The Joy of Six 1175

Andrew Page asks what a 'free Palestine' would look like: "The complete absence of any clear vision for Palestine means it’s very difficult to know what is being called for, other than an end to the status quo (which can be a useful start with any protest). But it matters because there are competing visions out there, with very different ideas of what a future Palestinian state should be."

British police are testing women for abortion drugs and requesting data from menstrual tracking apps after unexplained pregnancy losses, reports Phoebe Davis.

"Believing in free speech is easy; practicing it is harder. A society in which people are free to say what they want isn’t always a nice place to live. It’s not like being in an eighteenth century Parisian salon, or a coffee house with Samuel Johnson and Ben Franklin: a place where exciting ideas and opinions are robustly debated with clever friends and the help of various stimulants. It means sharing spaces with appalling people saying appalling things." Ian Leslie says all companies, institutions and leaders should care about free speech.

David Beer considers the future of academic social media: "Might we be moving into a different period for social media? A period defined by a growing sense of disenchantment. A slipping enthusiasm. We may already be there."

"And these victims of the Witchcraft Act, which was in existence from 1563 to 1736, and were of all ages and backgrounds, never had any chance to argue their case, such was the rigidity of the law and the ferocity of public opinion weighted against them." Neil Drysdale wonders if celebrating Halloween ignores a long, dark chapter of Scottish history.

Charlie Largent compares two cinematic ghost stories: "If it’s possible for one movie to haunt another, then surely the spirit of Jack Clayton’s The Innocents walks alongside Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others."