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The Conversation UK
Why not knowing what to do isn’t always a bad thing for leaders
In 2002, after a Pentagon news briefing, the then US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld was widely ridiculed for his thoughts about knowledge. Discussing the issue of whether Iraq was supplying weapons of mass destruction to terrorists, he said:. As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we...
How we reconstructed the ancestor of all life on Earth
Understanding how life began and evolved on Earth is a question that has fascinated humans for a long time, and modern scientists have made great advances when it comes to finding some answers. Now, our recent study hopes to offer new insights into the origin of life on Earth. Around...
How the government’s railway nationalisation plans could play out – two public transport experts
“This is the age of the train” was the British Rail catchphrase in the late 1970s, showcasing advances in technology, such as tilting trains, and advanced transport hubs, like the Euston station complex. But this was well before the privatisation of the railways from 1994 onwards. With the currently...
Five things to watch for at this year’s Democratic National Convention – and what they mean for the election
American politics junkies who can’t get enough of a wild 2024 campaign season will have another opportunity for must-see-TV at the upcoming Democratic National Convention (DNC), scheduled for August 19-22 in Chicago. At the Republican convention in Milwaukee last month, the former president, Donald Trump, was greeted as a...
How protectionism can help developing countries unlock their economic potential
State intervention has made a comeback. States have, in one way or another, always intervened in markets to develop specific industries and push innovation. But there has been a renaissance since the 2010s, in particular with respect to industrial and trade policy. There are many reasons for this. The fallout...
Post Paris success, Olympics eye the future with new sporting formats to widen youth appeal
After all the pomp and ceremony, the trials, the tears and the medals, if you were to ask most people what they considered the biggest event at the Olympic Games, they’d probably say the 100m sprint finals, the swimming – or perhaps even the opening ceremony. Ask them...
Millions now survive cancer – but face discrimination when trying to access loans and insurance
Cancer is no longer a death sentence. Across Europe, around 20 million people are now living beyond their disease. But their efforts to return to normal life are severely hampered by a particularly unjust form of financial discrimination. I have researched this with Dr Françoise Meunier, former director-general of the...
Education in the Anthropocene: addressing the environmental crisis means learning about our place in Earth’s history
Education should prepare young people to face the challenges of their time. To keep up with the changing world, this means that education has to keep adjusting. But unfortunately, our education systems have fallen out of sync with the times. Environmental decay is arguably the greatest challenge facing humanity today....
A guide to York in five heritage pubs for historical interior enthusiasts
York in North Yorkshire is a beautiful historic city with links to the Romans, Saxons and the Vikings. It’s full of architecture from medieval times, as well as Georgian and Victorian gems. Given its history, a visitor can be kept busy for many days. But all visitors need a...
Ukraine war: Kursk offensive has taken the war into Russia and put Putin on the back foot – for now
The Ukrainian advance into Russia’s Kursk oblast took almost everyone by surprise. Perhaps not the Russians stationed on the border, who reportedly tried to warn of a Ukrainian troop buildup, but the rest of us who watch the conflict closely did not think the Ukrainian army – under increasingly severe pressure in Donetsk oblast further south – had the spare manpower and kit to launch this operation.
Why we don’t need more policing – even after the riots
In response to the violent far-right riots across the UK, we have seen pledges from Keir Starmer’s Labour government to increase police resources, expand policing powers, and implement tougher and quicker sentencing to keep our communities safe. Far-right violence is a danger to individuals and communities across the UK but putting more police on the streets with beefed-up powers will leave many UK communities and legitimate acts of protest less safe for everyone.
What is the Online Safety Act and why have riots reopened debates about it?
Recent rioting and unrest in the UK has led to calls for the Online Safety Act to be revisited. Mayor Sadiq Khan has called it “not fit for purpose” and Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas Symonds suggested that the government could change the law, which was passed under the previous government and includes a raft of measures relevant to the recent riots, including powers to fine social media companies.
Warding off witchcraft with paper: an everyday solution for everyday problems
We tend to think that the idea of being cursed by a witch or being a victim of witchcraft was something that people had dispensed with by the 18th century, but it was not. As late as the 1930s, people still tended to believe that their troubles resulted from a witch placing a curse on them. One solution to these problems could be found in something as every day as paper.
‘Monster plants’: an expert guide to alien invasive species and the epic battles they win
A lot of people think of plants as pretty to look at, but defenceless and passive as far as organisms go. However, the many alien species – or “monster plants” – around us show we should never underestimate plants and the fascinating battles that go on beneath our feet.
Three water companies face big fines for sewage spills – it won’t do any good unless our whole approach to waste changes
The recent announcement of £168 million in sewage pollution fines issued to three water companies has renewed hope that the regulator for England and Wales, Ofwat, is finally taking action in line with public opinion. In reality, though, this looks more like a tokenistic gesture in a frustrating sisyphean...
We’ve found there was an overseas trade supplying horses for sacrifices during the late Viking age
Prehistoric communities from Iceland to the Eurasian Steppe sacrificed horses as part of their funeral rites. These Baltic tribes, known as the Balts, sacrificed horses longer than anywhere else in Europe, up until the 14th century. Christians despised this practice, however, and it quickly fell out of favour once a community converted to Christianity.
Dries Van Noten retires: Belgian fashion genius melded print, pattern, colour and bold ideas
Acclaimed Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten has retired at 66, after announcing earlier this year that he would step down after his Paris Fashion Week menswear show in June. It brings to a close a groundbreaking career of almost 40 years. Celebrated for his eclectic combinations of high and...
US election 2024: how Trump and Vance are trying to weaponise Kamala Harris’s multiracial identity
I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now, she wants to be known as Black. This was what former president and current Republican party presidential candidate Donald Trump told the National Association of Black Journalists convention on July 31. It was a revealing insight into how he viewed his rival Kamala Harris’s multiracial identity.
We pumped extra CO₂ into an oak forest and discovered trees will be ‘woodier’ in future
Oak trees accumulate more wood when there is more carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. That’s the key finding from our new study, carried out in a long-established forest in Staffordshire, England, that we have turned into a huge field experiment by injecting with extra CO₂. After we increased CO₂ levels to what will be the planetary level in the 2050s, trees took more of it from the atmosphere and their wood production increased by 10%.
Fears of a fresh arms race as US to deploy missiles in Germany that can hit targets in Russia
During July’s Nato summit, the United States and Germany reached an agreement for the US to start what it referred to as “episodic deployments” of missiles in 2026. This will include Tomahawk cruise missiles, SM-6 ballistic missiles and a new generation of hypersonic systems currently under development. The main condition of the agreement is that none of these missiles will be equipped with nuclear warheads.
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