The Week Unwrapped: Terrorist Threats, Space Debris, and Natural History

Olly Mann and The Week go behind the headlines and discuss what really matters.

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In this week’s episode we discuss:

Terrorist Threats

Islamic State (IS) supporters are being urged to avenge their leader’s recent death launch a new “global offensive” against Europe and Israel. In an announcement to coincide with Ramadan, the group urged would-be jihadists to stage terrorist attacks while “the Crusaders fight each other” over the invasion of Ukraine. So how seriously can we take the threat – and is IS still allowed to stage large-scale attacks?

space debris

The United States was the first country to announce a ban on missile tests against space satellites. US Vice President Kamala Harris, chair of the National Space Council, said such tests are reckless, adding, “Put simply, these tests are dangerous and we will not do them.” The US, China, India and Russia all have them accomplished. So why is it so important that missile testing be stopped?

natural history

The Government has announced the launch of a new GCSE in Natural History, which will teach young people about conservation, the environment and sustainability. The qualification – the first major new GCSE to be introduced in five years – follows more than a decade of campaigning for better environmental education and will be available from September 2025. But if such topics are already covered in natural sciences and geography, how important is a natural history GCSE – and is the examination system even suitable?