By Dean Clay, Lecturer in History, University of Hull
Young shipping clerk Edmund Dene Morel was working as for the Liverpool firm Elder Dempster when he noticed what appeared to be a discrepancy in the figures. What Morel found in his investigation of that discrepancy would expose one of the most notorious systems of violence of the colonial era: the Congo Free State, ruled personally by King Leopold II of Belgium.
Leopold founded the Congo…
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By Prasad Nishtala, Reader, Life Sciences, University of Bath
For years, many people have taken calcium and vitamin D supplements to help keep their bones strong as they age. Walk into any pharmacy or supermarket and you’ll find shelves full of products promising to support bone health, prevent fractures and reduce the risk of falls.
Calcium is an important building block of bone, while vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. If weak bones increase the risk of fractures, surely taking more calcium and vitamin D should help keep bones strong. But a
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By Emily Thrift, PhD Candidate and Doctoral Tutor in Ecology, University of Sussex
When colleagues and I found microplastics in hedgehog droppings, we wanted to know where they were coming from. One answer was surprisingly close to home: pet food.
The story began in 2021, when we collected 189 hedgehog faeces samples from residential gardens and rehabilitation centres across the UK. We found plastic in 19% of them. Despite being one of Britain’s best-loved wild animals, and now officially listed as “near…
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By Bruce Wolpe, Non-resident Senior Fellow, United States Study Centre, University of Sydney
The latest in the president’s long list of upgrades, renovations and new monuments has sent social media into a frenzy.
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By Laura O'Flanagan, PhD Candidate, School of English, Dublin City University
There are few films this year as ambitious as director Julian Schnabel’s In the Hand of Dante. Combining manuscript mystery, gangster thriller and spiritual odyssey, the film moves between medieval Italy and the 21st-century criminal underworld in pursuit of questions about creativity, faith, power and redemption.
This film is a big, gutsy gamble. Casting a heavily costumed Martin Scorsese in an acting role with overwrought philosophical dialogue was always going to be a risk. Your enjoyment of it…
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By Tom St Quinton, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Leeds Beckett University
Research has found that when you manipulate people to doubt free will, bad things happen – including cheating and aggression. But does it hold up?
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By Ed Hawkins, Professor of Climate Science, University of Reading
Hayley J. Fowler, Professor of Climate Change Impacts, Newcastle University
The summer of 1976 was an extraordinary heatwave for its time. With 15 consecutive days of temperatures over 32°C, it was an unprecedented length for a UK heatwave, coming at the end of a year-long drought. This led to severe water shortages and frequent wildfires, followed by flash floods.
But the climate has substantially changed since 1976. Global temperatures have risen by about 1°C since then and summer 2025 was hotter than 1976 for the UK, with three shorter heatwaves rather than one long one.…
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By Glen Robbins, Research Associate, PRISM, University of Cape Town; Adjunct lecturer, Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria, University of the Witwatersrand
A German loan for fixing Johannesburg’s electricity utility is unlikely to make much difference to users yet: prices will probably rise faster than inflation.
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By Jon Bergdoll, Interim Director of Data & Research Partnerships at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University
Giving that’s associated with the wealthiest Americans – from bequests and foundations to universities and donor-advised funds – fared better than usual.
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By Simon Bowmaker, Distinguished Clinical Professor of Economics, New York University
Paul Wachtel, Emeritus Professor of Economics, New York University
Alan Greenspan, who died on June 22, 2026, at the age of 100, is best remembered for his 18 years at the helm of the Federal Reserve. What many people don’t know is that an earlier and more obscure stint during the administration of President Gerald Ford shaped him as a public servant.
As professors of economics, we haven’t just covered Greenspan’s legacy for our students. We…
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