By Ceri Fowler, Career Development Fellow in Comparative Politics, University of Oxford
Louise Luxton, Research Associate, University of Strathclyde
Voters in England are increasingly turning away from the two main parties, as elections in 2024 and 2026 showed. Much discussion has focused on the rise of Reform UK, particularly among younger men. But what’s happening among women – and how is it affecting voting behaviour on the left?
Women, especially younger women, have been more likely than men to support parties on the left since at least 2017. Gender…
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By Shadi Rouhshahbaz, PhD candidate, Peace and Conflict Studies, The University of Melbourne; University of Newcastle
First published in 2000, Persepolis created a transformative shift in comics, memoir and political storytelling. Its Iranian–French creator has died, aged 56.
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By Jonathan Munemo, Professor of Economics, Salisbury University
“Today, everyone recognises that trade is as much a security issue as an economic one.”
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde made this comment in February 2026, while addressing the Munich Security Conference.
Although she was speaking about Europe, her words matter profoundly for Africa.
The continent’s 54 economies face a three-way tension that has no easy resolution.
Firstly, they must…
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By Ryan C. Fortenberry, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Mississippi
A physical chemist outlines the promises and risks associated with methane fuel and describes why SpaceX and Blue Origin use it in their superheavy rockets.
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By Adam Kadlac, Teaching Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest University
It’s one thing to pull for your national team when patriotism feels uncomplicated. It’s quite another when you aren’t feeling very proud to be an American.
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By Christina Hennemann, PhD Candidate Creative Writing and Abortion Poetics, University of Limerick
I moved to Ireland in 2019, a year after abortion had become legal. As a woman born and raised in Germany, reproductive rights had never been a concern for me. I knew that if needed it, I had the option of termination.
I wasn’t aware of my privilege at the time. But when I made Ireland my home, I realised the weight of choosing to live in a country with such a conflicted relationship with reproductive rights.
Legalisation only marks the beginning of processing historical trauma, as well as ensuring…
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By Ross Channing Reed, Assistant Teaching Professor of Philosophy, Missouri University of Science and Technology
For the Greeks, sophrosyne was an ideal second to none. It’s just as important today, in an age of internet addiction and misinformation – but harder to come by.
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By Charlie Firth, PhD Candidate, Paediatrics, University of Oxford
Tensions have recently emerged around the Ebola response in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These tensions have manifested in a series of incidents, including the burning of an Ebola treatment facility in Mongbwalu, confrontations involving families seeking to reclaim the bodies…
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By Gretchen Chapman, Professor of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
A Carnegie Mellon researcher explains the connection between our brains and AI chatbots – and what a new Pennsylvania lawsuit reveals about the dangers of AI.
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By Adam Gallaher, Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies, Central Michigan University
Generating solar power requires a lot of land – but which land should it be? And what else can be done on that land?
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