Why extremists use violence in their quest for significance
Sep 20, 2016 01:37 am UTC| Insights & Views Life
The recent attack in New York, which left 29 persons wounded, the bombings in New Jersey and the knife attack in Minnesota serve as a grim reminder that this year of blood and fury carries on. We have every reason to...

Suffering from Fed rate hike anxiety? You're not the only one
Sep 20, 2016 01:35 am UTC| Insights & Views Central Banks
I saw one of my undergraduate students reading the Wall Street Journal the other day. Im a finance professor, so this was a welcome sight. Whats happening in the markets? I asked. He said he wanted to learn more about...
What is terrorism, and is it getting worse?
Sep 20, 2016 01:29 am UTC| Insights & Views Life
A bomb exploded in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on Saturday, injuring 29 people. Police discovered a second explosive device nearby. Like the bomb used in the Boston Marathon attack, these devices were built from...

How Cold War anxieties still shape our world today
Sep 20, 2016 01:25 am UTC| Insights & Views
World War II led to the massive mobilisation of all the people and resources nations could bring to bear. This was total war on a global scale, producing a new sense among nations that their fates were interconnected. New...
What's the point of maths research? It's the abstract nonsense behind tomorrow's breakthroughs
Sep 20, 2016 01:18 am UTC| Insights & Views Science
Whenever I tell people Im a mathematical researcher, Im usually met with some form of bewilderment. Occasionally thats followed by the immediate end of the conversation. If there is a follow-up question, its usually not...
The saga of Britain's arms sales to Saudi Arabia hits a disturbing new low
Sep 20, 2016 01:09 am UTC| Insights & Views
The recent parliamentary bunfight over UK arms export policy towards Saudi Arabia illustrates the governments boundless ability to mangle the meaning of simple words. Under the 2008 EU Common Position on arms exports,...

Welcome to Masdar City: the ultimate experiment in sustainable urban living
Sep 20, 2016 00:40 am UTC| Insights & Views
Ten years ago in the United Arab Emirates, a new settlement was started from scratch, with the aim of becoming the worlds most sustainable city. Masdar City was designed to be zero-carbon and zero-waste, home to a...