All Articles | The Iris

Taiwan’s Silicon Shield, The Thinnest of Shields

London, UK. Nate Varga Von Kibed. America depends on Taiwan’s microchips to power its economy and military. It should defend the island that produces them. On a humid evening in Hsinchu, Taiwan’s tech capital, the hum of wafer etchers carries across the city. Inside one of TSMC’s immaculate factories, a young engineer watches CNN: another debate in Washington about de-risking supply chains. He sighs. For all the talk of resilience, he knows that the servers, cars, and fighter

Nov 263 min read

Leaps and Bounds in Quantum Computing

Emir Can Aksoy London, UK Photo by Manuel on Unsplash Quantum computing has been around for a while. As a concept, it was first introduced in the 1980s by notable physicists such as Richard Feynman. In the following decades, innovation in the quantum realm led to the development of the first 2-qubit and 3-qubit quantum computers in the late 1990s. In the past 5 years, IBM has made a huge leap by opening the Quantum Computation Centre and Quantum System Two, representing their

Nov 251 min read

Annie Morris

Talia Branchmoore London, UK Annie Morris, London Studio, 2017. Attribution: James Petts, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Modern art is often criticised as simplified and purposeless, exemplifying society’s ability to over-analyse and give meaning where there is none. And the work of multidisciplinary British artist, Annie Morris, initially washed over me in the same contemporary wave. She creates large stacked spherical figures made with foam and cast in bronze which balance

Nov 252 min read

Governance, Disclosure, Decline: Legal Lessons from Revolution Beauty

Revolution Beauty’s unexpected decline has become the new textbook example of how reputational damages bleed into legal disputes and M&A devaluation. Irina Mechkarova London, UK Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash The global success that is Revolution has seen faced a trajectory over the past decade that reveals how regulatory non-compliance, as opposed to general market volatility following the COVID travesty, led to its collapse. The brand, with its beloved products foun

Nov 253 min read

Affirmative Action for the Rich: The Flaws and Inequities of Early Decision

Eilidh Thomson Rhode Island, USA Attribution: Isaac Davis, The Nubian Message, thenubianmessage.com , Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication As the application cycle for American higher education begins its tumultuous rollout for the graduating high school class of 2026, thousands of students will sign binding commitments to their favored institutions. While providing the surface-level appearance of comfort and confidence to these young adults, in reality, Early De

Nov 253 min read

The F-word: Nothing is “Fascism”, When Everything Is.

Dafni Tsimpre Athens, Greece Fasces motif, Sheldonian Theatre. Attribution: David Iliff, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Once you start noticing it, it’s everywhere. Pay attention to political debates, everyday conversations, and even online comment sections. The F-word is there: “That’s fascist! He’s a Fascist! It’s clearly fascism.” A word, an intricate concept, that was once specific to a detrimental political ideology, is now scattered like confetti to describe any group,

Nov 254 min read

A Silent Shift in the Middle East: the Saudi-Pakistani Mutual Defense Pact

Imaad Nasir, London, UK Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Pakistan Army Chief, 2017. Attribution: Saudi Press Agency, cc.spa.gov.sa , Creative Commons License On 17 September 2025, a relatively discreet development took place for an attention-consuming Middle East, yet it had remarkable implications for the geopolitical balance in the world’s foremost hotspot for conflict. In Riyadh, PM Shehbaz Sharif and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman signed the Saudi-Pakistani Strategi

Nov 137 min read

Peace Prized, Paradise Lost: A Tale of Envy and the Audacity of Hope

Jeremy Adu-Poku, London, UK Nobel Prize Medal (Anastasiya D / Unsplash) 10th October. Shortly after 11:00 local time, Jørgen Frydnes, chair of the Nobel Committee, fielded questions from journalists nestled amongst the hallowed halls of the Nobel Institute, Oslo. Extraordinary press coverage was reflective of how this year’s Peace Laureate election had become a cause célèbre, as President Trump sought to further eclipse his democratic predecessors. At long last, a journalist

Nov 93 min read

A Republic of 246 Cheeses: France and the Art of Becoming Ungovernable

Eleni Zampelis, Athens, Greece The National Assembly in Paris Charles de Gaulle's saying: "How can you govern a country that has 246 kinds of cheese?" was never actually about cheese. It was about the French paradox: a state whose cultural wealth is matched only by a reluctance to be governed. In 2025, this saying has tragically gone stale. The French form a republic of cheese in the most lite

Nov 94 min read

2026 World Cup: Building the Beautiful Game

Reid Packard NYC, USA In 2026, the world's biggest sporting event will take place in North America. For the first time in its history, the FIFA World Cup will be hosted by three different countries: The United States, Canada, and Mexico. This World Cup will also be the largest to ever take place, with 48 teams competing in 16 different cities. In the past, the World Cup had taken place in one city with 32 teams competing. With the tournament being less than two years away, al

Nov 92 min read