By Nessa Keddo, Senior Lecturer in Media, Diversity and Technology, King's College London
Online adverts are sometimes so personal that they feel eerie. Even as a researcher in this area, I’m slightly startled when I get a message asking if my son still needs school shirts a few hours after browsing for clothes for my children.
Personal messaging is part of a strategy used by advertisers to build a more intense relationship with consumers. It often consists of pop-up adverts or follow-up emails reminding us of all the products we have looked at but not yet purchased.
This is a result of AI’s rapidly developing ability to automate the advertising content we are…
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By Anna Walker, Senior Arts + Culture Editor, The Conversation
Jane Wright, Commissioning Editor, Arts & Culture, The Conversation
Naomi Joseph, Arts + Culture Editor, The Conversation
In 2025, there was a lot of excellent art and culture to rave about.
Anora, a film about a sex worker who gets caught up in the world of a Russian oligarch’s son, won best picture at the Oscars. Nnena Kalu was the first disabled artist to win the coveted Turner Prize for her hypnotic multimedia work.…
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By Alice Vernon, Lecturer in Creative Writing and 19th-Century Literature, Aberystwyth University
Benson’s mother was Mary Sidgwick, whose brother Henry was a founding member and first president of the Society for Psychical Research.
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By Akanksha Awal, Lecturer, Social Anthropology, SOAS, University of London
In Beijing, while many of the ancient trees are fenced in by the local government to protect them from damage, the newer ones are still available for people to touch and gather around.
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By Eleri Sian Jones, Lecturer in Sport Psychology, Bangor University
Today’s sporting landscape increasingly accepts that athleticism doesn’t end when motherhood begins. High-profile athletes such as middle-distance runner Faith Kipyegon and rugby player Abbie Ward have helped redefine what’s possible after giving birth.
But for most athletic mothers, the picture is far more complicated than the stories in the media suggest. Understanding those complexities is essential if women are to receive the support they need to thrive postpartum.
Triathlon, which is built on three disciplines demanding relentless training, adds an extra layer of challenge.…
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By Frank Chouraqui, Senior University Lecturer in Philosophy, Leiden University
In practice, most of our experiences of shared realities are not involved in truth. Think of myths, neighbourly feeling, or the sense of community.
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By Ming Gao, Research Fellow of East Asia Studies, Lund University
Tabita Rosendal, Researcher at the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Distinctive in taste and famously divisive, durian is not everyone’s choice of fruit. This was certainly the case for some Chinese explorers when they first encountered it during the Ming Dynasty’s early maritime voyages.
One record dates back to 1413, when a translator called Ma Huan travelled to what is now Malaysia on a trip with diplomat and admiral Zheng He. In his travelogue, Ma…
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By Dušan Radunović, Associate Professor/Director of Studies (Russian), Durham University
Daniel O'Brien, Lecturer, Department of Literature Film and Theatre Studies, University of Essex
The exceptional historical film has had such a profound impact on western visual culture that many may not realise how deeply its language is rooted in mainstream cinema.
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By Genevieve Johnson, Associate Lecturer in history, Newcastle University
Mary Ann Macham’s story is an example of a larger phenomenon of Black American refuge in Britain in the 19th century.
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By Eef Hogervorst, Professor of Biological Psychology, Loughborough University
Research linking cheese and cream to lower dementia risk has made headlines, but the story is more nuanced than it might sound.
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