The problem with telling people the world is ending 18 October 2026 at 07:00

The problem with telling people the world is ending

18 October 2026 at 07:00

In the face of terrible crises, it can feel right to shock people into action. But what if that has the opposite effect?

These days, it’s easy to succumb to hopelessness. Whether you’re thinking about the climate crisis, the prospect of AI apocalypse, war or political turmoil, the list of challenges facing humanity can seem insurmountable.

It certainly feels unprecedented, and much of it may be. The sense of impending doom, on the other hand, is nothing new. And what we have learned from the past is that doomerism can lead to paralysis. If everyone freezes, then nothing changes – but if we want to have a chance of mitigating some of the threats I’ve mentioned then action is what’s required.

What's New in Old Books 18 October 2026 at 12:11

What's New in Old Books

MetaFilter

By: Horace Rumpole

18 October 2026 at 12:11

Some highlights from special collections libraries' blogs this week.
The Mysterious History of Mary Shelley A secret biography of the Frankenstein author has shaped her reputation in unseen ways.
Sor Juana, the 17th Century Nun Who Became a Mexican (and Feminist) Icon
The Scrutiny of Clara Barton, Heroine or Not?
New Acquisitions | David Jacobs and the Situationists An archive of the culture jamming Point-Blank! artists collective.

Wikipedia often gets taken for granted – but its history is fascinating, and its future is fragile 18 October 2026 at 10:00

Wikipedia often gets taken for granted – but its history is fascinating, and its future is fragile

The Guardian

By: Richard Cooke

18 October 2026 at 10:00

Wikipedia’s 68m articles have been consulted trillions of times. Not bad for a website that has barely changed since it was founded 20 years ago

A few years ago, I was struck by the tension between how Wikipedia was used, and how it was talked about. Everyone was on it all the time, and yet its reputation had stalled at “don’t trust it”, because it was the “free encyclopedia that anyone can edit”.

Clearly people were trusting it, so much so it had become part of the fabric of everyday life since it was founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001. But despite the fact it now has been consulted trillions of times by billions of people (English Wikipedia alone is 5.2bn words long), it inspires an odd lack of curiosity. Even people donating to Wikipedia might say the money was “for the factcheckers”, though there aren’t any – not paid ones, anyway. Meanwhile, the internet in the social media era had begun to feel like a much uglier place, and some digital nostalgia was setting in: here was this holdover that had somehow survived; a website that functions – and even looks – much the same as it did 20 years ago.

‘Medieval romance overflowed with sexually active fairies’: the surprisingly long roots of romantasy 18 October 2026 at 07:00

‘Medieval romance overflowed with sexually active fairies’: the surprisingly long roots of romantasy

The Guardian

By: Sarah Clegg

18 October 2026 at 07:00

Critics mock it as raunchy trash – but this enchanting genre is much older, and wilder, than you might imagine

There’s a popular genre, filled with beautiful, human-sized fairies having sex with humans (often quite violent sex, but the people reading it seem to enjoy it). Word is that it’s badly written and unashamedly escapist – all golden, glittering palaces, wild adventure and, of course, gorgeous fairies. It’s certainly popular – plenty of the stories have been translated into numerous languages, spreading across continents. Serious commentators are sure it spells bad news: at best, it’s just a load of trash; at worst, it’s actively leading people astray. Most damningly of all, women produce and consume it. Welcome to the 12th century, where fairy romance is all the rage. Sound familiar?

The romantasy that fills our shelves and bestseller lists – from Sarah J Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses to Callie Hart’s Quicksilver – is not a new genre, but part of a centuries-old heritage. You only need to look at the medieval predecessors of the modern romantasy novel to understand why it’s enjoyed by millions and why, even after hundreds of years, fairy romance has such power over us – and why there are still those who want to diminish and dismiss it.

The best toys and gifts for eight-year-olds, tested by eight-year-olds 18 October 2026 at 07:00

The best toys and gifts for eight-year-olds, tested by eight-year-olds

The Guardian

By: Zoë Phillimore

18 October 2026 at 07:00

From science kits to karaoke machines, shower sets to brain-boosting games, here are the presents our mini testers loved the most

• The best gifts for seven-year-olds

Eight is such a wonderful age. Kids are old enough to have their own interests and hobbies, but still young enough to get swept up in play and be absorbed for hours if you find the right toy for them.

By eight, children’s interests and skills are taking shape. They’re more confident readers, more strategic thinkers and curious about how things work. And while they think they’re extremely grown up, eight-year-olds still need plenty of time to play for their overall wellbeing.

‘Shakespeare was a Black woman’: the playwright’s under-recognized connection to Black culture 18 October 2026 at 05:00

‘Shakespeare was a Black woman’: the playwright’s under-recognized connection to Black culture

The Guardian

By: Kaitlyn McNab

18 October 2026 at 05:00

A new Washington DC exhibition examines how Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and more used the Bard’s work to help tell their own stories

“William Shakespeare was a black woman.” In 1985, Maya Angelou spoke these words as part of a keynote speech at a convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

There, she spoke of the role poetry played in her transition from muteness as a child and how she fantasized herself triumphantly delivering Portia’s speech from William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in front of her entire community at church. Though she never got the chance to perform that rendition, Angelou acknowledged her desire to deliver that rendition as part of a lifelong kinship with Shakespeare, a connection she continued to seek out throughout her life whenever she needed heartening or solace. In her eyes, Shakespeare wrote his emotionally desolate Sonnet 29 “for” her; how else could he have so aptly described the harsh realities of the Black feminine condition?

An extraordinary life: descendant welcomes biography of woman ‘gifted’ to Queen Victoria 18 October 2026 at 03:00

An extraordinary life: descendant welcomes biography of woman ‘gifted’ to Queen Victoria

The Guardian

By: Chris Osuh Community affairs correspondent

18 October 2026 at 03:00

A girl called Àìná was captured by an African king and later taken to England to become Sarah Forbes Bonetta, protege of the imperial monarch

When she was seven years old, Bayo Randle’s great-great-grandmother Sarah Forbes Bonetta was presented to Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle as a “diplomatic gift” from an African king.

Victoria would go on to pay for Bonetta’s education, approve her marriage to one of west Africa’s wealthiest men, and become godmother to her eldest daughter.

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