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

A crowd of people walk through a public square in Moscow.

How the ‘geopolitical stigma’ associated with Putin’s Russia is affecting ordinary Russians

Marina Yusupova-Ryder, Edinburgh Napier University

Young voters fear mass shootings but are divided on gun control

Jillian Turanovic, University of Colorado Boulder and Kristin Lloyd, Clemson University

A young woman with curly hair and wearing an 'I Voted' sticker fastens a pin to her denim jacket.

Can Ethiopia ever be at peace? Four reasons conflict keeps flaring up

Alemayehu Fentaw Weldemariam, Indiana University

A group of men walking on a street wearing T-shirts with the Ethiopian flag colours

Japan’s MMX mission aims to swipe soil samples from Mars’ moon Phobos

Daniel Brown, Nottingham Trent University

A Ukrainian soldier operates drones via a laptop using satellite communication tools.

Is the US limiting Starlink in Ukraine? The consequences could be catastrophic

Anthony King, University of Exeter

Earth’s oldest evidence of life is written in stone – but it’s at risk of disappearing

Heidi Jane Allen, The University of Melbourne

A lakeshore under blue sky with curious black rock like shapes strewn across the sand.

Cities are sinking – but citywide averages hide the real problem

Emma Colven, King's College London and Zahratu Shabrina, King's College London

Replacing just 10% of ultra-processed foods with whole foods linked to drop in bowel cancer rate

Erikka Loftfield, QIMR Berghofer

A woman reaches for fruits and vegetables at a market.

The mafia isn’t keeping fentanyl out of Europe – the lack of demand is

Anna Sergi, Università di Bologna; University of Essex; The University of Melbourne

Dollar bills, a fentanyl powder pack and a syringe on a dark table.

A separatist supporter with an Alberta flag.

In Alberta, far-right populism fuelled by conspiracy theories and alienation drive bid to separate from Canada

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Yemen’s Houthis are bringing their war to Saudi Arabia – and reframing the narrative of being an Iranian proxy

Laurent Bonnefoy, Sciences Po

Fiirefighters at the scene of a Russian strike on an apartment building in Kharkiv.

‘Sodcit’ – after battlefield setbacks, Russia returns to destroying Ukraine’s morale

Tracey German, King's College London

Scientists on skis stand on a glacier with mountains in the background.

300 glaciers have disappeared from the American West since the mid-20th century – the survivors have a few things in common

Andrew Fountain, Portland State University

Is this the ‘mathocalypse’? Why OpenAI’s latest results dump has left mathematicians in shock

Melissa Lee, Monash University

Prime’s Carrie miniseries expands Stephen King’s story – but weakens its central horror

Ahmed Honeini, Royal Holloway, University of London

Carrie covered in blood and surrounded by flames in a prom queen tiara.

Maricarmen Abascal: how a disabled, evicted 87-year-old woman became a political football in Spain’s upcoming election

Dolors Palau-Sampio, Universitat de València

A small memorial to Maricarmen Abascal stands at the housing camp in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, Spain

From ‘A Little Princess’ to ‘Black Panther,’ how Hollywood films have reimagined the South Asian epic ‘Ramayana’

Sohini Sarah Pillai, Kalamazoo College

‘Ramayana’ appears on a giant cinema screen, with two characters facing each other amid a backdrop of swirling purple and golden clouds.

Donald Trump aligns with Vladimir Putin yet again, leaving Ukraine – and US relations with Europe – under pressure

Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham

US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin stand togather on a red carpet in Alaska.

Yemen is spiralling into another civil war that could swiftly engulf in the entire region

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

A Paris street full of protesters carryng banners

French student protests: comparisons with 1968 will only serve the political extremes

David Lees, University of Warwick

Silvery fish swimming through aqua water with other fish in background

Hooked on tuna: People have been harvesting these ocean predators for 44,000 years

Emma Elliott Smith, Smithsonian Institution; University of New Mexico and Torben Rick, Smithsonian Institution

Snakebites are a far bigger problem than we knew: new study maps the hidden dangers

Dileepa Ediriweera, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

How a botched execution and proposed livestream of a firing squad fit in to the US’ death penalty history

Carolyn Strange, Australian National University

Sudan’s death toll in 2025 could be as high as 100,000: how we did the count

Paola Vesco, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO); Amber Deniz, Uppsala University; David Randahl, Swedish Defence University; Johan Brosché, Uppsala University, and Magnus Öberg, Uppsala University

A view of a few empty homes and burnt out vehicle in a field

The death of a Russian plague researcher, explained by a microbiologist

Thomas Jeffries, Western Sydney University

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Life and art

Possessed nuns and sexual deviance: the history behind Ken Russell’s highly-censored film The Devils

Philip C. Almond, The University of Queensland and Brendan C. Walsh, The University of Queensland

DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island is a joyous, painful love letter to the Filipino diaspora

Kristine Aquino, University of Technology Sydney

A colourful animated still showing to young women sitting across from each other with mountains and sea in the background.

Manchester City supporters have been gaslit. What happens now?

Josh Bland, University of Cambridge

Photograph of crowded street, blue buses and Manchester City fans waving flags

Taylor Swift’s new video marks her ghostly return to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca

Emma L. Davies, University of Bristol

Taylor Swift and Mrs de Winter from Hitchcock's Rebecca.

Environment

Africa’s rhinos often get the spotlight – but Indonesia’s two rhino species are far closer to extinction

Michelle Campbell-Ward, University of Sydney

A female Sumatran rhino with her newly-born calf, surrounded by forest.

Rising CO₂ is making African savanna grasses grow more – what this means for grazing, fire and carbon storage

Kimberley Simpson, University of Sheffield

A grassy patch of land with blue skies and white fluffy clouds behind it.

Cities across the world are sinking because of groundwater depletion. But the process can be reversed

Jesse Kearse, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

A city with high tides spilling over a seawall

Arctic infrastructure was built on frozen ground that’s starting to thaw – drones can help spot the permafrost changes coming

Ming Xiao, Penn State

An aerial view of a small coastal village

Health

Why old dogs might be able to teach Alzheimer’s researchers new tricks

Julie Moreno, Colorado State University

Close-up of dog's face as a person cups its jaw with their hands and kisses the top of its head.

One in eight cancers are likely caused by an infection worldwide – new study

John (Eddie) La Marca, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) and Sarah Diepstraten, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)

Bangladesh has lost 900 children to measles – a warning to other countries where vaccine rates have slipped

Vikram Niranjan, University of Limerick and Colum P. Dunne, University of Limerick

A child receives treatment after showing measles-like symptoms at DNCC Dedicated Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 18 September 2026.

The International Olympic Committee wants mental health screening in elite sports. Here’s why

Rosemary Purcell, The University of Melbourne

An athlete holds his head in his hands, surrounded by teammates.

Science and Technology

Secret chambers in Tutankhamun’s tomb could hold the burial of a lost Egyptian queen – we may get answers soon

Jay Silverstein, Nottingham Trent University

The golden mask of King Tutankhamun on display at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.

Social media hasn’t killed personal style, it’s killed how we communicate it

Catherine Greenwood, University of Lancashire

Girl walking across a cross walk surrounded by coffee and accessories.

US tech leaders are urgently calling for rules on AI – China already has them

Madeline Carr, UCL

How can the same El Niño cause drought in one part of the world and floods in another?

Ligin Joseph, University of Southampton

Business and economy

How ‘egalitarian’ Sweden became more comfortable with wealth

Håkan Johansson, Lund University and Axel Vikström, Lund University

aerial view of island chain and assembled yachts off the coast of stockholm, sweden.

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

Claire Wright, University of Technology Sydney

A group of businessmen laughing while looking at a chart

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

Leonora Risse, Queensland University of Technology and Elise Stephenson, Australian National University

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

Why you should live your life like an accountant – and how you probably already do

Jack Campbell, Dublin City University

Man wearing glasses in suit sitting at desk holding pen and paper in front of abacus

The Conversation Weekly Podcast

Could a former IDF chief break Benjamin Netanyahu’s grip on power in Israel?

Listen

An advertisement featuring Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition leader of the Yashar centrist political party Gadi Eisenkot

Government hacks, rogue agents and no transparency: can we ever fully trust AI?

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Listen

Person with a laptop and illustration of AI with cogs projected in front.

Australia’s ‘barking mad’ bet on nuclear submarines – the AUKUS deal five years on

Isabella Podwinski, The Conversation and Justin Bergman, The Conversation

Listen

People stand aboard a submarine, submerged in the ocean

Ratko Mladić: the war criminal who became a martyr for Bosnian Serbs

Isabella Podwinski, The Conversation and Justin Bergman, The Conversation

Listen

A crowd of people carrying flags depicting Ratko Mladić face and the Serbian flag

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

Top stories

How the ‘geopolitical stigma’ associated with Putin’s Russia is affecting ordinary Russians

Young voters fear mass shootings but are divided on gun control

Can Ethiopia ever be at peace? Four reasons conflict keeps flaring up

Japan’s MMX mission aims to swipe soil samples from Mars’ moon Phobos

Is the US limiting Starlink in Ukraine? The consequences could be catastrophic

Earth’s oldest evidence of life is written in stone – but it’s at risk of disappearing

Cities are sinking – but citywide averages hide the real problem

Replacing just 10% of ultra-processed foods with whole foods linked to drop in bowel cancer rate

The mafia isn’t keeping fentanyl out of Europe – the lack of demand is

In Alberta, far-right populism fuelled by conspiracy theories and alienation drive bid to separate from Canada

Yemen’s Houthis are bringing their war to Saudi Arabia – and reframing the narrative of being an Iranian proxy

‘Sodcit’ – after battlefield setbacks, Russia returns to destroying Ukraine’s morale

300 glaciers have disappeared from the American West since the mid-20th century – the survivors have a few things in common

Is this the ‘mathocalypse’? Why OpenAI’s latest results dump has left mathematicians in shock

Prime’s Carrie miniseries expands Stephen King’s story – but weakens its central horror

Maricarmen Abascal: how a disabled, evicted 87-year-old woman became a political football in Spain’s upcoming election

From ‘A Little Princess’ to ‘Black Panther,’ how Hollywood films have reimagined the South Asian epic ‘Ramayana’

Donald Trump aligns with Vladimir Putin yet again, leaving Ukraine – and US relations with Europe – under pressure

Yemen is spiralling into another civil war that could swiftly engulf in the entire region

French student protests: comparisons with 1968 will only serve the political extremes

Hooked on tuna: People have been harvesting these ocean predators for 44,000 years

Snakebites are a far bigger problem than we knew: new study maps the hidden dangers

How a botched execution and proposed livestream of a firing squad fit in to the US’ death penalty history

Sudan’s death toll in 2025 could be as high as 100,000: how we did the count

The death of a Russian plague researcher, explained by a microbiologist

Understand what's going on in the world

Life and art

Possessed nuns and sexual deviance: the history behind Ken Russell’s highly-censored film The Devils

DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island is a joyous, painful love letter to the Filipino diaspora

Manchester City supporters have been gaslit. What happens now?

Taylor Swift’s new video marks her ghostly return to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca

Environment

Africa’s rhinos often get the spotlight – but Indonesia’s two rhino species are far closer to extinction

Rising CO₂ is making African savanna grasses grow more – what this means for grazing, fire and carbon storage

Cities across the world are sinking because of groundwater depletion. But the process can be reversed

Arctic infrastructure was built on frozen ground that’s starting to thaw – drones can help spot the permafrost changes coming

Health

Why old dogs might be able to teach Alzheimer’s researchers new tricks

One in eight cancers are likely caused by an infection worldwide – new study

Bangladesh has lost 900 children to measles – a warning to other countries where vaccine rates have slipped

The International Olympic Committee wants mental health screening in elite sports. Here’s why

Science and Technology

Secret chambers in Tutankhamun’s tomb could hold the burial of a lost Egyptian queen – we may get answers soon

Social media hasn’t killed personal style, it’s killed how we communicate it

US tech leaders are urgently calling for rules on AI – China already has them

How can the same El Niño cause drought in one part of the world and floods in another?

Business and economy

How ‘egalitarian’ Sweden became more comfortable with wealth

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

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

Why you should live your life like an accountant – and how you probably already do

The Conversation Weekly Podcast

Could a former IDF chief break Benjamin Netanyahu’s grip on power in Israel?

Government hacks, rogue agents and no transparency: can we ever fully trust AI?

Australia’s ‘barking mad’ bet on nuclear submarines – the AUKUS deal five years on

Ratko Mladić: the war criminal who became a martyr for Bosnian Serbs

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Snakebites are a far bigger problem than we knew: new study maps the hidden dangers

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Trump misses out on Nobel Prize again and imposes new sanctions on the International Criminal Court. What does it mean?

Sally Rooney’s books are being withdrawn from sale in the UK, due to her support for Palestine Action

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Is this the ‘mathocalypse’? Why OpenAI’s latest results dump has left mathematicians in shock