Category Archives: Business/Economics
Stop making do. Is Britain up for mending a culture of exploitation?
A few years ago I was in a cathedral with 400 sixth formers. We were debating ethics and green living. Many seemed very concerned. “How many of you buy cheap clothes that you throw away?” I asked. I saw plenty … Continue reading
The making of Do Pass Go: boardgames in the internet age
Do Pass Go my BBC Radio 4 documentary, airing on Friday April 14th 2017, has its origins in a piece I wrote about the Libyan dictator General Gadaffi playing chess on TV in the run up to his toppling, and … Continue reading
Posted in Business/Economics, Children, Culture, Design, Games, Germany, Radio
Tagged boardgames, british museum, climate oasis, culture, dagnis skurbe, essen, friedemanm friese, FTW, Germany, grant dalgliesh, irving finkel, James wallis, jessy bradish, magic the gathering, mombasa, pandemic, royal game of ur, the dice tower, the last spike, tom vasel
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The economics of burkas, bikinis & The Nice Guys
According to a recent BBC World Service programme about Malawi, the nation’s population hit 17.6 million this year and is expected to double by 2040, which the country’s finance minister described as “scary”. “A ticking timebomb of poverty and … Continue reading
Posted in Business/Economics, Comedy, Culture, Film, Media, Religion, TV, Uncategorized
Tagged 70s, BIG ISSUE, charlie perfume, Charlies Angels, cinema, culture, feminism, film, Hollywood, Islamic fashion, laurence rossignol, lynda carter, media, The Bionic Woman, the nice guys, virginia slims, Wonder Woman
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Inside the world of Angels: the secret history of film & TV costumes
The chill hits me and a slight tang of…meat. I’ve entered the Fur store room at Angels Costumiers. We stand in silence. There are racks of fur coats – like a multiverse of Narnia entry points. Fox stoles are piled … Continue reading
Posted in Business/Economics, Culture, Design, Film, History, Media, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized
Tagged angels costumiers, BBC, cinema, culture, film, Hollywood, Theatre Royal Stratford, tim angel, tv
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A brief history of the News At Ten: one of the biggest mistakes in the British TV News business
The Culture Secretary’s speech to the Royal Television Society conference in Cambridge last night included an observation about whether the BBC should be presenting its flagship evening bulletin at 10 pm – the same time as its main commercial rival … Continue reading
Posted in Business/Economics, journalism, Media, TV, Uncategorized
Tagged BBC, greg dyke, hanson trust, itn, ITV, john whittingdale, journalism, News at Ten
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Shopping and Voting: What Hong Kong’s identity crisis reveals about the state of Britain
All photos copyright Samira Ahmed. No re-use permitted. This column first appeared in The Big Issue Magazine. Available from street vendors or take out a subscription here. I’m standing on the high peak of the Dragon’s Back trail, under a … Continue reading
Posted in Business/Economics, Culture, Politics, Travel, Uncategorized
Tagged bruce lee, culture, hong kong, politics, UKIP
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Electric cars, the tinned sardine aquarium & the stink of Hearst Castle – an eco-trip through John Steinbeck’s California
This column first appeared in The Big Issue magazine. Journalism worth paying for. A giant eye in an inky mass rose up of the water and beheld me. It was a humpback whale calf surfacing unexpectedly close to the prow … Continue reading
To go or not to go: The freakonomics of the school reunion
This article first appeared in The Big Issue Magazine: Journalism worth paying for. Available from street vendors across the UK or by subscription. “My generation thought we’d fix the world for free. We were LBJ (Lyndon B J cohnson) technocrats.” … Continue reading
Posted in Business/Economics, Education, Film, journalism, Media, Radio, Uncategorized
Tagged 80s, freakonomics, Friends Reunited, Grosse Pointe Blank, Hairspray, Harvard, John Waters, Minnie Driver, Steven Levitt, The Red Book
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People at work: Richard III & the 60s Town Planner
This piece connected the Richard III exhumation to Leicester’s repentence for sins against its medieval past. Thought it worth reposting as the High Court ruled in favour of a “dignified” burial in the city. Full details and judgement here. Maybe you … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Business/Economics, Culture, Design, History, Media, Uncategorized
Tagged Ladybird books, Leicester, Richard III
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