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Inevitably links go out of date.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.


Pseudoscience and stereotyping won’t solve gender inequality in science *

Feb 8th, 2013 | Filed by

Finding ways for girls to integrate interests in science and shopping doesn’t work if girls think this is the only way to engage with it.… Read the rest



9 women polio vaccinators shot dead in Kano, Nigeria *

Feb 8th, 2013 | Filed by

On Thursday, a mullah bashed the polio vaccination campaign, saying that new cases of polio were caused by contaminated medicine.… Read the rest



South African girl gang-raped and mutilated to death *

Feb 7th, 2013 | Filed by

Before she died, Anene Booysen, 17, identified her former boyfriend as one of her attackers.… Read the rest



Edna Adan statement on zero tolerance of FGM *

Feb 7th, 2013 | Filed by

“Witnessing the FGM-associated complications that many were suffering caused me to speak out against it in public in 1976 which at that time shocked my family and my people.”… Read the rest



AlJazeera on London’s “Muslim patrols” *

Feb 7th, 2013 | Filed by

A group under the name of “Muslim Patrol” post YouTube videos showing them harassing people who they think are not conforming to sharia.… Read the rest



“Muslim patrols” in London could get worse *

Feb 7th, 2013 | Filed by

A group calling itself the Muslim Patrol posted  a video showing a gang hurling abuse at a gay man and described white women as “naked animals with no self–respect.”… Read the rest



Michael Apted on the 7 Up films on Fresh Air *

Feb 6th, 2013 | Filed by

“It was both very funny and also chilling, showing that, in fact, the class system was very active.”… Read the rest



Sandwich chain withdraws ‘Virgin Mary’ crisps *

Feb 2nd, 2013 | Filed by

Sandwich shop chain Pret A Manger has withdrawn a new “Virgin Mary” brand of crisps following religious complaints.… Read the rest



Ireland: anti-abortion campaigners are shouting louder *

Feb 2nd, 2013 | Filed by

They face a similarly vocal pro-choice movement, reinvigorated by the death of Savita Halappanavar.… Read the rest



Catholics for Choice blasts proposed contraception exemption *

Feb 2nd, 2013 | Filed by

Catholics for Choice president Jon O’Brien said that providing such exemptions gives “carte blanche” to “religious extremists” to “trump the rights of others.”… Read the rest



The push for “fetal heartbeat” bans on abortion *

Jan 31st, 2013 | Filed by

Fetal heartbeat measures seek to outlaw abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected, in direct contradiction to Roe v. Wade.Read the rest



Malala scheduled for reconstruction surgery *

Jan 30th, 2013 | Filed by

Her doctors say she will return to hospital within the next 10 days to undergo surgery to repair a missing area of her skull with a specially molded titanium plate.… Read the rest



Richard Dawkins and Rowan Williams will debate *

Jan 27th, 2013 | Filed by

Prominent atheist Prof Dawkins and the former Archbishop of Canterbury will discuss whether “religion has no place in the 21st Century” on Thursday.… Read the rest



Universal human rights in Nigeria *

Jan 26th, 2013 | Filed by

The international community and human rights activists are urging Nigeria to reconsider the bill prohibiting same-sex marriage.… Read the rest



Bernice Sandler’s talk at Women in Secularism 2012 *

Jan 25th, 2013 | Filed by

The subtle unnoticed ways women and men are treated differently.… Read the rest



Antibiotic-resistant diseases pose ‘apocalyptic’ threat *

Jan 25th, 2013 | Filed by

Britain’s most senior medical adviser has warned MPs that the rise in drug-resistant diseases could trigger a national emergency comparable to a catastrophic terrorist attack.… Read the rest



Religious exemption from Burger King uniform *

Jan 25th, 2013 | Filed by

Because God said Ashanti McShan has to wear a long skirt instead of trousers to work at Burger King.… Read the rest



Website owner accuses Mary Beard *

Jan 25th, 2013 | Filed by

All that trash talk was her fault for being so wrong and she used the trash talk to deflect attention from her wrongitude.… Read the rest



Mary Beard on Women’s Hour *

Jan 24th, 2013 | Filed by

Women are always told to shut up about the abuse or they’ll only make it worse. Sorry, mate; not on.… Read the rest



Sherry Rehman accused of “blasphemy” *

Jan 18th, 2013 | Filed by

The petition claims that Pakistan’s ambassador to the US committed a blasphemous act two years ago when she criticized Pakistan’s blasphemy laws in a TV interview.… Read the rest