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Opinion
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- The Conversation (UK) Read
Substance-use disorders linked to sixfold higher risk of suicidal behaviour – new study
In my work as an addiction psychiatrist, I meet people whose lives have been severely affected by alcohol or drug use, often alongside other forms of mental distress.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
Marie Antoinette at 20: Sofia Coppola’s playfully postmodern period drama is finally getting the praise it deserves
This autumn, a unique event is taking place in the Petit Trianon, the small summer house tucked among the formal flowerbeds of the sprawling Château de Versailles estate.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
Women in architecture: the damaging workplace culture pushing talented professionals out
It’s been more than 20 years since the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) and the the Fawcett Society published a landmark 2003 study, Why Do Women Leave Architecture? And one thing is unmistakably clear: the profession has not moved far enough or fast enough to support women.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
National Year of Reading: linguistic diversity should be central to reading for pleasure intiatives
The UK’s National Year of Reading is asking people across the country to “go all in” on reading. But this invitation raises questions for many families: reading what, in which language and in what form?
- The Conversation (UK) Read
The mental health of politicians is a critical issue - we should all care
When political leaders disclose mental health challenges, the public debate usually focuses on their personal experiences, resilience and even electoral prospects.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
What space travel teaches us about sleep and circadian rhythms
On Earth, most of us rarely have to think about the signals that keep our internal clocks aligned. The Sun rises, daylight changes, darkness arrives and morning comes again.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
What Denmark and Britain have in common: football, beer and betting
The new Premier League season is now well underway and for many football fans, that means crowded pubs, beers with friends and betting on favourite teams. These rituals can often feel like a natural part of the game.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
Lab-grown ‘mini-bladder’ helps explain why urinary tract infections keep coming back
For many people, a urinary tract infection (UTI) doesn’t really end when the antibiotics run out. The burning and constant trips to the toilet fade, then return weeks or months later.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
What your eyes could reveal about your heart health
More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek mathematician Euclid began his treatise Optics with an assumption that now sounds peculiar: visual rays travelled out from the eye towards the objects we see.
- Magazine Read
The Loneliest Man in American Politics Has an Army
Shunned by both parties, a furious blue-state outsider offers a glimpse of MAGA without Trump
- The Conversation (UK) Read
Evidence of the very real trauma of war in Ukraine
Overnight on Wednesday, which marked 1,680 days since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia unleashed a heavy barrage of strikes against energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other major cities. As weather forecasters predict freezing overnight temperatures in coming days, many suspect this is the beginning of a campaign to knock out Ukraine’s grid and leave people in the cold and darkness as winter approaches.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
The UK’s pension triple lock has done its job and needs to be retired
The UK’s pension triple lock has only been in place for 15 years. But it’s done the job it was brought in to do, and now it should be scrapped.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
Social media hasn’t killed personal style, it’s killed how we communicate it
This summer, social media was filled with posts declaring that almost anything was “kinda chic”. Repeating outfits was kinda chic. Being overdressed was kinda chic. Doing something unfashionable could, apparently, also be kinda chic.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
How deep do AI relationships really go? An expert in attachment theory explains
Can AI-human connections ever meet the psychological criteria of attachment – the relationships that hold people’s lives together?
- The Conversation (UK) Read
One in three Ukrainian civilians estimated to meet the criteria for PTSD or complex PTSD – new study
Resilience is a word frequently used to describe the way Ukrainian society has responded to the war with Russia. It’s a term that can inspire sympathy and mobilise support. But it also risks overshadowing effects of war that require both domestic and international attention to enable Ukraine to withstand Russia’s invasion and manage long-term recovery.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
How the new Great British Grid could help households benefit from abundant and cheap renewable power
Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s proposal to create a new Great British Grid has put a spotlight on one of the UK’s biggest energy challenges: connection queues. But building a larger grid to accommodate renewable energy is only half the problem. Britain also needs to get better at using electricity when it is abundant and cheap.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
Serbia’s president has resigned – but intends to remain in control
Aleksandar Vučić resigned as Serbia’s president on September 27, announcing that he intends to head his party’s list in upcoming parliamentary elections instead. If his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) succeeds in these elections, which are scheduled for October 25, Vučić would become Serbia’s next prime minister.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
As Baltic states face Russian hybrid aggression, our research shows what Europe can do
EU defence ministers assembled in Brussels on September 28 to try to formulate a response to increasing Russian aggression in Europe. The talks focused on Russia’s strategy of hybrid warfare – that is, hostile acts that fall below the threshold of actual war.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
The Traitors: the psychology works differently for celebrity players like Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan
Twenty-two people enter a castle with the intention of lying, trusting, murdering and banishing each other. The format of the Traitors is now well established, but the celebrity version of the show highlights some interesting psychological biases.
- The Conversation (UK) Read
North Sea, Nature Untamed puts personal wonder back into nature documentaries
A new film exploring the vibrant marine life of the North Sea marks veteran underwater cinematographer Peter van Rodijnen’s first foray into producing and narrating. Above all, it is a cameraman’s film. Packed with beautiful, hard-to-capture footage, it showcases two decades of refined craft.
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