Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Sexual violence against children has become entrenched, systemic and increasingly widespread across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with new data showing a sharp rise in cases since 2022, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
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By Ray Nickson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Newcastle Law School, University of Newcastle
The century-old story of Sydney’s Nippon Baseball Club offers insights into the lives of Asian migrants during the White Australia policy.
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By Morteza Hajizadeh, Hajizadeh, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Persian and other Islamic literature celebrated male homoerotic love as a form of divine longing – until Western moral codes entered the region.
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By Timothy Byron, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Wollongong
You’re reading a report and trying to concentrate. The room is silent. But despite your best efforts to focus, a little snatch of melody – an “earworm” – keeps circling inside your head.
Research suggests most people get earworms regularly – and they’re more common among people who listen to a lot of music. One Finnish study found more than 90% of people report experiencing earworms at least weekly. About 60% of people experienced them daily.
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By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University
Law affects beer, and beer affects law. The connection between the two is stronger than you might think, as we have illustrated in the recently published book Beer Law.
So as you pour a nice cold one during the summer holidays, here are a few things to think about.
1. Beer was a trigger for civilisation
It is common knowledge that humans transitioned from a “hunter-gatherer” type of life to civilisation and settling down to cultivate…
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By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow in Urban Risk and Resilience, The University of Melbourne
You’ve probably heard the phrase “the house always wins” when it comes to casino gambling. But what does it actually mean?
After all, people do hit jackpots, and casino games are supposed to be fair – so what guarantees the casino still comes out ahead?
The answer lies in a simple but powerful mathematical idea called “the house edge”: a small, systematic statistical advantage built into every casino game. It’s the invisible force that ensures the numbers will always tilt toward the house in the long run.
So, let’s unpack the science behind that edge: how it’s…
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By Rhys Ashby, Lecturer in Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology
The social rules around money have struggled to keep pace with technology. But there’s a surprising way to rethink how you split bills that can make you feel better.
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By Konstantine Panegyres, Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia
The ancient Greeks had a reputation for holding wild parties. But that’s not the only way to party like an ancient Greek.
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By Justin Bergman, International Affairs Editor, The Conversation
Every autocrat needs a clan of loyalists, strategists, masterminds – these are the figures behind the scenes pulling the strings.
They’re unelected and unaccountable, yet they wield a huge amount of power.
This is the role Stephen Miller has played for Donald Trump – he is the architect in chief for the second Trump administration. He has so much power, in fact, he’s reportedly referred to as the “prime…
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By Justin Bergman, International Affairs Editor, The Conversation
Donald Trump has sounded the alarm, over and over again, that the United States is facing an “invasion” by dangerous gang members. He blames immigrants for the country’s economic problems and claims protesters are destroying US cities.
Trump is not the first would-be autocrat to manufacture a crisis to seize extraordinary powers.
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