WorldGuide
What a displacement number actually counts
Refugees, asylum applications, and people displaced within their own country describe different things. A careful reading starts with the label and the date.
The useful stuff.
Stay for the context.
Clear explanations for the questions a headline leaves behind. Read the evidence, see the distinctions, and go straight to the original sources.
01 / The world shelf
World.
Follow a claim, understand a crisis, and keep the numbers in context.
Visit the section ↗↗
WorldGuide
Before you share breaking news, follow the claim back to its source
A practical routine for checking the date, evidence, and original source behind a fast-moving headline or viral post.
02 / The business shelf
Business.
Read the figures that shape prices, pay and everyday decisions.
Visit the section ↗BusinessGuide
Why jobs can rise while unemployment rises too
The U.S. jobs report combines a survey of workplaces with a survey of households. Understanding their different questions makes the headlines easier to read.
BusinessGuide
Why lower inflation doesn’t mean lower prices
A practical guide to price levels, monthly changes, and the numbers behind an American inflation headline.
03 / The technology shelf
Technology.
Look past release claims and understand the systems you use.
Visit the section ↗TechnologyGuide
What a passkey protects, and what still needs your attention
A passkey changes how a website verifies you. Here is why that helps against fake sign-in pages, and how to think about devices, syncing, and recovery.
TechnologyGuide
Open weights, open source: what are AI companies actually giving you?
An accessible checklist for reading AI release claims: the license, the weights, the training code, and the information needed to make changes.
04 / The science shelf
Science.
Follow the evidence from a promising signal to a stronger conclusion.
Visit the section ↗ScienceGuide
A dip in starlight is a clue. Proving a planet takes more.
How astronomers move from a possible signal to an exoplanet discovery, and why a confirmed world can still have many unknown features.
ScienceGuide
What happens in peer review before a study reaches you?
How journals use expert assessment, why editors make the publication decision, and what readers can learn from methods and review histories.
05 / The culture shelf
Culture.
Explore creative work, archives and the rights behind an edition.
Visit the section ↗CultureGuide
The useful part of an archive image is often below the picture
A practical route from an attractive historical scan to a traceable source: inspect the record, preserve the context, and check rights before reuse.
CultureGuide
Why the edition matters when a work enters the public domain
An old novel, a new translation, and an audiobook can have different rights. Here is how to separate the underlying work from later additions.
06 / The health shelf
Health.
Ask better questions about studies, approval and medical evidence.
Visit the section ↗HealthGuide
What the words FDA approved tell you about a medicine
Drug approval follows a review of evidence for a specific use. It is the beginning of continued safety monitoring, and it does not promise the same result for every patient.
HealthGuide
Before you share that health study, ask these five questions
A reader's guide to study design, absolute risk, uncertainty, and the distance between an interesting result and useful medical advice.
SportGuide
The NFL overtime question to ask before every drive
An opening touchdown no longer automatically ends regular-season overtime. The score, possession sequence, and clock determine what happens next under the 2026 rules.
SportGuide
Why a VAR check can take longer than the replay
The decisions video officials can examine under IFAB's 2026/27 protocol, how checks differ from reviews, and why the referee keeps the final say.
08 / The climate shelf
Climate.
Read the measurements behind warming and the air around you.
Visit the section ↗ClimateGuide
AQI and PM2.5: two numbers you should not mix up
One is a health communication index; the other describes fine particles in the air. Check the pollutant, time window, and location before comparing readings.
ClimateGuide
The world at 1.5°C: a small number with an enormous meaning
What a global temperature threshold measures, why one hot year is different from a long-term trend, and how to read the evidence.
Looking for changing figures and current observation windows?
Go to the data desk ↗