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Brazil election: what I saw on the streets made me cautiously optimistic
I was in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, as the votes were being counted for the nation’s presidential election. The atmosphere was tense among supporters of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after the first round where his lead was much narrower thanContinue Reading
The Crown series 5 review: the royal family remains as relevant as ever
Review at a glance T he fifth series of The Crown opens to a fanfare of controversy and with a thumping ocean-going metaphor. The first episode starts with the young Queen launching the royal yacht Britannia with the hope that “this brand new vessel, like your brand new Queen, willContinue Reading
How to depolarise deeply divided societies – podcast
From the US to Brazil to India, deepening political polarisation is used as a frame through which to see a lot of 21st-century politics. But what can actually be done to depolarise deeply divided societies, particularly democracies? In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast we speak to a politicalContinue Reading
Iran: hijab protests reflect society-wide anger at regime which trashes rule of law and human rights
The death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s morality police in September for not wearing the hijab properly was a fracturing point, prompting Iranian women to come on to the streets en masse to protest the regime’s violence and injustice. But our understanding of these protests should notContinue Reading
How can black people feel safe and have confidence in policing?
The inquest into the death of Chris Kaba opened on October 4 2022. Kaba, an unarmed black man, was shot and killed in Streatham Hill, south London on September 5 2022 by a Metropolitan police officer. Whatever the outcome of this inquest, the feelings it has evoked in black communitiesContinue Reading
Twitter staff cuts are ‘not acceptable’, says Taoiseach
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has criticised the way in which staff were let go at Twitter, saying that it was “not acceptable” and was “fairly unprecedented”. “We are concerned, and our concern is there for the employees of Twitter,” the Taoiseach told reporters in Co Tipperary. Twitter is letting a significantContinue Reading
Rishi Sunak and Star Wars: what the UK prime minister can learn about governing from his favourite films
Rishi Sunak is probably the biggest Star Wars fan to hold the post of UK prime minister. It has been reported that he looks to the films for inspiration, both personally and politically. One MP said, presumably with some hyperbole, that much of Sunak’s political philosophy comes from the tradeContinue Reading
Black Panther stars share moving experience of visiting Chadwick Boseman’s grave
M ichaela Coel and Winston Duke have revealed they visited Chadwick Boseman’s grave to “ask his blessing” ahead of commencing filming on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Boseman, who played King T’Challa in the original 2018 film, died in 2020 from colon cancer at the age of 43. Speaking on theContinue Reading
Raw vegan diet may be a risk to your health – here’s why
The raw vegan diet is an extreme form of veganism. Foxys Forest Manufacture/ Shutterstock Vegan diets have become increasingly popular over the years, especially among people looking to improve their health. Indeed, a growing body of evidence shows that plant-based diets (including vegan diets) can have many benefits for health,Continue Reading
How a quest for mathematical truth and complex models can lead to useless scientific predictions – new research
The mathematical concept of a fractal is a never-ending pattern. G. DAWSON/Flickr, CC BY-SA A dominant view in science is that there is a mathematical truth structuring the universe. It is assumed that the scientist’s job is to decipher these mathematical relations: once understood, they can be translated into mathematicalContinue Reading