Russia’s push to control Arctic waterway presents Europe with a daunting challenge
A Russian nuclear submarine surfaces near the city of Kronstadt in the Gulf of Finland in 2021. zayatsphoto / Shutterstock Norway’s defence minister, Tore Sandvik, recently warned that Russia must not be allowed to control the Bear Gap. This is a stretch of water that runs roughly 400 miles between Bear Island in the southernmost […]
Frida Kahlo at Tate Modern: how a radical artist became a global icon
Frida: The Making of an Icon at Tate Modern is the first major interrogation of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo’s legacy in London for 25 years. It already has more advance sales than any exhibition in Tate history. The title puts the visitor on first name terms with someone who died in 1954. Yet despite […]
A new quantum computer sets a high watermark for accuracy – are we on the verge of a big breakthrough?
In a laboratory in Broomfield, Colorado, 98 atoms are suspended in mid-air, held in place by electric fields and cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero. Each atom is far smaller than anything the naked eye could ever see, yet each carries information in a form that has no counterpart in classical physics. Together, they […]
The cost of living is soaring – why not try moving in together?
Dean Drobot/Shutterstock Across Europe, people in their 20s and 30s are running into the same wall. Rents are rising faster than wages, energy and food are more expensive, and buying a home without family wealth feels like a fairytale. Many young adults are moving back in with parents, or paying a huge share of their […]
Can wiggling your pinky really stop cognitive decline?
Pramata/Shutterstock.com What if protecting your brain from dementia was as simple as wiggling your little fingers a few seconds each day? That’s the promise behind “pinky time”, a viral TikTok trend that claims a simple finger exercise can lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Videos promoting this supposed brain-health hack have attracted millions of views, […]
Climate warnings need to be told in tangible ways to prevent disaster
During the 2018 drought in Cape Town, South Africa, people had to queue to collect natural spring water for drinking. Mark Fisher/Shutterstock England is sweltering under an red heat health alert and could see its hottest June day on record. In North America, football fans and players are suffering, with a quarter of this summer’s […]
Coming out on TV in 1970 could have ruined your life – so why did activists do it?
Iva1/Shutterstock In 1970, gay campaigners in the UK were in something of a quandary. The 1967 Sexual Offences Act had lifted only some of the criminal sanctions against sex between men and left immense social stigma unchallenged. At the same time, the media reacted to partial decriminalisation by largely losing interest in homosexuality. Just one […]
Judges announced for The Conversation Prize for writers 2026
From L-R: Steven Vass, Tim Minshall, Catherine Clarke. CC BY-ND The Conversation, Curtis Brown and Faber are pleased to announce our three judges for The Conversation Prize for writers 2026. They are: history professor, Catherine Clarke; innovation professor, Tim Minshall; and our very own Steven Vass, senior editor for Science Insights at The Conversation. Our […]
Why is the UK now changing prime minister every few years?
This is not the UK’s first leadership transition in government, and it is unlikely to be the last. These events have, however, been rare until recently. In the 80 years since the end of the second world war, there have only been 18 prime ministers. The nineteenth, likely to be Andy Burnham, will become the […]
What Brexit has actually changed, ten years later – expert panel
Ink Drop/Shutterstock In the years since the Brexit referendum, many have felt deceived or misled on what exactly they were voting for. New data reveals that 60% of British gen Z-ers want a new vote on rejoining the EU. We spoke to experts to find out what impact Brexit has actually had on Britain. A […]