Andrew Dickens

Screenwriter Russell T Davies says gay men must be cast in gay roles because “you wouldn’t black someone up.” It’s not only a bad comparison but following his rule would rob us of great performances and harm gay actors the most.

Visitors to the UK from next week will need a negative Covid test. But why have we let people wander in and out for almost a year, free to spread the virus if they are infected? The answer: money, of course.

As the debate around cancel culture rages on, is the mere idea of it doing more damage than just upsetting a few celebrities and commentators? Is it, in fact, stunting our personal and societal growth?

Social media has become the world-changing tool it always promised to be, but sadly not in a good way. But is it about to redeem itself? The founders of a new platform called GoPoolit hope so.

Spotify has subtly introduced Instagram-style stories, joining the likes of Twitter and LinkedIn on the ‘drown the planet in fetid content’ bandwagon. For the love of humanity, this narcissistic stream of self-promotion must stop.

War, terrorism, poverty, mass migration, human trafficking and famine. Documentary filmmaker Reza Pakravan experienced it all when he travelled to the treacherous Sahel region of Africa - and he says there’s one major cause.

The reaction to the US presidential election and others shows how bad we’ve become at accepting defeat. There are always ‘dark forces’ to blame, when in fact it’s our fault for locking ourselves in echo chambers.

The US likes to tell other countries how to run their elections and yet it prevents over 5 million of its own citizens from voting: prisoners and ex-offenders. That’s a crime against democracy and First Degree Hypocrisy.

The UK government’s plans to make school exams even more stressful is the latest example of a crazy global obsession with harmful and unfair testing. It’s time to create a better, more meritocratic world by dumping the whole idea.

As the government’s new careers website is ridiculed online, in a darkened Downing Street study a baffled prime minister tries it out for himself. Surely it can’t be as bad as all that?