Mark Rowe

3 weeks ago | geographical.co.uk | Mark Rowe

By Books about nature as a healer for mental and physical health are two a-penny and more than a few come across as self-indulgent, written by someone looking to monetise a fleeting brush with mild illness with a navel-gazing memoir. The Land Beneath the Waves isn’t that kind of book: Nic Wilson’s pain is raw and relatable to anyone who has, or has loved ones who have, endured serious mental and physical illness.

2 months ago | geographical.co.uk | Mark Rowe

By Welcome to the new age of global trade, where old certainties are fading and new patterns are emerging with seismic effect. While headlines fixate on US President Trump’s tariffs and their immediate repercussions, a quieter, more enduring shift is taking place. Global trade is no longer a story solely dominated by traditional powers, but increasingly shaped by the rise of the Global South, the reconfiguration of supply chains, and the forging of new regional alliances.

Mar 27, 2025 | geographical.co.uk | Mark Rowe

By In Chinese folklore, the neglected dead can become vengeful, hungry ghosts who unleash illness and misfortune on their descendants. The living must feed and care for their deceased relatives. During a visit to her ancestral village in southern China, Alice Mah finds that no-one has swept her ancestors’ graves for decades. She doesn’t know it yet, but the hungry ghosts await her.

Mar 13, 2025 | geographical.co.uk | Mark Rowe

More than 3,300 politicians, government officials, scientists and lobbyists – including conservationists and chemical industry figures – from more than 170 countries and 450 organisations participated in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution. Its fifth, and supposedly final, round was held in Busan, South Korea, in December to sign off on the first legally binding international treaty to tackle a problem most assumed was commonly accepted as needing urgent action.

Oct 31, 2024 | geographical.co.uk | Mark Rowe

By The El Farol bar in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is no tourist hotspot. But it lends its name to a game theory scenario that’s pertinent to the phenomenonof unfettered global tourism. Once a week, the theory goes, a fixed population wants to go and have fun at the El Farol bar, unless it’s too crowded. Everyone must decide at the same time whether to go or not, with no knowledge of others’ choices. If more than 60 per cent of the population go to the bar, they’ll have less fun than if they stayed home.