The Conversation: In-depth analysis, research, news and ideas from leading academics and researchers.

Displaced Palestinians walk among destroyed buildings in a neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Displaced Palestinians walk among destroyed buildings in a neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Why Gaza peace deals keep unravelling

Adam Farquhar, University of Edinburgh

Why a vote on taxing California’s billionaires is being watched around the world

Henry Maher, University of Sydney

US independent senator Bernie Sanders at the launch of the campaign for the California Billionaire Tax Act

US independent senator Bernie Sanders at the launch of the campaign for the California Billionaire Tax Act

The Taliban has brought Afghanistan close to collapse, but resistance is growing

Amin Saikal, Australian National University; The University of Western Australia; Victoria University

Soldiers and people in Afghan dress holding weapons and flags

Soldiers and people in Afghan dress holding weapons and flags

Jason Arday carrying the Olympic torch in London, 2021

Jason Arday carrying the Olympic torch in London, 2021

Jason Arday press coverage: analysis of the volume and type of articles

Matt Walsh, Cardiff University

A photo of a young Black man with dreadlocks affixed to a black fence, surrounded by colorful flowers and handwritten notes.

A photo of a young Black man with dreadlocks affixed to a black fence, surrounded by colorful flowers and handwritten notes.

Jason Arday and the new politics of plagiarism

Roger J. Kreuz, University of Memphis

North Korea grows stronger as South Korea reckons with fading US support

Virginie Grzelczyk, Aston University

Kim Jong-un hugs an injured soldier with military personnel gathered round.

Kim Jong-un hugs an injured soldier with military personnel gathered round.

Microfinance was supposed to save Asia’s poor. Why has it failed to live up to its promise?

Shoppers pass by a Cambodian vendor sitting amongst a colourful bed of vegetables.

Shoppers pass by a Cambodian vendor sitting amongst a colourful bed of vegetables.

We’re building a New York-sized city every month. That’s worrying for our climate

Philip Oldfield, UNSW and William Craft, UNSW

Aerial view of the island of Manhattan, New York City.

Aerial view of the island of Manhattan, New York City.

Russia is cutting off Ukraine’s grain exports again, threatening a critical harvest and global food security

China is launching a Moon mission to find water ice. It’s unlike anything NASA has done

A group of young girls strand shoulder to shoulder facing the camera with solemn looks.

A group of young girls strand shoulder to shoulder facing the camera with solemn looks.

I lived through the first Taliban girls’ school ban — watching it happen again is heartbreaking

Can the Israeli military be trusted to investigate itself? Evidence shows genuine accountability is rare

Shannon Bosch, Edith Cowan University

Why does it feel like the US and Iran are stuck in an endless conflict loop?

Woman walking in front of a billboard

Woman walking in front of a billboard

What Luigi Mangione’s celebrity says about Gen Z

Evan Clarkson, Utah Valley University

A person wearing a black t-shirt that features a heart graphic with an Italian flag and a portrait of Luigi Mangione

A person wearing a black t-shirt that features a heart graphic with an Italian flag and a portrait of Luigi Mangione

The bloodsucking insect with a saw for a mouth: how the tsetse fly bites through almost anything

Markus Engstler, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg and Daniel Masiga, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology

Close-up of a fly on a piece of woven fabric

Close-up of a fly on a piece of woven fabric

Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder stand in a supermarket aisle covered in blood

Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder stand in a supermarket aisle covered in blood

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma: a queer slasher about trauma and desire

Darren Elliott-Smith, University of Stirling

A tea vendor is surrounded by friendly stray dogs.

A tea vendor is surrounded by friendly stray dogs.

Street dogs: Why India can’t — and shouldn’t — evict its canines

Mitu Sengupta, Toronto Metropolitan University

After Ceuta, Europe is once again mired in migration chaos of its own making

A child pleads with a military officer.

A child pleads with a military officer.

Can the Israeli military be trusted to investigate itself? Evidence shows genuine accountability is rare

Ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz region may be biosecurity risks when they leave. What can we do?

Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and other vessels idle at anchor as they wait to pass the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and other vessels idle at anchor as they wait to pass the Strait of Hormuz.

How Ukraine’s strikes on Russian warehouses became a problem in Kyrgyzstan

A fireman fights a blaze in a Russian warehouse.

A fireman fights a blaze in a Russian warehouse.

Drawing of a man with his hand on another man's shoulder, while a third bystander holds his hat between his hands and looks down.

Drawing of a man with his hand on another man's shoulder, while a third bystander holds his hat between his hands and looks down.

Who were the Luddites? Their legacy ripples through politics, cultural commentary and literature

US actor Jason Sudeikis, who plays Ted Lasso, arrives at the opening of season three.

US actor Jason Sudeikis, who plays Ted Lasso, arrives at the opening of season three.

Would Ted Lasso be a good sports coach in real life?

The media has made Donald Trump look more coherent than he is. It’s called ‘sanewashing’

The silhouette of Donald Trump against bright media lighting

The silhouette of Donald Trump against bright media lighting

The sinking of the MV Barima puts Guyanese inequities under a global spotlight

A ferry sitting at a dock.

A ferry sitting at a dock.

Decolonizing economics means questioning where its ideas came from — and imagining new ones

A statue of a man in front of a church

A statue of a man in front of a church

Regime Change might be 2026’s nonfiction bestseller. Here’s why it’s essential, chilling reading

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Life and art

Zed Beats: how home studios reinvented Zambian pop music and gave young people a voice

A young African man fashionably dressed with shades and peroxided dreads points both hands to camera, behind him a dazzling nightclub light.

A young African man fashionably dressed with shades and peroxided dreads points both hands to camera, behind him a dazzling nightclub light.

How Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie expands the book and TV series for today

A young girl in a dress with a hat tied around her shoulders gazes into the distance with her hands on a wooden frame structure.

A young girl in a dress with a hat tied around her shoulders gazes into the distance with her hands on a wooden frame structure.

Chores or no chores? The economic psychology of giving kids pocket money

Gigi Foster, UNSW

Kid helping out with chores by doing dishes

Kid helping out with chores by doing dishes

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey disappoints in its portrayal of Homer’s women

A film still of a white middle-aged woman in a blue dress holding out a bow

A film still of a white middle-aged woman in a blue dress holding out a bow

Environment

Butterflies are on the move as the planet warms: new research

Butterfly with turquoise, red and black wings standing on rocky surface

Butterfly with turquoise, red and black wings standing on rocky surface

Wildfires: why media coverage doesn’t always make the climate connection

red smoke fire flames and sandy dunes, beach in foreground

red smoke fire flames and sandy dunes, beach in foreground

Africa’s Greater Horn region is facing a looming polycrisis fueled by conflict, prices, climate and disease

A man holds aloft an animal carcass

A man holds aloft an animal carcass

How an El Niño becomes a super El Niño

Map of El Nino temperatures

Map of El Nino temperatures

Health

Behind the betel nut smile: the quiet epidemic of oral cancer in Papua New Guinea

How pigeon fanciers are helping scientists understand lung disease

Racing pigeon champion at a pigeon fancier competition

Racing pigeon champion at a pigeon fancier competition

Can Ozempic prevent cancer? A doctor explains why the headlines are easy to misread

Close-up of person injecting a dose of Ozempic into a pinched fold of their stomach

Close-up of person injecting a dose of Ozempic into a pinched fold of their stomach

When a teenager makes the ‘stupid choice’, their brain is working exactly as designed

Evelyn Svingen, University of Birmingham

Teenage boy looking sullenly at parent

Teenage boy looking sullenly at parent

Science and Technology

Sam Altman says we’re ‘in the singularity’ with AI. Here’s why he’s wrong

Bright blue and purple lights, leading to a vanishing point.

Bright blue and purple lights, leading to a vanishing point.

Al-Qaida and the Islamic State are both adopting AI – but differ in how they think about the technology

Arabic writing is seen on a computer screen

Arabic writing is seen on a computer screen

Cracking the code: can AI help us decipher ancient languages?

Jane Adkins, Dublin City University

An inscription in Etruscan hangs above the heads of a noble couple in this fresco from the Tomb of the Shields, Tarquinia, Italy.

An inscription in Etruscan hangs above the heads of a noble couple in this fresco from the Tomb of the Shields, Tarquinia, Italy.

Nasa’s new space telescope will tackle some of the universe’s biggest mysteries

Noelia Noël, University of Surrey

Illustration of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope against the background of Hubble's 25th anniversary image.

Illustration of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope against the background of Hubble's 25th anniversary image.

Business and economy

The idea of the ‘company man’ was forged decades ago. Its problems still haunt leaders today

A group of businessmen laughing while looking at a chart

A group of businessmen laughing while looking at a chart

These 3 charts show female-dominated jobs are actually the most exposed to AI

Generic stock view of an empty office with desk and chairs and monitors.

Generic stock view of an empty office with desk and chairs and monitors.

This history of currencies suggests the US dollar’s dominance may fade – but it will happen slowly

John Hawkins, University of Canberra

American dollar and chart, making money concept Red color

American dollar and chart, making money concept Red color

Featuring Trump on US coins and bills would put America in rare company

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent holds up a document featuring a proposed $250 banknote with Donald Trump's portrait

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent holds up a document featuring a proposed $250 banknote with Donald Trump's portrait

The Conversation Weekly Podcast

How do we know what dinosaurs looked like?

An iguanodon stands in a dense prehistoric forest.

An iguanodon stands in a dense prehistoric forest.

Why Javier Milei’s inflation ‘miracle’ in Argentina is more of a mirage

Javier Milei president of Argentina

Javier Milei president of Argentina

What a US military base lost under Greenland’s ice sheet reveals about the island’s real strategic importance

US soldiers digging tunnels in the snow in Greenland in the 1960s.

US soldiers digging tunnels in the snow in Greenland in the 1960s.

The American fixation on white Afrikaners in South Africa stretches back nearly a century

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa in the White House with US president Donald Trump.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa in the White House with US president Donald Trump.

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