Latest news with #Rayner
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Finding the spark of art and science
Visiting for the first time, Australian science explainer Rachel Rayner is bringing her quantum physics stage shows to the New Zealand International Science Festival in Dunedin. She tells Rebecca Fox about the importance of having both art and science in your life. Rachel Rayner likes a bit of glitter and sparkle in her life. "Glitter is just how I reflect more photons (the smallest particle of light) back at the audience, and that's what we all want, more photons." It is not quite what you expect to hear from someone who makes a living out of explaining science to everyday people — especially quantum physics. But Rayner is out to nuke that preconception of the knitted vest and glasses-wearing, professor-type with humour, tights and a metallic gold top. "It's definitely not a lecture. There's a little bit of theatre in there. There's some dancing, some yoga. In A Flying Photon , I try to really embody light. I try to be the wave, a photon of light. And in the second one, I'm trying to be a gold atom. I really want to be a gold atom. So it's a bit absurd. I love a little bit of absurd." For Rayner, arts and science have been a constant presence, one that she could never separate. Always fascinated with scientific research and discovery she also loved performing and communicating. She studied art history and physics at university while doing a drama course in her spare time. "So there was a vague idea to kind of focus in on one, but I just couldn't do one without the other. I feel like the two of them are very intertwined. We need both in our lives. The two are very, very important to each other." So when she discovered the world of science communication it seemed tailor-made for her. She moved to Canberra to do a graduate diploma in science communication (known as the Shell Questacon Science Circus) in 2011. That led to performing science shows in schools and then work at science centres where she helped put on shows and exhibits to explain science to children. "Having that understanding of art and culture in that way to combine the two, I think, is really, really helpful. So I've been really lucky in the path I've followed and just working a lot more in communication and now helping scientists explain the science and research that they do to broad audiences." Rayner is particularly passionate about physics as "that is where the momentum is", she says. "It's just the movement of it, the breaking down our everyday experiences into these really universal concepts. Like, the physics that happen here is the same physics that happens on a planet hundreds of thousands, a hundred million light years away. "It's something about just breaking down the universe into these simple mechanics that I think is just so beautiful and really, really excites me." She began to develop her own shows because she believed people should "give a flying photon about the universe" around them. "I'd done previous shows in the science centres I'd worked in around light. And I get really excited about this, the whole spectrum of light. "So we see a rainbow, but then there's so many more colours of light beyond the ones that we can see. And we use them in our day-to-day life, like they bring us the internet, radios, microwaves, like we use all these different waves of light all the time. But we don't kind of think about them with the wonder and awe that I tend to." While she had spent more than eight years performing shows for children and school audiences, this time she wanted to make a show bringing that love of light to an adult audience. "To have a chance for adults to really sit in that wonder and excitement and have a few more adult jokes in there at the same time. So that's where the first one, A Flying Photon , came about." It was her first time on stage by herself but she had a lot of fun and won best science show at the Adelaide Fringe so she developed her second show, Atomically Correct , about the atom. "So we've kind of explored the photon in the first one and then the next, which is a quantum particle of light. And then the second one, we go down to the quantum physics of the atom and build an atom from scratch, essentially, and kind of lots of tangents. There's a little bit of feminism in there because, you know, a lot of the time I'm a raging feminist." Using physicality and the space on stage to help tell the story and explain high-level science concepts takes work. "Being creative with with the material is really exciting. And just trying to figure out ways to bring humour and wonder to something that I find really fascinating that a lot of people don't. I do understand quantum physics is not something people read about every Saturday morning, so it's really fun to play with these ideas. And they're really wacky. Like, infrared light is a colour of light we can feel. That's just, wow, that's so weird." So working out how to describe things that are completely intangible to many people's minds is the challenge. "How can we use the tools that we have, which is language and physicality, to really kind of explore these concepts?" She also has to understand the science herself and she likes to sit with it and let it percolate as she figures out the best way to explain it. Researching how popular culture approaches the concepts also helps. "I've seen all the Ant-Men movies. So here's the science, here it is in popular culture. How do I want to bring those two together? And that's the play there with the ideas and concepts." Each show takes about a year to write and then another year of playing around with the script on stage. Since premiering the two shows she has toured each for two years. Another aim of her shows is to show the artistic community there is a lot of inspiration in science just waiting to be plunged. "The first time I did the show, I had an art student come up to me afterwards and was like, 'I would never have thought to look to the sciences for inspiration, but I totally will now'. And I was just like, 'oh my gosh, this is actually happening'. And that, to me, was really, really exciting." A similar thing happened with Atomically Correct with scientists coming up to her after the show saying they would never have considered going to the theatre but since it was a science show gave it a go. "So it's this twofold thing, that I'm showing that science can be a wealth of inspiration and bringing people to the theatre to art events." Rayner is proud of those achievements. "They're such small things but they bring me joy." People often say that she should do the shows for children. "I have a lot of child performer energy when I bring them to stage, which I'm aware of. So I call that out a bit at the beginning. It was really important for me to do this for adults because no-one expects that, and I like to break down boundaries where I can. "Yes, I'm bringing the child performer energy, but I try and tone it down and just want a place for us adults to kind of share in that wonder and then pass that wonder on to the children at home or at school. And plus that means I can swear on stage, something I've never been able to do before." It also means she can talk about scientific concepts at a higher level. "One of the things ... is that an atom is mostly nothing. So we're all mostly nothing, but at the end of the day, we still matter. And I feel that's a message better for the adult audience than the younger ones." As the interest in science communication grows — it is now an academic field — Rayner says there is more understanding it can take many different forms. "So the shows that I do are a type of science communication. Poetry can be a type of science communication." Behind the scenes Rayner is also a keen science poetry writer. She discovered the field of science poetry, where people engaged in science use scientific concepts to explore the experiences people have every day, years ago. "We tend to separate art and science. When really both of them, both art and science, are just asking questions about the universe, and perhaps in slightly different ways, but it's questions about the universe and our experiences, and how do we fit in all of that? And so I think that's where the poetry kind of brings those two together really nicely." With science poetry it is important to ensure any scientific concepts referenced are accurate, she says. "So it's that understanding of a particular science phenomenon you want to bring into your poetry. It's like if you're using the science as a metaphor, how are you using it accurately?" But she is aware some people find poetry hard to understand and adding scientific concepts to it can make it harder. It does not matter what form it takes, Rayner is passionate about getting people engaged in science and translating the work of scientists so everyday people understand it and it becomes more commonplace to talk about. And Rayner is not finished with her efforts — she has plans for a third show, this one on electrons. "Obviously that's electricity, which we use every day. We use more and more every day." The inspiration for this show comes from when she was doing a show for the Discovery Science Technology Centre in Bendigo. Demonstrating a little generator they made out of a spun copper, a magnet and LED, she remembers seeing a woman in the audience, "just her face, it was just contorted in wonder and understanding of, oh, my God, that's how everything happens". Seeing someone have that realisation that electricity does not just come out of the wall but from a plant hundreds of kilometres away was a real buzz she would like to replicate in the new show. But work on it has been sidelined as she works on another project, a podcast series called Australian Highlights where she uncovers stories of innovation that are not commonly known about and interviews the people behind them. "There is moments of innovation just all around us and recognising those moments." One of the standouts from the podcast so far has been "green steel" developed through Prof Veena Sahajwalla's polymer injection technology which transforms waste tyres and plastics into high-quality steel, while another was on how to manage space junk. She plans to record an episode of the podcast at the International Science Festival exploring innovations that Australia takes credit for that perhaps came from New Zealand. "I really do like breaking down silos and causing controversy if I can. Light ones, light controversy." But what would really make her trip is seeing a southern aurora. To see Rachel Rayner, Science Explainer — A Flying Photon , July 1 and 2, 7.30pm, Atomically Correct , July 4, 7.30 and July 5, 3pm, Australian Highlights Live — NZ Edition , July 3, 7.30pm, all at Te Whare o Rukutia. Write your own science poetry , July 2, 2pm, Tūhura Otago Museum — H.D. Skinner Annex.
North Wales Chronicle
2 days ago
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Rayner brands Philp ‘Johnny Come Lately' as he presses her on immigration
In a back and forth in the Commons, Mr Philp claimed landlords are being offered 'above market deals' to secure properties for 'illegal immigrants'. As she deputised for Sir Keir Starmer who was attending the G7 summit, Ms Rayner accused the Tories of having 'spiffed' a million pounds 'up the wall because they were so incompetent'. Speaking at Deputy Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Philp said the Government's 'laughable plan to smash the gangs lies in tatters', adding: 'Will she now, at last, accept we need a removals deterrent, so every single illegal immigrant arriving on these shores is immediately removed?' In her response, Ms Rayner said: 'They lost control of our borders. We're getting control of our borders. He needs to apologise.' The shadow minister, who was standing in for Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch, said Ms Rayner had a 'brass neck' to claim she has immigration under control 'when the numbers crossing the Channel this year are the highest in history'. He added: 'The Home Office's suppliers are now actively offering above market deals to landlords to get hold of their properties to be used for illegal immigrants. In the meantime, hard-pressed young people here are unable to rent or buy. So why is this Government prioritising housing for illegal immigrants above housing for our young people?' The Deputy Prime Minister replied: 'Under their watch, immigration increased fourfold until it reached almost a million in a single year. They also created the backlog – 400 hotels, which we've reduced to just over 200 hotels in the first 12 months of us being in Government. 'One million pounds a day 'spiffed' up the wall because they were so incompetent. We're building the homes that they failed to deliver over 14 years of consecutive failure by their government. They should apologise while we get on with the job of rebuilding Britain.' Mr Philp then said: 'Goodness me, she's got a cheek,' before adding: 'We need to scrap the Human Rights Act for immigration matters, so this sovereign Parliament decides on the law our courts apply, but her party voted against that. So I have a simple question: why did the Government side with foreign criminals and not the British public?' In her response, Ms Rayner said 4,500 foreign national offenders have been deported since Labour came into power, adding: 'I take no lectures from the Johnny Come Lately, who couldn't do anything when he was in office.' Elsewhere in the session, Mr Philp pressed Ms Rayner on the inquiry into grooming gangs and child sexual abuse urging her to apologise on behalf of the Prime Minister for saying campaigners were 'jumping on a far-right bandwagon'. He said he had met victims alongside Tory leader Kemi Badenoch on Tuesday, adding: 'They told us how authorities deliberately covered up the systematic rape of young girls and some boys by gangs of predominately Pakistani heritage men. 'They covered it up because they cared more about so-called community relations than about protecting vulnerable girls. That is disgusting.' Ms Rayner replied: 'It's absolutely right that we look at what's happened over the last couple of decades. The countless reports that we've had, and we look to implement that. He's absolutely right to also talk about the confidence people must have in that independent inquiry and the Home Secretary spoke about that earlier this week in regards to Baroness Casey's report. 'So we will take that forward at speed, it will be independent, it will have statutory powers and we will implement the Jay report.' Mr Philp then said: 'It's vital that scandals like this are never again covered up because of the racial background of perpetrators, and Baroness Casey's report said people who downplay the ethnic dimension are letting victims down.' He added: 'I do have to raise the language the Prime Minister used in January when he, I'm afraid to say, smeared campaigners as jumping on a 'far-right bandwagon', simply for calling for the very inquiry he has now been forced to set up. Standing up for rape victims is not far-right. 'So will the Deputy Prime Minister apologise for what the Prime Minister said?' Ms Rayner replied: 'The Prime Minister did not just raise issues, but acted on them. He brought the first prosecutions against grooming gangs, called for action to address ethnicity issues in 2012, and (Mr Philp) will know that the data that the previous government collected was inaccurate and not complete, and Casey recognised this, and it's one of the recommendations we will be taking forward. 'The Prime Minister made those comments specifically about Tory ministers who sat for years in the government and did absolutely nothing about this scandal.'
South Wales Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Rayner brands Philp ‘Johnny Come Lately' as he presses her on immigration
In a back and forth in the Commons, Mr Philp claimed landlords are being offered 'above market deals' to secure properties for 'illegal immigrants'. As she deputised for Sir Keir Starmer who was attending the G7 summit, Ms Rayner accused the Tories of having 'spiffed' a million pounds 'up the wall because they were so incompetent'. Speaking at Deputy Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Philp said the Government's 'laughable plan to smash the gangs lies in tatters', adding: 'Will she now, at last, accept we need a removals deterrent, so every single illegal immigrant arriving on these shores is immediately removed?' In her response, Ms Rayner said: 'They lost control of our borders. We're getting control of our borders. He needs to apologise.' The shadow minister, who was standing in for Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch, said Ms Rayner had a 'brass neck' to claim she has immigration under control 'when the numbers crossing the Channel this year are the highest in history'. He added: 'The Home Office's suppliers are now actively offering above market deals to landlords to get hold of their properties to be used for illegal immigrants. In the meantime, hard-pressed young people here are unable to rent or buy. So why is this Government prioritising housing for illegal immigrants above housing for our young people?' The Deputy Prime Minister replied: 'Under their watch, immigration increased fourfold until it reached almost a million in a single year. They also created the backlog – 400 hotels, which we've reduced to just over 200 hotels in the first 12 months of us being in Government. 'One million pounds a day 'spiffed' up the wall because they were so incompetent. We're building the homes that they failed to deliver over 14 years of consecutive failure by their government. They should apologise while we get on with the job of rebuilding Britain.' Mr Philp then said: 'Goodness me, she's got a cheek,' before adding: 'We need to scrap the Human Rights Act for immigration matters, so this sovereign Parliament decides on the law our courts apply, but her party voted against that. So I have a simple question: why did the Government side with foreign criminals and not the British public?' In her response, Ms Rayner said 4,500 foreign national offenders have been deported since Labour came into power, adding: 'I take no lectures from the Johnny Come Lately, who couldn't do anything when he was in office.' Elsewhere in the session, Mr Philp pressed Ms Rayner on the inquiry into grooming gangs and child sexual abuse urging her to apologise on behalf of the Prime Minister for saying campaigners were 'jumping on a far-right bandwagon'. He said he had met victims alongside Tory leader Kemi Badenoch on Tuesday, adding: 'They told us how authorities deliberately covered up the systematic rape of young girls and some boys by gangs of predominately Pakistani heritage men. 'They covered it up because they cared more about so-called community relations than about protecting vulnerable girls. That is disgusting.' Ms Rayner replied: 'It's absolutely right that we look at what's happened over the last couple of decades. The countless reports that we've had, and we look to implement that. He's absolutely right to also talk about the confidence people must have in that independent inquiry and the Home Secretary spoke about that earlier this week in regards to Baroness Casey's report. 'So we will take that forward at speed, it will be independent, it will have statutory powers and we will implement the Jay report.' Mr Philp then said: 'It's vital that scandals like this are never again covered up because of the racial background of perpetrators, and Baroness Casey's report said people who downplay the ethnic dimension are letting victims down.' He added: 'I do have to raise the language the Prime Minister used in January when he, I'm afraid to say, smeared campaigners as jumping on a 'far-right bandwagon', simply for calling for the very inquiry he has now been forced to set up. Standing up for rape victims is not far-right. 'So will the Deputy Prime Minister apologise for what the Prime Minister said?' Ms Rayner replied: 'The Prime Minister did not just raise issues, but acted on them. He brought the first prosecutions against grooming gangs, called for action to address ethnicity issues in 2012, and (Mr Philp) will know that the data that the previous government collected was inaccurate and not complete, and Casey recognised this, and it's one of the recommendations we will be taking forward. 'The Prime Minister made those comments specifically about Tory ministers who sat for years in the government and did absolutely nothing about this scandal.'
New Statesman
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Statesman
PMQs review: The grooming gangs scandal continues to shake Parliament
Photo by House of Commons Kemi Badenoch must be fuming that Keir Starmer is flying back from the G7 in Canada right now, with Angela Rayner standing in for him at PMQs and convention dictating that the Leader of the Opposition also offers up a deputy. So it was that in a week where the headline topic remains the grooming gang scandal that Badenoch has decided is one of her key passion projects, it was one of her shadow ministers asking the questions. Badenoch has chosen not to have a regular deputy for these occasions, offering the job to a revolving cast of Tory frontbenchers. Unsurprisingly given what was obviously going to be the main issue, today it was the shadow home secretary. No, not Robert Jenrick (though you'd be forgiven for the mistake), but Chris Philp. That's the same Chris Philp who appeared with Badenoch on a panel of grooming gang survivors, parents and activists yesterday morning, during which they were urged that 'all the political stuff needs to be put aside' by survivor Fiona Goddard. And it's also the same Chris Philp who seemed to show very little interest in the scandal until Elon Musk brought it back to Westminster's attention in January, including for the almost two years in which he was policing minister in the Home Office. All of this meant that, when Philp began his questioning by noting he had met with survivors on Tuesday, he was greeted to heckles that he'd never met with any of them while in office. He brushed this off, adopting a dignified tone as he asked about survivors' justifiable insistence that the national inquiry announced on Monday will be fully independent, have statutory powers, cover all affected towns and put the affected individuals at its centre. It was an attitude that won him appreciation from Rayner, who struck a stateswomanlike poise as she thanked him for 'his tone and for putting the survivors central', adding wryly that she hoped members of his party would follow his lead. Badenoch's own tactic of ferociously hammering the government over Louise Casey's report, most notably in the Chamber on Monday afternoon, has drawn criticism – including from victims, and from Casey herself. The air of cross-party respect didn't last. Before long Philp was channelling his inner Badenoch, calling on Rayner to apologise for Starmer's claim in January (which the Prime Minister surely now regrets) that those calling for an inquiry were 'jumping on a bandwagon' and 'amplifying what the far right is saying'. Rayner responded with the universal Labour defence of pointing out what the Tories had done in office: 'precisely nothing'. It was notable that, while Philp raged, Rayner was flanked on both sides by female colleagues (Lucy Powell and Yvette Cooper to one side, Rachel Reeves and Bridge Phillipson on the other). It was a powerful image. From there, we got an unedifying spat over illegal migrant numbers, the failure of the Rwanda scheme, asylum accommodation and – a nice new addition, presumably due to Rayner's brief – house building. Philp walked into a number of traps Badenoch could have told him were coming. Bringing up immigration at PMQs enables whoever is representing the government to return to their comfort ground of the Conservatives' own record. Philp's retort that the Rwanda scheme 'never started' isn't quite the win he thinks it is, given one of the key reasons voters abandoned the Tories was a feeling the party was so incompetent it couldn't even do what it was said it wanted to. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe As for his line wondering aloud how Rayner 'has the brass neck to claim she's got it under control, when the numbers crossing the Channel this year are the highest in history', Philp should have guessed his adversary would be prepared. And she was, punching the Boriswave bruise (nearly a million arrivals in 2022-3 alone), reeling off stats, and condemning Philp for the 'one million pounds a day 'spiffed' up the wall' (an allusion, perhaps, to Boris Johnson's similar turn-of-phrase discussing money spent on historic child abuse investigations – at any rate, a new one for Hansard). It wasn't the finest audition piece from Philp. One wonders why Robert Jenrick wasn't chosen to stand in (although the answer to that may be apparent). Rayner brought less of her characteristic fire to today's proceedings, and all in all it was a somewhat anticlimactic session, with the mood around the House gradually souring. We had Lib Dem and SNP MPs ask about cuts to disability benefits, designed to rile up Labour backbenchers who are queasy about what Liz Kendall will be announcing later today. And instead of an explosive intervention from Reform's MPs, we got two planted questions: one about a Reform council cutting a fire engine in Nuneaton, and another about the dodgy arithmetic behind Nigel Farage's claim he could save £7bn of government spending by cutting DEI programmes. We did hear Rayner signalling that the UK would not join the US were Donald Trump to choose to attack Iran, and stressing the need for a diplomatic approach. But given Keir Starmer insisted the US had no intentions of bombing Iran just before Trump implied it was a live consideration, who can say. (This week's New Statesman magazine is a War Special, covering everything going on in the Middle East, including an insight into Benjamin Netanyahu's mind from his former head of personal security and a deep dive into what Iran will do next by Lawrence Freedman, for once you're done digesting PMQs.) Question of the day probably goes to Nick Timothy, who noted that channel crossings are up this year, and asked whether, if they fail to go down, the Home Secretary's job could be at risk. Yvette Cooper has so far not been a major target of the Tory frontbench, with the force of their efforts aimed more at Rachel Reeves, Ed Miliband and Bridget Phillipson. Is Timothy testing out a new attack line for the Conservatives? Or is he simply reminding his colleagues of his presence should a shadow ministerial vacancy come up? [See also: Keir Starmer's grooming gang cowardice] Related
STV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- STV News
Rayner: 'UK agrees with Trump that Iran must not have nuclear weapons'
The deputy prime minister has said that the UK 'agrees with President Trump that Iran must never have nuclear weapons' amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper put it to Angela Rayner at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday if the UK Government would 'blindly follow' the US into war with Iran if Trump launched strikes. It comes as tensions rise in the Middle East amidst ongoing strikes between Israel and Iran. Cooper asked the deputy PM, who is filling in for Keir Starmer: 'In 2003, we Liberal Democrats were incredibly proud to lead the campaign against the Iraq War, a war in which the UK blindly followed the US in a move which was not backed by the United Nations. 'In light of reports that President Trump is seriously considering joining the war between Israel and Iran, launching a US strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, can the deputy prime minister confirm that, if President Trump does do this, that today's Labour Government will not blindly follow the US into war again?' Rayner responded: 'The one thing I will say is we agree with President Trump that Iran must never have nuclear weapons. 'But we've been consistent in urging Iran to engage in the diplomatic process and work with the United States, and we continue to support that diplomatic approach.' Rayner earlier said the UK Government had deployed jets to the Middle East for 'the safety of British nationals and the UK national interest'. 'In an era of global instability, we are working with our partners to urge de-escalation in the Middle East, put pressure on Russia to agree to a ceasefire and deliver security renewal for the British people,' she said. 'The situation in the Middle East is fast moving and deeply concerning. There is a clear potential for significant and rapid worsening of the situation, and every step that we take we will always be guided by what the safety of British nationals and the UK national interest.' On Wednesday, families of staff at the British embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem have been 'temporarily withdrawn as a precautionary measure', the Foreign Office said. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
