Who we are

The Conversation is an independent source of news analysis and informed comment written by academic experts, working with professional journalists who help share their knowledge with the world.

Access to expertise through high quality, independent journalism is key to a well-functioning democracy. The Conversation aims to provide the expert insight needed to better understand current affairs and the complex issues we face. Our team of editors work with experts drawn from universities and research institutes across the world, sharing their knowledge in a way that is accessible to non-specialists. Bringing expert insights to current affairs, explaining new research findings, or shining a light on topics that deserve greater discussion, we strive to improve the quality of public debate and ultimately to help everyone make better, more well-informed decisions.

The Conversation aims to help rebuild trust in journalism. All authors and editors sign up to our Editorial Charter. Contributors must abide by our community standards policy. Authors are only commissioned to write on subjects within their fields of expertise, and must disclose funding and potential conflicts of interest alongside their articles. On The Conversation you can find trustworthy, fact-filled articles on topics from science, health, climate change and the environment, politics and society research, economics and business in theory and practice, history, arts and culture.

We believe in open access and the free-flow of information. The Conversation is free to read (we’ll never go behind a paywall), and our content is free to share or republish under a Creative Commons CC-BY-ND licence – just follow our simple republishing guidelines. Our articles are syndicated by PA Media and Reuters news agencies to other media, and are republished by thousands of other outlets worldwide.

The Conversation is an indispensable resource for the media: a source of free, quality content, ideas and a pool of expert writers with whom journalists can follow-up for print, web, radio or television.

The Conversation in the UK is part of The Conversation International network, made up of ten editions which operate in 14 countries.

A membership organisation, we are funded by our university partners, with support from UKRI, Research England and other higher education and research sector funding bodies. We now count on the support of scores of universities across the UK, Ireland and Europe. Our sincere thanks to our member universities and their academics and researchers who write for us, without which The Conversation would fall silent.

Our newsroom is based in London, with editors also located in Scotland, Wales, and around England. But our team is part of a global newsroom able to share content across The Conversation’s international editions and around the world to an audience of millions.

Alongside the support of our member institutions, The Conversation is supported by the generous donations of readers, to whom we are hugely grateful.

The Conversation in the UK is owned and operated by The Conversation Trust (UK) Limited, an educational charity and company limited by guarantee, and is a registered Charity in England and Wales and in Scotland.

The Conversation began in Melbourne, Australia, in March 2011, created and founded by Andrew Jaspan with the support of business strategist Jack Rejtman and the University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis. The UK edition launched in May 2013, followed by editions in the US (2014), South Africa and France (2015), Canada, Indonesia and New Zealand (2017), Spain (2018), and Brasil (2023).