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Inevitably links go out of date.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.


Humanitarian Workers Are Targets Now *

Aug 26th, 2003 | Filed by

They work in dangerous places because that’s where the need is.… Read the rest



Too Short, Too Shy, Tits Too Small? *

Aug 26th, 2003 | Filed by

Take a pill! Have an op! Fix yourself, you must be broken.… Read the rest



Groupthink? *

Aug 25th, 2003 | Filed by

Are pro-GM scientists bullying dissenters to get them to agree?… Read the rest



Rough Edges at Harvard *

Aug 25th, 2003 | Filed by

More multicultural understanding, or more reading and math?… Read the rest



Valid Points? Or Merely the Usual Suspects? *

Aug 24th, 2003 | Filed by

Did Habermas and Derrida ignore the Others, are they Eurocentric, what about Africa and Asia?… Read the rest



Oh That Old Ploy *

Aug 24th, 2003 | Filed by

Astrology’s alibi: we’re ‘not a science but a symbolic, allusive language.’… Read the rest



Foucault on Society *

Aug 23rd, 2003 | Filed by

He wasn’t the first to point out the importance of the despised and excluded, but he did it well.… Read the rest



C. Wright Mills *

Aug 23rd, 2003 | Filed by

‘his name rarely appears on the reading lists of fashionable graduate courses in social and cultural theory’ and that’s reccomendation enough.… Read the rest



‘Family-Friendly’ Policies and Gender Roles *

Aug 22nd, 2003 | Filed by

Study shows the relationship between workplace flexibility and who does the housework to be complex.… Read the rest



Helpful Hints from Michael Hann *

Aug 22nd, 2003 | Filed by

The newspapapers as guides to what to say about Martin Amis.… Read the rest



They’re Just Jealous! *

Aug 21st, 2003 | Filed by

Self-serving bilge.… Read the rest



Publisher Drops Honderich Book *

Aug 21st, 2003 | Filed by

German publisher Suhrkamp reacts to charges of anti-Semitism.… Read the rest



Trotsky’s Great Grand-daughter *

Aug 21st, 2003 | Filed by

‘If you want to be a scientist, you cannot allow politics to get in the way of your objectivity.’… Read the rest



Science as Democratizer *

Aug 21st, 2003 | Filed by

Critical thinking is good for democracy, and science can unify people.… Read the rest



Ted Honderich Page *

Aug 21st, 2003 | Filed by

With links to letters from Habermas and others relevant to publication controversy.… Read the rest



Popularising Without Dumbing Down *

Aug 21st, 2003 | Filed by

Stephen Law abandoned ‘dippy’ ideas for reasoned ones.… Read the rest



Islam and Human Rights *

Aug 20th, 2003 | Filed by

Ishtiaq Ahmed argues that a Muslim cultural identity need not be confused with harsh laws and practices from the medieval past.… Read the rest



Ridiculous, But Not Aboriginal *

Aug 20th, 2003 | Filed by

Prince Harry, modernist artist, kind of.… Read the rest



Even Dissidents Need Evidence *

Aug 19th, 2003 | Filed by

UK media are no longer watchdogs, they are powerful actors themselves.… Read the rest



Do Artists Pay Critics’ Mortgages? *

Aug 19th, 2003 | Filed by

And if they do does that mean the critics have to give them good reviews?… Read the rest