This year’s Bristol Radical History Festival focused on the persistent threats of racism, xenophobia and, of course, our radical collective resistance to it across Ireland and Britain, reports LYNNE WALSH

FLEAS are flightless parasitic insects that live from drinking the blood of animal hosts. They can jump huge distances using their powerful back legs, allowing them to transfer between hosts.
Many species of flea are named after a specific host, such as the “cat flea” (Ctenocephalides felis), but are in fact capable of feeding on several different animals.
As one of the Science and Society authors recently found out from moving into a new house, fleas lurk in carpets and soft furnishings while waiting for a new host. Once bitten, the host will have itchy, red bites.

A maverick’s self-inflicted snake bites could unlock breakthrough treatments – but they also reveal deeper tensions between noble scientific curiosity and cold corporate callousness, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
Science has always been mixed up with money and power, but as a decorative facade for megayachts, it risks leaving reality behind altogether, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT

