Because we’re all dead and this is hell, Donald Trump would like Joe Rogan to moderate a four-hour presidential debate. Rogan himself pitched the debate format on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast with retired MMA fighter Tim Kennedy. Kennedy asked Rogan what his approach would be, and Rogan said, “First of all, I would want nobody else in the room. Just the three of us. And I would want to stream it live so no one can edit it.” So far, so expected, but Kennedy and Rogan act as if they’ve invented something remarkable. “Why can’t we have that?” Kennedy asked. “We should have that, it’s 2020,” Rogan replied. “We have the ability to have that. We’re not talking about 1979.” Nobody pointed out they had just invented television. Afterwards, Kennedy tweeted abo...
After years of riding horses, Kia explains why she’s chosen to quit My first impression of horse riding was how bloody slow it all was. When I first started to learn back in 2014, all we did for months was walk and trot. I thought I’d be well on my way to cantering by then. Instead, I was mired in the minutiae of technique. As I became a better rider, however, I realised that it wasn’t minutiae at all but a fundamental part of learning. It’s often said that the best riders look like they’re not doing anything at all and I’ve learnt that this is true. I was being taught a multitude of tiny things slowly and carefully so that one day, I too might call myself a horseman. Atlas & Boots Kia riding in Montenegro, Ecuador and Namibia When I was learning to canter, my instructor as...
Two thru-hikers lied and broke the law this year to finish the Appalachian Trail. Should we dismiss it as a daring adventure or tackle what lies deeper? The first thing to admit before I begin is that I’m a person who follows the rules. I never cheat at games or quizzes despite being stupidly competitive. I hate being late to meetings or gatherings and I’ve even been known to Google “how late to arrive at a dinner party” because I know it’s impolite to turn up on time (the consensus is 15 minutes). Maybe this compulsion comes from some innate sense of properness but, more likely, it’s a trait inherited from my immigrant parents. They arrived in the UK in the 1960s, a time of heightened racial tension. During my childhood, I came to notice a change in my father whenever he interacted ...
The current pandemic has had a devastating effect worldwide but there are some glimmers of light Human impact on wildlife is almost certainly to blame for the spread of Covid-19, say scientists. The virus is thought to have originated in bats with other wild animals such as pangolins also likely playing a role in its transmission to people. Humankind’s relentless incursion into areas of nature that should be off-limits puts the world at an increased risk of new diseases, say scientists from the Royal Society. In a perfect world, wild animals such as bats and pangolins would never come into contact with humans. Due to hunting, trade and habitat loss, however, the natural boundaries between humans and animals have blurred. One positive is that during lockdown, road traffic has decreased, fos...