler's Circle of Evil' (2018)
6 min read
Hitler's Circle of Evil is a documentary series on Netflix that narrates the lives and actions of Adolf Hitler's inner circle, leading up to and during the Second World War. This is a partial…
Review: 'Paatal Lok' (2020)
3 min read
I binge-watched Paatal Lok today, a show on Amazon Prime India about a cynical cop who is all too familiar with how the The System works and who gets a high profile case by chance – to investigate a c…
Nitin Gadkari, tomato chutney and blood
4 min read
There is a famous comedy scene in Tamil cinema, starring the actors Vadivelu and 'Bonda' Mani. Those who understand Tamil should skip this awkward retelling – intended for non-Tamil speakers,…