The herbal stimulant khat is to be banned by the government, against the advice of its own Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Prof David Anderson is co-author of The Khat Controversy: Dealing with the Debate on Drugs (2007) and was part of the ACDM's Working Party on khat in the UK.

Greece's Democratic Left party says it is pulling out of the coalition government amid a row over the closure of national broadcaster ERT. Sotirios Paroutis, Warwick Business School, gives his analysis.

Department of Economics Professor Mark Harrison explains why we need economic historians and why the USSR reminded him of Tolkien’s Mordor.

Classics and Ancient History Assistant Professor Michael Scott takes a closer look at 4th century BC Boiotia: What was Boiotia you may well ask? It was the lush and fertile central area of mainland Greece, stuck between Attica (the territory of Athens) on the one hand and the territory of Thessaly to the north...

Associate Professor of Cultural Policy Dr Eleonora Belfiore shares her thoughts on the public value of culture:

Readers even vaguely acquainted with my academic work (or, for that matter, my Twitter feed) will know how critical I have always been of the impact rhetoric, and the related ‘toolkit fever’, when they have been used as a way to justify subsidy rather than as an effort to understand the nature and potential effect of artistic experiences. I very much stand by my earlier criticism of the limitation of much economic impact figures and the methods through which they are obtained. This does not mean that it is not desirable to try and find better ways to understand the economic dimension of activities such as creating and consuming culture. However, it is a narrow view one that only sees them as such...