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Garritt C van Dyk

Garritt C van Dyk

The Conversation

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Distant voices: how the revival of ta rē Moriori lets us hear the true history of Rēkohu

The second Moriori language week – ta wik’ a ta rē Moriori – celebrates the voices of a people whose rich culture and history were once nearly...

12.10.2026 100

The Conversation

Garritt C. van Dyk

One grain to rule them all: the history of rice as a global food

Where did rice come from? And how did it spread to become the foundation of global food security?

28.07.2026 40

The Conversation

Garritt C. van Dyk

A brief history of popcorn – and its cinema snack sidekicks

Throughout the history of cinema, popcorn has been both scorned as a messy lowbrow distraction and hailed as a profit-making saviour.

07.07.2026 50

The Conversation

Garritt C van Dyk

Trump welcomes Columbus to the White House – and reignites America’s history wars

By resurrecting statues toppled in protests during his first term, Donald Trump wants to reverse attempts to ‘erase history’. But history is never...

06.04.2026 50

The Conversation

Garritt C van Dyk

Monumental ambitions: the history behind Trump’s triumphal arch

From ancient Rome to Napoleon’s Paris, the triumphal arch has long memorialised imperial dreams. Is Donald Trump on track to realise his own in...

29.01.2026 60

The Conversation

Garritt C van Dyk

Inside scoop: the 2,500-year history of ice-cream

You can trace your summer treat all the way back to the ‘ice pits’ developed in the Persian desert in 550 BCE.

31.12.2025 90

The Conversation

Garritt C van Dyk

Comedians and kings: is Donald Trump reviving the ancient crime of lèse-majest é?

Donald Trump’s claim that some satire could be ‘illegal’ harks back to an age when criticising a monarch could see the offender drawn and quartered.

18.11.2025 50

The Conversation

Garritt C van Dyk

'Sewer socialism’ revival changed NYC election

06.11.2025 50

The New Daily

Garritt C van Dyk

How a ‘sewer socialism’ revival could see Zohran Mamdani become New York’s next mayor

A pragmatic form of socialism based on improving ordinary people’s lives is winning votes – and making powerful enemies – in equal measure.

28.10.2025 50

The Conversation

Garritt C van Dyk

Instant ramen: a short history of a long noodle

The origin story behind instant ramen reveals working-class roots and innovative cooking techniques.

19.09.2025 50

The Conversation

Garritt C van Dyk