menu_open Columnists

The Conversation

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Climate law expert: Europe’s deadly heatwaves belong in court

Climate law expert: Europe’s deadly heatwaves belong in court

The science behind Europe’s extreme heat is clear. The response isn’t.

latest 0

The Conversation

Sandra Cassotta

How to create the blackest black ever known – from nature to nanotechnology

How to create the blackest black ever known – from nature to nanotechnology

What began as a symbol of status has become a complex technological challenge.

latest 2

The Conversation

Antonios Kelarakis

The Vikings were more than bearded marauders but Scandinavia’s national museums continue to project that image

The Vikings were more than bearded marauders but Scandinavia’s national museums continue to project that image

The Vikings are big draw for tourists and museums struggle to balance the real history.

latest 0

The Conversation

Julia Håkansson

UK ‘only’ contributes 1% global emissions – but alongside many other countries, that all adds up

UK ‘only’ contributes 1% global emissions – but alongside many other countries, that all adds up

If many countries take the stance that ‘we’re only contributing 1% of global emissions’, responsibility dwindles and action stalls.

latest 2

The Conversation

Chloe Brimicombe

In our deep oceans, evolution is supercharged – this diversity of life could help unlock humanity’s greatest challenges

In our deep oceans, evolution is supercharged – this diversity of life could help unlock humanity’s greatest challenges

Deep oceans contain microbes with yet-to-be-discovered properties that could drive future innovations in biotechnology.

latest 2

The Conversation

Thomas Mock

World Cup’s credibility in question after Fifa volte face following call from Donald Trump

World Cup’s credibility in question after Fifa volte face following call from Donald Trump

The decision to change the rules because of pressure from the White House will destroy all trust in football’s governing body.

latest 5

The Conversation

Josh Bland

Community refugee sponsorship: how the Home Office can get its new safe‑and‑legal route right

Community refugee sponsorship: how the Home Office can get its new safe‑and‑legal route right

Britain has some limited experience with community sponsorship.

latest 2

The Conversation

Jacqui Broadhead

Nato summit will reveal how alliance plans to manage European security as US cuts back its support

Nato summit will reveal how alliance plans to manage European security as US cuts back its support

As ever, a lot will depend on the mood of the US president, Donald Trump.

latest 5

The Conversation

Mark Webber

Heatwaves: expert tips on redesigning UK homes to cope with hotter temperatures

Heatwaves: expert tips on redesigning UK homes to cope with hotter temperatures

Academics have been testing out how best to deal with heatwaves in two neighbouring homes to see what works.

latest 2

The Conversation

Ben Roberts

How the BBC’s Learn Cornish podcast could help boost this minority language

How the BBC’s Learn Cornish podcast could help boost this minority language

In terms of heritage, visibility and identity, this inclusive introduction to Cornish could be crucial.

latest 2

The Conversation

Merryn Davies-Deacon

New virus catalogue reveals which pathogens pose the greatest threat

New virus catalogue reveals which pathogens pose the greatest threat

Scientists discover new viruses every year. A catalogue of the riskiest ones could help us spot the next pandemic before it takes hold.

latest 7

The Conversation

Mark Woolhouse

The UK government has kept its promises on parental leave, but they weren’t bold enough

The UK government has kept its promises on parental leave, but they weren’t bold enough

Mothers still bear the majority of care work and fathers are still largely excluded or pushed to take unpaid leave.

latest 2

The Conversation

Anna Tarrant

Your summer reading list: five of the best non‑fiction reads of 2026 so far, according to our experts

Five books that span time and place, from the music scene in 80s London to the philosophical scene of Ancient Rome.

latest 6

The Conversation

Magnus Marsden

The new technologies in the UK defence investment plan

The new technologies in the UK defence investment plan

The Defence Investment Plan provides £5 billion for drone warfare.

friday 9

The Conversation

Arun Dawson

The cooling divide: how air conditioning is creating a new climate inequality

The cooling divide: how air conditioning is creating a new climate inequality

About 4% of UK homes have air conditioning, concentrated in wealthier households.

friday 6

The Conversation

Rory Jones

Why Pope Leo has excommunicated a group of conservative Catholics

Why Pope Leo has excommunicated a group of conservative Catholics

The schism reflects the deep divisions between conservative and progressive Catholics.

friday 9

The Conversation

Liam Temple

Defence investment plan should make the UK more secure – but it will need to find the money from somewhere

Defence investment plan should make the UK more secure – but it will need to find the money from somewhere

Efficiency savings can be easier to find on paper than to achieve in real life.

friday 8

The Conversation

Matthew Powell

Nanobubbles cleaned up the Lincoln reflecting pool: here’s how they could be used on dying seas and lakes

Nanobubbles cleaned up the Lincoln reflecting pool: here’s how they could be used on dying seas and lakes

Made internationally famous by their use to clean up the Lincoln Memorial pool in Washington, this tech is starting to be used globally.

friday 4

The Conversation

Gang Pan

The politics of feeling: why did ‘boring’ prime minister Keir Starmer provoke such visceral reactions?

The politics of feeling: why did ‘boring’ prime minister Keir Starmer provoke such visceral reactions?

In the post-2008 world, the political climate is often determined by emotion rather than ideology.

friday 6

The Conversation

Ben Anderson

A brief history of human pain

A brief history of human pain

While pain may be universal, our experience of it is anything but.

friday 3

The Conversation

Lars Arendt-Nielsen

Ukraine war sparks fears of an organised crime resurgence in Russia

Ukraine war sparks fears of an organised crime resurgence in Russia

Ukraine war likely to reinforce transformation to criminal networks that are more professional, militarised and embedded within state structures.

friday 10

The Conversation

Adriana Marin

Why Antarctica froze millions of years before the Arctic – new research

Why Antarctica froze millions of years before the Arctic – new research

New solutions to two interlinked mysteries reveal how and why the Antarctic’s enormous ice sheet formed.

friday 2

The Conversation

Thomas Gernon

New research challenges the idea that memories of childhood maltreatment can’t be trusted

New research challenges the idea that memories of childhood maltreatment can’t be trusted

A major new analysis of nearly 40,000 people finds memories of childhood abuse and neglect stay remarkably stable over time.

friday 3

The Conversation

Oonagh Coleman

70 years on from the killer smog: what clean air laws teach us about power, pollution and profit

70 years on from the killer smog: what clean air laws teach us about power, pollution and profit

Economic interests have shaped society’s response to pollution. Now, policy needs to align with the scientific evidence to clean up our air.

friday 10

The Conversation

Ian Williams

Are we finally about to get decent wifi on trains and planes?

Are we finally about to get decent wifi on trains and planes?

The prospect of seamless wifi coverage, whichever way you travel, could soon be a reality.

friday 3

The Conversation

Li Zhang

How creative maps make air pollution more visible

How creative maps make air pollution more visible

Researchers have transformed air quality data into maps, visualisations and exhibitions to connect people to the issues in tangible ways.

friday 6

The Conversation

Clare Nattress

Having a bad hair day? Don’t worry. My research will help you understand the problem

Having a bad hair day? Don’t worry. My research will help you understand the problem

Psychologists have spent years studying how we feel about our bodies. Now research is turning to a part of us most people obsess over daily, but...

friday 7

The Conversation

Elly Anastasiades

How radical Victorian nuns pioneered education for poor girls

How radical Victorian nuns pioneered education for poor girls

These schools were radical for their time as they countered the rigid Victorian association of women with domestic work.

friday 6

The Conversation

Alexandra Verini

How economic pressures are damaging Britain’s ‘zombie firms’

How economic pressures are damaging Britain’s ‘zombie firms’

Some companies rely on expensive borrowing to stay afloat.

friday 7

The Conversation

Erhan Kilincarslan

How the US has celebrated its independence over the years

How the US has celebrated its independence over the years

Americans have long argued over the revolution’s lessons and legacy.

friday 10

The Conversation

Sam Edwards

Digital poverty is holding university students back

Digital poverty is holding university students back

Up to 19 million people in the UK face digital poverty — and digital access is now a human right universities can’t afford to ignore.

friday 2

The Conversation

Matthew Hinton

America at 250: still a ‘democratic experiment’

America at 250: still a ‘democratic experiment’

Marking the first 250 years of the United States of America.

friday 10

The Conversation

Jonathan Este

USA at 250: the Black American struggle for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

USA at 250: the Black American struggle for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

From the very earliest days of independence, the struggle of African Americans for their rights has defined the idea of freedom in the United States.

02.07.2026 4

The Conversation

Jenny Woodley

Your summer fiction reading list: five of the best reads of 2026 so far, according to our experts

Five books that take you all over the world

02.07.2026 10

The Conversation

David Nally

Placenta as property: why every mother deserves the right to choose

Placenta as property: why every mother deserves the right to choose

For some mothers, the placenta has deep cultural meaning. Asking about it during pregnancy could prevent avoidable distress.

02.07.2026 10

The Conversation

Sarah Esegbona-Adeigbe

As the United States turns 250 there is bitter rivalry over who gets to tell the country’s story

As the United States turns 250 there is bitter rivalry over who gets to tell the country’s story

The Trump administration wants to rid America’s naitonal monuments and museums of what they see as ‘woke’ interpretations of US history.

02.07.2026 10

The Conversation

Andrea Loux Jarman

Seaweeds are not plants – and six other surprising facts about aquatic flora

Seaweeds are not plants – and six other surprising facts about aquatic flora

The rules for plants can be different in water.

02.07.2026 8

The Conversation

Alexander Bowles

Why the UK government needed to apologise for its role in historical forced adoptions in England

Why the UK government needed to apologise for its role in historical forced adoptions in England

In a religious culture rooted in shame, up to half a million children in the UK and Ireland were put up for adoption without their mothers’ consent.

02.07.2026 6

The Conversation

Lindsey Earner-Byrne

How an El Niño becomes a super El Niño

How an El Niño becomes a super El Niño

Climate expert Ioana Colfescu talks to The Conversation Weekly podcast about predicting the impact of El Niño.

02.07.2026 10

The Conversation

Gemma Ware

The Bayeux tapestry and the hidden history of the women who embroidered it

The Bayeux tapestry and the hidden history of the women who embroidered it

The 70-metre embroidery will be displayed at the British Museum from September.

02.07.2026 9

The Conversation

Stephanie Brown

Why the UK government needed to apologise for its role in historic forced adoptions in England

Why the UK government needed to apologise for its role in historic forced adoptions in England

Between 300,000 and 500,000 children in the UK and Ireland were put up for adoption without their mothers’ consent.

02.07.2026 5

The Conversation

Lindsey Earner-Byrne

Smartphones are helping filmmakers tell the stories the movie industry overlooks

Smartphones are helping filmmakers tell the stories the movie industry overlooks

I wanted to make a film about solo parenting in all its messiness, the highs, but also the lows. I shot with my smartphone, almost daily, for nearly...

02.07.2026 9

The Conversation

Victoria Mapplebeck

Immigration and asylum bill: why yet another attempt to overhaul the system won’t work

Immigration and asylum bill: why yet another attempt to overhaul the system won’t work

If passed, it will be the fifth immigration act adopted in five parliamentary sessions.

02.07.2026 8

The Conversation

Sarah Singer

State of emergency in Crimea as Ukraine focuses pressure on ‘jewel in Putin’s crown’

State of emergency in Crimea as Ukraine focuses pressure on ‘jewel in Putin’s crown’

Crimea has been the symbol of the success of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But now the peninsula is becoming isolated as Kyiv intensifies its attacks.

02.07.2026 9

The Conversation

Jennifer Mathers

Confessions II: why Madonna still matters

Confessions II: why Madonna still matters

There are many more female artists in the 2020s than the early 1980s, but none is as iconoclastic as Madonna, more than 40 years on from her debut.

02.07.2026 10

The Conversation

Joel Gray

Comet from another star has a composition unlike anything else in our solar system

Comet from another star has a composition unlike anything else in our solar system

The chemical constituents of 3I/Atlas are a sign of its exotic origin.

02.07.2026 2

The Conversation

Matthew Hopkins

Schools should teach children more about how money works

Schools should teach children more about how money works

Money matters are a vital part of education.

02.07.2026 10

The Conversation

Narmin Nahidi

Five hidden pitfalls of fitness tracking

Five hidden pitfalls of fitness tracking

Fitness trackers often privilege steps over strength, rest and context, which can leave some users with a distorted view of health.

02.07.2026 7

The Conversation

Sahar Bakr

Maternity care needs more than answers: it needs change

Maternity care needs more than answers: it needs change

Scrutiny is essential after harm. But repeated reviews without delivery can damage staff trust and weaken patient safety.

01.07.2026 10

The Conversation

Gemma Stacey

America at 250: five times the US constitution has come under threat

America at 250: five times the US constitution has come under threat

Each generation of Americans has confronted its own version of constitutional peril.

01.07.2026 9

The Conversation

Sarah Trott