Pets, plants and a ‘coming-of-old-age’ story – what to see and watch this weekAnna Walker, The Conversation
How to Enter the Art World by Hettie Judah offers a smørgasbord of sage adviceBenedict Carpenter van Barthold, Nottingham Trent University
Turner prize 2026 shortlist points to sculpture as a way of thinking about power, ecology and beliefMartin Lang, University of Lincoln
The many literary lives of Mary Wollstonecraft – author of novels, travel writing and children’s booksAditi Upmanyu, University of Oxford
Needlecraft: this hobby has a long history as a subversive form of protestHelen Pleasance, York St John University
Euphoria: thoughtless depictions of adults pretending to be sexualised infants are extremely harmfulSophie King-Hill, University of Birmingham and Kieran McCartan, University of the West of England
Chernobyl: the five best things to watch and play to understand the disasterFannie Frederikke Baden, Lund University
Mint: new BBC crime drama is visually dazzling but emotionally thinLaura Minor, University of Salford
Reading shortcuts for children may be popular, but the research doesn’t back them upHolly Joseph, University of Reading
Dan Dare is blasting off again: why, as a scientist, I’m excited for the comics’ returnElizabeth Stanway, University of Warwick
Five books about the lives of musicians that are stonking good readsGlenn Fosbraey, University of Winchester
Five Paddington books to read with your child, and why the bear on the page is different and worth meetingMelanie Ramdarshan Bold, University of Glasgow and Aishwarya Subramanian, O.P. Jindal Global University
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
Oscar contenders and women of substance – what to watch, read and see this weekAnna Walker, The Conversation
Wallace & Gromit, Biba style and the irrepressible Tracey Emin: what to visit and see this weekJane Wright, The Conversation
Consent is a core principle in the Kamasutra – what we can learn from it todaySharha, Cardiff Metropolitan University
The Victorian sex abuse scandal that shocked Britain and changed the law – long before EpsteinClaire Cunnington, University of Sheffield and Caroline Derry, The Open University
Archaeologists have discovered 12,000-year-old dice – here’s what they reveal about the history of playAris Politopoulos, Leiden University; Angus Mol, Leiden University, and Walter Crist, Leiden University
Cairo’s City of the Dead is more than a cemetery – it’s a living neighbourhood at riskLamya Elsabban, Nottingham Trent University
Hands off my hat! The hidden power of headwear and ‘hatiquette’ in early modern England – new studyBernard Capp, University of Warwick
Joan Eardley: ‘she would set up her canvas on the shore and paint in the lashing wind and rain like a woman possessed’Blane Savage, University of the West of Scotland
Seeds of Exchange reveals the untold story of the plant collectors who connected Canton and London in the 18th centuryMax Carter-Brown, Anglia Ruskin University
Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show reveals a spectacular 125 years of runway historyMal James, University of Edinburgh
Greece’s new laws crack down on art fakes and forgeries – an expert in the market for shady art explains why they might backfireAnja Shortland, King's College London
The five best Lake District museums – recommended by a historianChristopher Donaldson, Lancaster University
Easter has a soundtrack just like Christmas, so why do we never hear it?Wendy Hargreaves, University of Southern Queensland
Sex Pistols at 50: how punk’s most notorious band became part of the mainstreamAdam Behr, Newcastle University
My baby loves children’s music, but I don’t – what can we listen to together?Emily Dollman, Adelaide University
Lady Gaga’s Mayhem Ball reveals the gothic tradition behind modern celebrityHarriet Fletcher, Anglia Ruskin University
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
A seat on the bench isn’t enough: what Fifa’s new women’s football rule gets right (and wrong)Kerry Harris, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Why it’s impossible for the Olympics to be politically neutralGregory Krippa, Loughborough University
The 2026 Winter Olympics are the most geographically dispersed ever – here’s why that could be a good thingKarin Book, Malmö University
The V&A catalogue row shows China’s censorship now travels through cultural supply chainsGe Chen, Durham University
The National Gallery’s £750m new wing has reignited London’s art turf warJonathan Conlin, University of Southampton
‘Opera needs to attract good writers and tell better stories’: four experts on how opera can survive, thrive and reach new audiencesJen Harvie, Queen Mary University of London; Edward Venn, University of Leeds; Jennifer Daniel, Edge Hill University, and Kiera Vaclavik, Queen Mary University of London
Glasgow fire: how treasured buildings influence our sense of belonging and connectionSarah Kerr, University College Cork
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
Climate storytelling often ignores young people – arts-based research can change thatBobby Smith, University of Warwick
How politics, technology and the environmental crisis turned these movies into horror films in 2026Alexander Sergeant, University of Westminster
How Bafta helped elevate the video game to a respected art form worthy of celebrationCharlotte Gislam, University of Salford and Neta Yodovich, University of Salford
Video game nostalgia is powerful – but it only works if developers understand the psychology behind itAlan Stewart, University of Portsmouth and Peter Howell, University of Portsmouth
Home or away? Why planning a sustainable holiday is about more than swapping planes for trainsSarah Barfield Marks, University of Bath
Noma wouldn’t be the first – in elite kitchens abuse is worn as a badge of honour and suffering is rewardedRebecca Scott, Cardiff University
My surname makes people laugh – so I turned it into a research communication toolAndrew Mycock, University of Leeds
40 years on from the disaster, why there are foxes, bears and bison again around ChernobylNick Dunn, Lancaster University
