Nebula

At Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, I get to fulfill a childhood dream: but more importantly, I ask whether a telescope built in the 1950s can still do useful science.

The nerding out in this episode is just lovely

In Lancashire, at National Rail's Manchester signalling classroom, I learn why it's very, very rare for trains to collide... and then go to an actual, live signal box to see it for real.

Not all of yall... but a few

I am unequivocally a supporter of a free Palestine. I see Palestine as a colonised nation and no, I do not believe Israel has a right to exist because it is an imperial project and cannot exist as anything but an imperial project. I do not even condemn Hamas. And I've had this stance on decolonisation for years if you pay attention...You cannot put limitations on how a colonised people fight their oppressors. So no, I won't condemn Hamas, the same way I wouldn't condemn the Mau Maus in Kenya or the Nat Turner Slave Rebellions or the Haitian Revolution or the IRA in Ireland. All of these entities were called terrorists at the time of their existence by their oppressors and all are recognised as liberation movements today, despite the ugliness those movements may have existed in. And I believe Hamas will eventually be seen in the same light.

I would love if violence didn't have to occur and there are anti-colonial movements that do happen to occur with minimal violence. But it's not fair to call any anti-colonial violence senseless, because it is a direct response to the condition that the colonised are living under. And the thing to keep in mind is that Palestinians didn't just start getting genocided by Israel on October 7th, 2023.

The highest point in the Netherlands is Vaalserberg, at 322.4 metres above sea level. Or is it? As it turns out, "The Netherlands" is not as well-defined as you might think, and the reality is a lot more interesting.

Did you know you can watch glassblowing in London? Or climb on a real pirate ship? And all for under £10? J. Draper finds out just how much fun a girl can have for under a tenner in the Ten Pound Traveller.

A map of all the locations in the series can be found here.

Edited by: Grace Prorok Motion Graphics by: Neel Sawant and Grace Prorok Post Production Supervisor: Viki Lewis Post Production Coordinator: Nik DiGennaro

Images courtesy of Getty

Special thanks to:

William Rallison of Bankside Open Spaces Trust

Gary Lockley, Aimee Parnell, and Patrick Strain of The Golden Hinde

Gena Johns, Liam Reeves, Louis Thompson, Harriet Thorne, and Sarah Witherley of London Glassblowing

The production received no money from any of the sites featured.

IN MY OPINION

Bad game good, actually?

Naturalist and storyteller exploring what makes every living thing extraordinary.

expected dunking on the titled mission but also an unexpected libreoffice shoutout in the end (in the middle of a microsoft dunking)

The speed and scale of China’s infrastructure misses some important context: the hidden costs absorbed by those who actually live in the country.

The rise of Xi Jinping, from sleeping on the floor of a cave to leading one of the largest nations on earth.

We are heading into a new oil crisis, but this isn't the first time this has happened. The good news though is that history has shown us that when oil gets expensive, cities get better, and that's likely to happen again.