Marilyn Monroe at 100: Hollywood made her a myth – she spent her life resisting itFiona Handyside, University of Exeter
What counts as queer art? New book expands the boundaries of identity and expressionSarah Pucill, University of Westminster
Unearthing Namibia’s forgotten genocide through forensic archaeologyWilliam Mitchell, University of Huddersfield and Kevin Colls, University of Huddersfield
Marilyn Monroe’s final home – and the life she imagined within itAna Salzberg, University of Edinburgh
Britain’s textile history told through 22 museums and archivesRebekah Pickering Wood, Nottingham Trent University
Moss & Freud: this anodyne portrait of their artist-muse friendship lacks dramatic biteBarry Langford, Royal Holloway, University of London
Are we getting tired of superheroes? The evidence might surprise youRoman Pavlyuchenko, University of Bath
Inside the Backrooms: the internet horror world built by its usersSophie James, Lancaster University and James Cronin, Lancaster University
Married at First Sight: does reality TV’s duty of care support participants – or the industry?Emily Coleman, The Open University
Agatha Christie: what made the world’s bestselling author so successful? Here’s a clueGill Plain, University of St Andrews
John of John: weaving an island tale of secrets that lie beneath repression and shameStevie Marsden, Edinburgh Napier University
Taiwan Travelogue wins 2026 International Booker – a deftly translated tale of food, love and historyEva Cheuk-Yin Li, King's College London
Cathedrals by Claudia Piñeiro is a gripping Argentinian crime story about gender violence and the weaponisation of religionHelen Vassallo, University of Exeter
A handpicked history of floral art, kabuki on screen and a poetry competition – what to see, do and create this weekAnna Walker, The Conversation
Pets, plants and a ‘coming-of-old-age’ story – what to see and watch this weekAnna Walker, The Conversation
A surrealist fashionista, a Nazi fantasist and the return of Atwood’s Handmaids – what to see, read and watch this weekJane Wright, The Conversation
SNL UK is a welcome comedy of errors – what to watch, listen to and read this weekNaomi Joseph, The Conversation
How London, Paris and New York coped in the heatwaves of the pastChloe Duteil, University of Liverpool; Daniel Cumming, Queens College, CUNY, and Jon Winder, University of Liverpool
The Bayeux Tapestry tells only the winner’s story – but the other side can be found in old English textsCatherine Clarke, School of Advanced Study, University of London
From ancient kings to Trump and Xi: when did humans start shaking hands? And why?Louise Pryke, University of Sydney
Art in exile on show at London’s Iranian Contemporary Art BiennaleKatayoun Shahandeh, SOAS, University of London
Murals, myths and belonging: how art is reshaping South GreenlandKathrin Maurer, University of Southern Denmark
Why a 1,500-year-old monastic rulebook still challenges what it means to live a meaningful lifeEd Krčma, University of East Anglia and Jessica Barker, Courtauld Institute of Art
Raghu Rai: the trailblazing photographer who documented the vast diversity of a changing IndiaParvati Nair, Queen Mary University of London
Paula Rego’s Story Line – an exhibition that invites exploration of the ambiguous narratives the Portuguese artist drewAlexandra Lourenço Dias, King's College London
Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue is the highest selling jazz record of all time – he thought it was a failureRichard Worth, University of Liverpool
Can you own a voice? Taylor Swift’s latest legal move raises big questions for AI and copyrightJustin Morey, Leeds Beckett University
Why indie sleaze feels nostalgic – even for people who never lived itLucy Bennett, Cardiff University
Westlife at 25: how the boyband emerged during Ireland’s economic boomPat Collins, University of Galway
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is an early exploration of ‘romance fraud’Emma Linford, University of Hull
Want to understand Honoré de Balzac? Try Dungeons & Dragons instead of literary theoryHarsh Trivedi, University of Sheffield
Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure criticised university elitism – it still rings true todayShelley Galpin, King's College London
Odysseus the destroyer? Christopher Nolan’s new Odyssey adaptation revives an ancient moral questionMichael La Corte, University of Tübingen and Stephan Blum, University of Tübingen
World Cup 2026: why moving games to evenings isn’t enough to tackle extreme heat problemDonal Mullan, Queen's University Belfast
The Enhanced Games: ‘dangerous clown show’ or a wake-up call for traditional sport?Mathew Dowling, Loughborough University; Alex Thurston, Loughborough University, and Jinsu Byun, Yonsei University
A football World Cup is a global cultural exchange. How will that work in Trump’s America?Chuka Onwumechili, Howard University
How World Cup filming has evolved since the last US tournament – from spider cameras to AI and dronesJoe Towns, Cardiff Metropolitan University
The TV industry still struggles with class inequality – access alone won’t fix itBeth Johnson, University of Leeds
This year’s Venice Biennale marks a major shift in European cultural politicsClare Carolin, King's College London
What Iran’s absence from the Venice Biennale reveals about art and politicsKatayoun Shahandeh, SOAS, University of London
The V&A catalogue row shows China’s censorship now travels through cultural supply chainsGe Chen, Durham University
What women’s work songs reveal about the changing climateReetika Revathy Subramanian, University of East Anglia
How artists are tracking environmental change through poetry, film and soundFiona Brehony, The Open University
How scientists and artists can collaborate to cut through ‘ecofatigue’ and inspire positive actionIan Williams, University of Southampton
Indie sleaze: a brief fashion history, from messy rebellion to mainstream revivalCatrin Cousins, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Jo Wiltshire, Cardiff Metropolitan University
The Epstein Files: the AI podcast that sounds like journalism but isn’tKathryn McDonald, Bournemouth University
School dinners are changing: the strong emotions and memories around these meals reflect their social, economic and cultural importanceHeather Ellis, University of Sheffield
The 2026 Met Gala dress code is ‘Fashion is Art’. But is it?Grace Waye-Harris, Australian Catholic University; Adelaide University
How studying friendship has changed the way I understand my own lonelinessMarie-Elisabeth Lei Pihl, University of Copenhagen
