Newsletters
A grainy image shows a large vessel at sea.

Black-market oil buyers will push Venezuela for bigger discounts following US seizure – starving Maduro of much-needed revenue

Francisco J. Monaldi, Rice University

What does international law tell us about the US seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela?

Mark Chadwick, Nottingham Trent University

A composite image of Maduro and Trump next to each other.
Why is Trump so obsessed with Venezuela? His new security strategy provides some clues

Juan Zahir Naranjo Cáceres, University of the Sunshine Coast and Shannon Brincat, University of the Sunshine Coast

Why is Trump so obsessed with Venezuela? His new security strategy provides some clues
Why tensions between China and Japan are unlikely to be resolved soon

Why tensions between China and Japan are unlikely to be resolved soon

Sebastian Maslow, University of Tokyo

A groups of protestors with a large white and blue flag walk towards a man in uniform.

West Bank violence is soaring, fueled by a capitulation of Israeli institutions to settlers’ interests

Arie Perliger, UMass Lowell

People in camouflage and khaki uniforms, carrying weapons

Kidnapping for ransom in the Sahel: analysis of 24 years of data shows a new trend

Alexander M. Laskaris, University of Florida and Olivier Walther, University of Florida

How we unlocked the secrets of Denmark’s oldest plank boat – with the help of an ancient fingerprint

Mikael Fauvelle, Lund University

Painting of ancient Scandinavian sailors in a rough sea.
Germany’s plan to deport Syrian refugees echoes 1980s effort to repatriate Turkish guest workers

Michelle Lynn Kahn, University of Richmond

People with luggage walk down a road.
Dick Van Dyke credits his longevity to his positive outlook – and research says optimists live longer

Jolanta Burke, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

Dick Van Dyke smiles for the camera at an event.
AI-generated political videos are more about memes and money than persuading and deceiving

Lisa Fazio, Vanderbilt University

images of three men, two in business suits flanking on in a military pilot's suit and wearing a crown
The three who's watching boxes from Netflix

Why does Netflix want to buy Warner Bros? To copy, not kill, traditional TV

Anthony Smith, University of Salford and Laura Minor, University of Salford

Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron talking while Donald Trump looks in the other direction.

Europe must reject Trump’s nonsense accusations of ‘civilizational erasure’ – but it urgently needs a strategy of its own

A beach in Oecusse, Timor-Leste

Asia’s scamming gangs target Timor-Leste as their next frontier – but they may have misjudged the small island nation

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Millions of hectares are still being cut down every year. How can we protect global forests?

Kate Dooley, The University of Melbourne

A tree on a ridge in a steamy tropical forest.
‘Rage bait’ is the Oxford Word of the Year, showing how social media is manufacturing anger

Laurence Grondin-Robillard, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

A hooded man bends as he stokes a fire.
From violence to sexism, the manosphere is doing real-world harm
From violence to sexism, the manosphere is doing real-world harm
Polar bears are adapting to climate change at a genetic level – and it could help them avoid extinction

Alice Godden, University of East Anglia

A polar bear on a grassy snow landscape.
With Nvidia’s second-best AI chips headed for China, the US shifts priorities from security to trade
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shakes hands with US President Donald Trump
Why do we wake up shortly before our alarm goes off? It’s not by chance
A person holding a red and beige alarm clock against a blue background.
The surprising theology inside today’s Advent calendars

Matthew Robert Anderson, Concordia University

Advent calendars stacked up for sale.
From FIFA to the LA Clippers, carbon offset scandals are exposing the gap between sports teams’ green promises and reality
A man in the front row at a basketball game looks concerned watching two players battle for the ball.
Satellite photo of a glacier meeting the sea

Hundreds of iceberg earthquakes detected at the crumbling end of Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier

How short-form videos could be harming young minds
Young girl looking at her phone.
With a deadline looming, Lebanon is under pressure to disarm Hezbollah or risk another war
With a deadline looming, Lebanon is under pressure to disarm Hezbollah or risk another war
How crime in Brazil drags down the economy and heaps economic pain on the nation’s poor
Men in fatigues with guns standf outside a glass building
We watched these coral colonies succumb to black band disease. 6 months later, 75% were dead
We watched these coral colonies succumb to black band disease. 6 months later, 75% were dead
A 2,000-year-old building site reveals the raw ingredients for ancient Roman self-healing concrete
A detail of the neatly aligned ceramic roof tiles and tuff blocks in a newly excavated site in Pompeii, documenting the storage of building materials during renovation.
Thiaroye massacre: report on the French killing of Senegalese troops in 1944 exposes a painful history
Two African men stand against a colourful art backdrop and hold a document between them.
Hope and hardship have driven Syrian refugee returns – but many head back to destroyed homes, land disputes
Mena and women crowd onto a convoy of vehicles.
Africa’s power grabs are rising – the AU’s mixed response is making things worse
Armed men standing on the back of a truck that is part of a convoy driving through a street
In Kyiv, I saw how art can help hold a city together in the shadow of war

In Kyiv, I saw how art can help hold a city together in the shadow of war

Frank Gehry, the architect of the unconventional, the accidental, and the inspiring, has died at 96
Black and white photo
Ukraine peace talks reveal a world slipping back into an acceptance of war
A Ukrainian soldier walks down a damaged street on a foggy day.
Premier League football matches can be crime hotspots – but community sports centres have the opposite effect
Aerial view of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Myanmar’s military will no doubt win this month’s sham elections. But could a shake-up follow?
Myanmar’s military will no doubt win this month’s sham elections. But could a shake-up follow?
Two women walking down a beach arm in arm

Jane Austen’s happiness was complicated – her last heroine in Persuasion knew why

A woman plugs her nose and grimaces, looking at a smelly white sock she's holding in her other hand.

Can you wear the same pair of socks more than once?

Primrose Freestone, University of Leicester

Sabrina Carpenter’s and Chappell Roan’s sexy pop hits have roots in the bedroom ballads of Teddy Pendergrass and Philly soul
Black-and-white photo of couple singing while seated at a round dining table with a rose in a vase in the center
‘Yes’ to God, but ‘no’ to church – what religious change looks like for many Latin Americans
The outline of a woman's face is illuminated in a dark church by a sunbeam coming through a tall window.
The Ladykillers at 70: how one film turned British whimsy into a darkly comic masterpiece
Black-and-white scene from film The Ladykillers showing an older woman surrounded by five men who watch her closely, with one man standing in a doorway in the background.
Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global
Dark storm clouds above the ocean.
A woman with strong shoulders is seen from behind at a gym.

More women are using steroids – and many don’t know the risks

The American fixation on white Afrikaners in South Africa stretches back nearly a century
Listen
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa in the White House with US president Donald Trump.
Space debris: will it take a catastrophe for nations to take the issue seriously?
Tiangong
Facing myriad global pressures, Iran intensifies outreach to African partners for critical needs
Two men in suits shake hands.
Lasting peace in Ukraine may hinge on independent monitors – yet Trump’s plan barely mentions them
Men in suits sit at a table.
Impossible translations: why we struggle to translate words when we don’t experience the concept
Four Nepali girls on a mountain ridge.
What’s the difference between a tumour and cancer?
Cervical cancer cells under microscope
Sudan’s protesters built networks to fight a tyrant – today they save lives in a war
A crowd of people standing below a large flag
Thirty years after the Balkans peace deal, a different US leadership is fumbling the war in Ukraine
Seated (left to right): President of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic, President of Croatia Franjo Tudjman, President of Bosnia Herzegovina Alija Izetbegovic; standing (left to right): Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, US President Bill Clinton, French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, UK Prime Minister John Major and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin

Understand what's going on in the world

Get the best of The Conversation in your inbox

Life and art

A brief history of mulled wine – from health tonic to festive treat

Sara Read, Loughborough University

Mulled wine, an orange and star anise.
Struggling to believe Stranger Things’ Jim Hopper as the ‘good guy’? You’re not alone
Three people stand in a dim industrial-looking room. In the foreground, a man in a white lab coat and glasses looks startled. Behind him, a bearded man points a gun into his head. A young women is standing on the right, looking down with a serious expression.
Prada buys Versace in a €1.25 billion deal. Here’s what that means for fashion
Composite image: models and handbags from each brand.
We are hardwired to sing − and it’s good for us, too
A man sings in a microphone.

Environment

Iran’s record drought and cheap fuel have sparked an air pollution crisis – but the real causes run much deeper
Cars on a busy road in Tehran.
3 reasons China wants global green leadership after COP30
Two men rolling up a Chinese flag in front of the China stand at COP30.
Iran’s capital faces unprecedented water shortages and even possible evacuation. What changes could help?
A man drinks from a bottle of water.
This year’s climate talks saw real progress – just not on fossil fuels
man and woman embrace at climate talks.

Health

Why we created a phone-sized device to take blood diagnostics out of the lab into the real world

Parth Shinde, Birla Institute of Technology and Science

A remote field clinic.
Kimchi may boost immune function, recent study shows
A pair of metal chopsticks picks up kimchi from a white bowl.
Kim Kardashian’s brain scan shows ‘low activity’ and holes. I’m a brain expert and I have questions
Kim Kardashian wearing chains round neck posing for photographers at premier
Flu shots: how scientists around the world cooperate to choose the strains to vaccinate against each year
A doctor prepares a vaccine.

Science and Technology

Can bigger-is-better ‘scaling laws’ keep AI improving forever? History says we can’t be too sure
Abstract images of lines and curves on a black background
What AI earbuds can’t replace: The value of learning another language
four diverse young people sit at a table at a cafe and talk
New Nasa lunar contest could pit Elon Musk against Jeff Bezos, as US fears China will win race to Moon
Illustration of Blue Origin's Mk1 lunar lander.
The science of weight loss – and why your brain is wired to keep you fat
Person's feet on scales on top of patterned rug.

Business and economy

Congress has been dodging responsibility for tariffs for decades. Now the Supreme Court will decide how far presidents can go
A photoillustration juxtaposes the Supreme Court building with hundred-dollar bills.
Africa’s trade deal with the US was left in limbo: what exporters can do about it
A busy textile factory floor
New study finds luxury tourism is a risky strategy for African economies
An aerial photo of a curved structure with large curved pool right on a beach and the sea, where a speedboat is seen.
The price of gold is skyrocketing. Why, and will it continue?
Gold and silver bullion are seen at Pallion in Marrickville, Sydney

The Conversation Weekly Podcast

How trafficked American guns fuel Mexico’s cartel violence – podcast
Guns on a table in Mexico.
Three scientists speak about what it’s like to have research funding cut by the Trump administration
A sign saying science helps you held up by a protestor.
Birkin v Wirkin: the backlash against the global elite and their luxury bags – podcast
A Hermes bag with a view of a city skyline behind
How AI could influence the evolution of humanity – podcast
Illustration of evolution of humanity from primates to an unknown future with a blue light.
Subscribe to The Conversation Weekly podcast

Most read this week

1.
Asia’s scamming gangs target Timor-Leste as their next frontier – but they may have misjudged the small island nation

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Asia’s scamming gangs target Timor-Leste as their next frontier – but they may have misjudged the small island nation
2.
Frank Gehry, the architect of the unconventional, the accidental, and the inspiring, has died at 96

Michael J. Ostwald, UNSW Sydney

Frank Gehry, the architect of the unconventional, the accidental, and the inspiring, has died at 96
3.
Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global

Steven Siems, Monash University and Zhaoyang Kong, Monash University

Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global
4.
Struggling to believe Stranger Things’ Jim Hopper as the ‘good guy’? You’re not alone

David Marshall, Deakin University

Struggling to believe Stranger Things’ Jim Hopper as the ‘good guy’? You’re not alone
5.
How the internet became enshittified – and how we might be able to deshittify it

Charles Barbour, Western Sydney University

How the internet became enshittified – and how we might be able to deshittify it
6.
Netflix is buying Warner Brothers. Is this the end of the cinema?

Liam Burke, Swinburne University of Technology

Netflix is buying Warner Brothers. Is this the end of the cinema?