The remarkable cult of Elena Ferrante
Clare Thorp Features correspondent There is a moment right at the start of Elena Ferrante’s new novel The Lying Life of Adults where the narrator seems uncertain if her experience is one worthy of telling. She describes herself as “only a tangled knot”, not yet sure if that knot contains “the right thread for a […]
Could the biblical practice of gleaning cut food waste?
Rebecca Wearn Business reporter, BBC News BBC Campaign group Feedback Global says its gleaning efforts are have doubled over the past four years It is a hot July day in Lancashire and a dozen people are gathering on a dusty farm track two miles outside the market town of Ormskirk. They are gleaners – volunteer […]
The new era in filmmaking
Beth Webb Features correspondent Getty Images (Credit: Getty Images) After being shut down during the pandemic, film and TV shoots are now starting up again. Beth Webb talk to some of those on set about how their roles are being transformed. Since the UK government greenlit the resumption of TV and film shoots under strict […]
The biggest company you’ve never heard of
HNA boss Adam Tan is eyeing continued global growth China’s HNA Group is quickly becoming one of the world’s biggest companies, but the chances are you will have never heard of it. It has gone on a multi-billion dollar spending spree in recent years, snapping up dozens of businesses as well as major stakes in […]
How The Go-Go’s pioneered Girl Power
Nick Levine Features correspondent Alamy The 1980s all-female band were dubbed ‘America’s sweethearts’, but as a new documentary reveals, they still had to contend with rampant sexism. Nick Levine celebrates their legacy. The Go-Go’s made history in March 1982 when their brilliant debut album, Beauty and the Beat, climbed to the top of the Billboard […]
How Covid turbocharged the QR revolution
David Silverberg Technology of Business reporter Duke’s Menus and bills can both be accessed with a QR code “Our customers love it,” says Michael Schatzberg, the co-founder of a US restaurant group. He is talking about using QR codes (quick response codes), a technology from the 1990s, which is proving to be very useful in […]
The woman who shaped Hollywood
Amy Nicholson Features correspondent Getty Images Pickford at a bank counter in a promotional still, circa 1920 (Credit: Getty Images) Her move from stage to screen was dismissed as a fad – but Mary Pickford went on to earn millions and co-found United Artists. Amy Nicholson looks at how ‘old monkeyface’ became ‘America’s Sweetheart’, helping […]
Fruit ‘left to rot’ due to labour shortages
BBC Some farms’ produce has been left to rot due to labour shortages and long periods of sunshine A shortage of fruit pickers combined with the summer heat wave has led to tonnes of strawberries and raspberries being left to rot, farmers have warned. Scotland’s fruit farms largely depend on seasonal workers from central and […]
Why Ida Lupino’s taboo-breaking films could be set today
Caryn James Features correspondent Getty Ida Lupino (Credit: Getty) Ida Lupino’s bold, subversive films tackled social issues and still seem fresh almost 70 years later, writes Caryn James. In a daring, brilliantly executed scene in Ida Lupino’s Outrage (1950), a young woman named Ann walks out of her office late at night, into a deserted […]
New waste collection spending approved by Cornwall Council
BBC The new collections would see food waste collected separately Plans to increase spending by a possible £35m on a new waste collection system have been approved by Cornwall Council. The authority said the new infrastructure would improve the county’s recycling rates from 2023. The cabinet voted in favour of increasing capital spending from its […]