Politics and Society
Understanding the world helps us to understand our place in it. Learn about the important political and social events and people that have shaped, and are shaping, our world. Referendums and elections, democracy and dictatorships, recessions and depressions come to life when we explore the people whose power politics, passions and obsessions are unpacked.
From Alexandria to Canton - Sailing the Monsoon Route
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<p>From early in the first millennium BCE the Incense Route wound its way from the vast groves of frankincense and myrrh in “Arabia Felix” to the shores of the Mediterranean. Following the ‘discovery’
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The Wages of Destruction - Economies of the Main Combatants in WWII
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<p>For all the reams that have been written on the terrible conflict on WWII, surely the most significant event of the 20th century, the macroeconomic perspective is often overlooked. Learn how
...The Lost Kings of England
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<p>The eldest sons of Henry I, Edward III, Henry VII and James I all died before their fathers. What if William (drowned in the White Ship) had succeeded and there had been no civil war between
...The Amazing Bess of Hardwick (1527 - 1608)
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<p>Bess of Hardwick, or the Countess of Shrewsbury, was born in 1527 to minor gentry. First widowed at 16, she went on to have four husbands and build Chatsworth House. In 1568, Elizabeth I required
...Seeker, Sailor, Soldier, Spy - The History of Espionage in Australia
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<p>Whether they were known as spies or not, people were reporting their observations from this land from 1788: to rival European powers on strategic possibilities, to Britain on suspect Europeans, as
...<p>Whether they were known as spies or not, people were reporting their observations from this land from 1788: to rival European powers on strategic possibilities, to Britain on suspect Europeans, as
...Confirmation Bias - Why We See the World Differently
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<p>Explore the concept of confirmation bias which is one of the mechanism that sets how we see the world. We examine confirmation bias and how for good and bad it drives everything we see and do in
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The Declaration of Arbroath - Scotland's 14th Century Freedom Manifesto
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<p>Written during the Scottish wars of Independence against England, the Declaration of Arbroath is held amongst Scotland’s historical state papers. We examine this remarkable document written to the
...<p>Written during the Scottish wars of Independence against England, the Declaration of Arbroath is held amongst Scotland’s historical state papers. We examine this remarkable document written to the
...Decision Making Under Ambiguity
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<p>When making decisions, we are exhorted to focus on what we know: the facts or the data. However, the most important decisions we are called upon to make are in situations of ambiguity – that is,
...The Glorious Fourth
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<p>As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2026, explore the origins and traditions of the Glorious Fourth - the day which Americans have chosen as their national day. The
...Independence Day
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<p>In 2026, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence; its semiquincentennial. As the first modern nation, the United States established the tradition
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