Counterpoint

Who is responsible for the crisis in American cities right now? Is it the rich, or corporations, or the system or might it be the city leaders themselves? Who do you think the most influential person in modern history is? Might it be the man who was responsible for the beginning of the start of the first World War? How might Europe have a credible and autonomous defence policy and why does it involve the UK? Is nostalgia a guilty pleasure or a launch pad for your future? Pass me my cabbage patch doll and we'll find out.

Is racism just about black and white or something more? Where has our sense of grandeur gone and can we get it back? Washing our hands is really important right now but germs and viruses are also important, so how can we make sure we aren't killing any good germs or bacteria or haver the times overtaken us? Termites produce methane gas the same way we all do but their mounds filter about half of it out. How and why is that potentially very important?

How does China maintain its influence over other countries, and within those countries, the Chinese community? Australia is a middle power, as is New Zealand and a host of other countries including South Korea, but why is it known as a middle power like no other? How did Venice cope with the plague of 1575? By using a new practise called quarantine. The kauri trees of New Zealand are in trouble. Can they be saved? How?

Is phrenology making a comeback in the form of facial recognition technology? The history of gibberish shows that saying coochy coo to a baby is a good thing. Why is still so difficult to find flour to feed your mother and why aren't the fields of animal health and human health closer?

What is behind some of the most fanciful conspiracy theories of the COVID-19 pandemic? How do you know what science to believe and when to believe it? What can the history of the Chinese tea trade tells us about the history of capitalism? Are they linked? What is the ancient world's best kept secret and what does it have to do with whiteness?