Suna Erdem
26 May 2022
Anything but science friction: mixing music with maths
Despite the preconception that maths and science are cold and logical while music is all emotion, there’s clearly much interplay between music and the STEM curriculum
Read the full article19 May 2022
The shape of a new EU.. and a route back for the UK?
Emmanuel Macron’s plan for a multi-tier European Union offers some hope for president Zelensky.. and for Rejoiners too
Read the full article12 May 2022
How Nissan’s tone-deaf classical music advert backfired
A supposedly tongue-in-cheek advert for a luxury SUV caused a backlash among classical music lovers
Read the full article12 May 2022
Europe takes the high road
The continent is tipped to catch up with the US and Canada on cannabis legalisation. But what are the dangers, and what does it mean for Britain?
Read the full article04 May 2022
The Pentathlon war
A decision to replace riding with an obstacle race in the Olympic multi-sport event has exposed a long-running battle for its soul
Read the full article21 April 2022
Remaking classical music for Generation Z
Two young musicians are demonstrating that classical music is perfectly able to have contemporary appeal among the young
Read the full article20 April 2022
The Brexit bad news drumbeat is growing too loud to ignore
A plummeting economy, food left to rot and red tape trouble are heaping more pressure on Boris Johnson
Read the full article24 March 2022
A symphony in defiance
Ukraine’s artists boost morale at home and awareness globally via impromptu concerts and viral videos. But others are heading directly into battle
Read the full article18 March 2022
The government needs to stop patting itself on the back over Ukrainian refugees
U-turns and new schemes are welcome, but Britain still isn’t welcoming to those fleeing conflict
Read the full article17 March 2022
This blanket ban on Russian artists needs greater nuance
If we cut off Russian musicians indiscriminately, are we cutting off their right to the free speech over which this battle is essentially being fought?
Read the full article10 March 2022
Erdoğan’s dilemma
Already in financial crisis, Turkey is heavily dependent on Russia for fuel, food and tourism money. Is this a tipping point for its president?
Read the full article10 March 2022
Covid hospital admissions are rising fast. Should we be worried?
Lifting restrictions early may have given Boris Johnson a break from Partygate, but the decision clouds come back to haunt him
Read the full article08 March 2022
Britain, beating the world at failure
Boris Johnson’s claims of generous support to Ukrainian refugees are easily refuted by the figures: 50 visas granted vs nearly 1 million people taken in by Poland
Read the full article04 March 2022
Ukraine has exposed Britain and Europe’s problem with refugees
The crisis offers an opportunity for the UK and EU countries to realise that all people fleeing war and oppression are “like us”. It’s one that is unlikely to be seized
Read the full article18 February 2022
Shock and thaw: do the Winter Olympics have a future?
After the Beijing Olympics’ controversial fake snow, does climate change mean it’s game over for winter sports?
Read the full article17 February 2022
The walls are closing in on classical music
Why Brexit travel restrictions threaten the very future of European tours for British musicians
Read the full article14 February 2022
Priti Patel’s plan to cut the cost of dealing with asylum seekers only ramps up spending
According to a group of refugee charities, the home secretary's Nationality and Borders Bill will almost double the cost
Read the full article10 February 2022
To Have and Have Not: A special investigation into global migration
What are its causes? What are the solutions? And, more importantly, why does the West choose to ignore them?
Read the full article03 February 2022
Now is the Winter Olympics of discontent
Will hosting the Games help to liberalise China? Or is this a shameful moment of appeasement for a brutal dictatorship subjugating the Uyghur population and ‘disappearing’ internal dissidents?
Read the full article03 February 2022
The 27: “They are dying, but they don’t know this yet.”
A special investigation into the lives of the people who drowned in the Channel.
Read the full article01 February 2022
Brexit MPs are still waiting for Boris Johnson’s Sunlit Uplands, and they’re getting restless
While the Partygate saga continues, Johnson's critics are tiring of waiting for the prosperity-filled future Britain was promised from Brexit.
Read the full article27 January 2022
“Right, f*** it. We’ll do it ourselves”: The sentence that turned Estonia from Soviet backwater to digital miracle
The tech-savvy state’s digital vision makes it the world’s fastest-growing ‘nation brand’. So what’s it doing right?
Read the full article13 January 2022
The story of HS2: ‘The high-speed train not arriving at Platform One…’
The government’s abandonment of rail plans has left its levelling-up policy in tatters.
Read the full article12 January 2022
Could Corbyn’s new party keep Labour out of power?
What would Jeremy Corbyn's new political party mean for the Left? Perhaps he should just apologise for dismissing anti-semitism and leave the next move to Labour, says SUNA ERDEM.
Read the full article16 December 2021
The hymns that even atheists can believe in
Choral music can bring communities together and lift the soul - if religion is involved then that's fine too. But with Church attendance numbers dropping every year, is it time for some different hymns?
Read the full article16 December 2021
The twenty faces who have the power to make or break 2022
Liz Truss, Yolanda Díaz, Valérie Pécresse, Mamata Banerjee, Andrew Bailey. Just some of the names we think will make the headlines in the next 12 months ... for better or worse
Read the full article02 December 2021
A flood of EU funding is filling the coffers of the European Mafia
Mafia scams involving farming, tobacco, VAT and alcohol are taking billions out of EU funds. The Covid pandemic has opened the floodgates.
Read the full article30 November 2021
A-Team or has-been? Is Keir Starmer’s reshuffle a game-changer or old news?
With his decisive shadow cabinet reshuffle, Keir Starmer may have reached his Clark Kent moment.
Read the full article15 November 2021
This avalanche of sleaze is threatening to bury Boris Johnson
It may have been bumped from the front pages, but the prime minister is far from escaping the sleaze quagmire.
Read the full article11 November 2021
The succession of Mussolinis thriving in Italy
Il Duce's granddaughter was the star of Rome's recent elections, and his spiritual ancestors are thriving in Italy too.
Read the full article04 November 2021
Government forced into extraordinary climbdown over parliamentary standards system
In the latest u-turn from the government, Boris Johnson has relented to pressure from the Daily Mail over how MPs are policed.
Read the full article04 November 2021
The cities hitting back at Airbnb
What began as a friendly alternative to costly hotels is displacing locals and turning community areas into tourist-only playgrounds.
Read the full article