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Inevitably links go out of date.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.


The Bookseller of Kabul *

Sep 21st, 2003 | Filed by

And his campaign against the Norwegian reporter who revealed how women are treated in Afghanistan.… Read the rest



Treated Like Dirt Even by Small Boys *

Sep 21st, 2003 | Filed by

Even middle-class men treat women appallingly in Afghanistan.… Read the rest



Peace Peace *

Sep 21st, 2003 | Filed by

The Baghdad blogger Salam Pax.… Read the rest



The Right Imperfections *

Sep 21st, 2003 | Filed by

Authentic is sometimes a euphemism for labour-intensive or expensive.… Read the rest



Eagleton After Theory *

Sep 20th, 2003 | Filed by

‘Postmodernists oppose universality, and well they might: nothing is more parochial than the kind of human being they admire.’… Read the rest



Unilateralism Meets Complacency *

Sep 20th, 2003 | Filed by

Le Monde editor suggests middle ground.… Read the rest



Interview with Donald Davidson *

Sep 20th, 2003 | Filed by

Long, searching discussion of both his life and his work.… Read the rest



Bit of a Mistake, Really *

Sep 20th, 2003 | Filed by

If the US and UK hadn’t removed Mossadegh in 1953, things might have gone better…… Read the rest



Horowitz Answers, Walker Answers Him *

Sep 20th, 2003 | Filed by

What would the consequences of the Academic Bill of Rights really be?… Read the rest



You Can’t Read This *

Sep 20th, 2003 | Filed by

Publishers of specialist scientific journals are shutting out the public.… Read the rest



Roger Scruton on Donald Davidson *

Sep 19th, 2003 | Filed by

And ‘the sound made by a research programme when it hits’ – Cambridge.… Read the rest



Video-Game Archaeology *

Sep 19th, 2003 | Filed by

Stuffing artefacts in sacks, bayonetting, and other tricks of the trade.… Read the rest



Another Susan Greenfield Interview *

Sep 19th, 2003 | Filed by

Tolerance is good, but so is self-improvement.… Read the rest



Reason v. Academic Bill of Rights *

Sep 19th, 2003 | Filed by

‘Suddenly, “academic freedom” starts to sound like an encroachment on the freedoms of the faculty.’… Read the rest



Is Some Black Music Homophobic? *

Sep 19th, 2003 | Filed by

Do the MOBOs celebrate artists with an anti-gay agenda?… Read the rest



Donald Davidson *

Sep 18th, 2003 | Filed by

The Telegraph obituary.… Read the rest



Richard Sennett on Patriotism *

Sep 18th, 2003 | Filed by

Dissonance cannot be resolved by a cathartic destructive act.… Read the rest



Outmoded Authoritative Structures? *

Sep 18th, 2003 | Filed by

Did the makers of ‘The Matrix’ get Baudrillard wrong? Or were they making a subtle point about – oh never mind.… Read the rest



Perhaps There Are More Than Two Sides? *

Sep 17th, 2003 | Filed by

How does one achieve ‘balance’ in a complicated subject that doesn’t always divide neatly along a left-right axis?… Read the rest



A Slightly Guilty Formalist *

Sep 17th, 2003 | Filed by

Denis Donoghue speaks of beauty in his latest book.… Read the rest