Undertone: this creepy sound horror is utterly terrifying
Undertone is the terrifying feature film debut from Canadian director Ian Tuason, which promises to be the “scariest movie you will ever hear”. Evy (Nina Kiri) is a podcast host caring for her dying mother (Michèle Duquet) at home. Told only from Evy’s perspective, the film moves from initially creepy to utterly horrifying over a […]
Hands off my hat! The hidden power of headwear and ‘hatiquette’ in early modern England – new study
Roundhead and cavalier soldiers, wearing partisan hats, face each other and urge their dogs to attack each other (1643). State Library Victoria, Melbourne , CC BY-SA Around 8pm on a cold February evening in 1733, a gentleman named Francis Peters was returning to his home near Knightsbridge, London, in a hackney cab, when someone knocked […]
I was in Georgia in the late 1980s: I observed how tradition survived harsh Sovietisation and rapid transformation
Begos’ Friends by Georgian painter Niko Pirosmani, painted in the 1910s. At a keipi or festive supra, the tamada holds a kantsi (horn) and introduces a toast. Wikiuka/Wikimedia When Soviet president and Communist party secretary Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the policies of perestroika (reconstruction) and glasnost (openness) in the mid-1980s, it marked the beginning of cautious […]
May elections: what five politics experts are looking out for
Darren Baker/Shutterstock On May 7 2026, voters in England, Scotland and Wales will head to the polls. Parliamentary elections are taking place in the devolved Welsh Senedd Cymru and Scottish Parliament, and local elections for over 4,850 councillor roles could have huge implications for local governments throughout England. With all to play for, we asked […]
Five warning signs that rivers are polluted – even when they look clean
Howard Pimborough/Shutterstock After months of relentlessly miserable weather for most of the UK, spring brings renewed enthusiasm for spending time outdoors hiking, wild swimming, paddling or on walks. Millions of people visit lakes and riversides every year. Yet with constant, and sadly necessary, reminders about sewage and water pollution, it’s not surprising that people are […]
Children going through family courts face increased risk of self-harm, new research finds
Family courts step in at some of the hardest moments in a child’s life, when parents separate or when there are concerns about their safety. We already know that children involved in care proceedings are more likely to self-harm. But most children who come into contact with family courts are there because of disputes between […]
Can the Middle East ceasefire hold?
This is the text from The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email. Sign up here to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox. It’s still not clear who will turn up in Islamabad tomorrow for the first round of talks aimed at turning the 14-day ceasefire in the […]
Drinking water contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’ during pregnancy linked to an increased risk of childhood asthma – new study
MVelishchuk/Shutterstock Pfas, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of human-made chemicals found in everything from food packaging to firefighting foam. Often called “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment, they can affect our health and disrupt our immune system. Pfas cross the placenta, so that when a woman is pregnant, she […]
Some countries in Asia are rationing energy – why they’ve been hit hardest by the crisis in the Gulf
The war in Iran has led to a global energy crisis. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major energy chokepoint that handles roughly 20% of the world’s oil, has been largely blocked by Iran since hostilities broke out in late February. This has, at times, caused oil prices to rise above US$100 a […]
How Nasa’s Artemis II mission rediscovered the majesty and mystery of the Moon
Nasa named this image of the Moon ‘edge of darkness’ because it shows the terminator (top of the image) – the boundary between day and night. Nasa On April 10, Artemis II – humanity’s first mission to the Moon in more than half a century – will draw to a close when the Orion capsule […]