By Iain White, Professor of Environmental Planning, University of Waikato
Bill Fry, Honorary Research Professor, Department of Geology, University of Otago
Julia Becker, Professor of Disaster and Emergency Management, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
Liam Wotherspoon, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Melanie Mark-Shadbolt, Te Tira Whakamātaki, Indigenous Knowledge
New Zealand is a hazard-prone country and exposure to risk is rising. The choices the next government makes may be among the most consequential of the next decade.
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By Judy Ingham, Newsletter Producer, The Conversation
Every day, we publish a selection of your emails in our newsletter. We’d love to hear from you, you can email us at yoursay@theconversation.edu.au.
Monday October 19
“Regarding your article on the abandoned plan to remove health insurance top-up for older people, this debate highlights the tension between evidence-based policy and political populism, as Jim Chalmers struggles to balance the books while Anthony…
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By Donald Barry, Professor Emeritus, Political Science, University of Calgary
People in the Canadian province of Alberta are voting on whether to stay in Canada or begin a process for a second, binding referendum on independence. By 2030, those in Québec could face a similar choice.
Polls show that some 70 per cent of people in Alberta and Québec favour remaining in Canada, and many oppose the referendums. Looming large in the background is United States President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called…
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By Jake Okechukwu Effoduh, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University
The question is not whether Canada builds more data centres, but what it asks of them before they draw on public systems and local landscapes.
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By Mikaela Gerwing, Wildlife Conservation Biologist and PhD Candidate, Concordia University
When wild animals are illegally imported to Canada, the law is clear about what happens to perpretrators. It fails to address how they are cared for after seizure.
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By Jay Timothy Dolmage, Professor of English, University of Waterloo
To figure out what AI may be understood as replacing, we need to examine intelligence as a historical and dangerous idea — rather than as a biological fact.
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By Amam Mbawkem, Professor of Medicine, University of Lagos
Millions of Nigerians are living with hypertension without knowing it – and the gaps in diagnosis and care run deep.
(Full Story)
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By Chris Malley, Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute York Centre, University of York
Caroline Sawe, Research Associate, University of York
Kevin Hicks, Senior Research Fellow, University of York
Lowering air pollution in Africa has many economic benefits, according to new research by environmental scientists Chris Malley, Kevin Hicks and Caroline Sawe. They reflect on two reports that set out the practical ways that African countries can cut air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions at the same time, while saving billions through lower healthcare costs, fewer days lost to illness…
(Full Story)
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By Mahpara Zulqadar
Pakistan keeps no national data on people with albinism. Without a count, they lack tailored support in schools, healthcare, and jobs, while rising heat raises their health risks, experts say.
(Full Story)
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By Mathilde Plard, Géographe et sociologue, chargée de recherche au CNRS (UMR 6590 ESO), Université d’Angers
KEY TAKEAWAYS
In May 2026, the American ultrarunner Rachel Entrekin became the first woman to win the Cocodona 250-miler in Arizona, a flagship event in the sport.
While women excel at very long distances, they remain under-represented. Why is this?
At the 2026 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), France’s Blandine L’Hirondel won the women’s race in 21 hours 54 minutes, the first woman to finish in under 22 hours. Rachel Entrekin came second.
…
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