By Muhammad Waqas Haider, PhD candidate in International Relations, Lancaster University
Commentators predictably reacted to the news of the signing of a mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan on August 7 by reaching for the label “Islamic Nato”. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement stipulates that an armed attack on any one of them would be treated as an attack on all. Jerusalem went a step further, describing the alliance as an anti-Israel…
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By Lincoln Geraghty, Professor of Media Cultures, University of Portsmouth
When Pokémon Go celebrated its tenth anniversary in July 2026, much of the reaction from players around the world was less about the game’s future than its past.
Social media was flooded with screenshots from 2016, with memories of first “catches” and stories of crowded parks filled with players discovering an entirely new way to play Pokémon.
The game uses augmented reality technology so players can collect and interact with Pokémon (pocket monsters) on their mobile phones as they go about…
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By Gordon McKelvie, Senior Lecturer in History, University of Winchester
Governments have always had to strike a balance between actions that are unpopular but thought to be necessary, and laws and policies that win them support from the public. In the UK, the new prime minister Andy Burnham has set out to grab the news agenda with a string of genuinely popular announcements.
Back in the middle ages, unpopular governments did not need to worry about the ballot box – but they did often face…
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By Alison Purvis, Associate Dean, Sheffield Hallam University
Heat exhaustion and heatstroke can both happen when the body overheats, but they are not the same. Here’s how to spot the difference and what to do.
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By Nicole M. Bennett, Ph.D. Candidate in Geography and Assistant Director at the Center for Refugee Studies, Indiana University
License plate readers are widely used in the US. A new product marketed to police departments promises to add the ability to sense phones and other devices in passing cars.
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By Mimi Hanaoka, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Richmond
A false rumor started in the early 20th century that the Japanese emperor would convert to Islam. It helped Japan build alliances with Muslims across Asia.
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By Mark V. Barrow, Jr., Professor of History, Virginia Tech
The recently shuttered immigrant detention facility continued a long tradition of using alligators in ways that have reinforced demeaning racial stereotypes.
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By Quinn Yeargain, Associate Professor of Law, Michigan State University
State constitutions play a growing role in American politics. But turning to such documents to recognize rights and liberties is not a new project – nor is it an entirely liberal one.
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By Paul Osterman, Professor Emeritus, MIT Sloan School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
When I leave my Boston condo every day, I say good morning to the concierge, who works for a contracting company providing staff to residential buildings. When I conduct an interview in a nearby building, the people who clean that office at night are contractors. The person who serves me my lunch sandwich is a part-timer with no career prospects in that job.
When my best intentions to eat well are for naught and I gorge on Doritos, I remember that the tasters PepsiCo…
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By Inka Romero-Ortells Labrada, Investigadora del Centro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición, Universidad Nebrija
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia, Director del Centro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición (CINC) y Director de la International Chair in Cognitive Health (ICCH) en la Universidad Nebrija, Universidad Nebrija
Manuel Perea, Profesor de Psicología, Universitat de València
Invented languages tend to be the stuff of fantasy or science fiction worlds. But as a child, you may have made one up yourself.
Take Pig Latin, which involves moving the starting consonant of a word to the end and adding an “-ay” sound. “Pig Latin” thus becomes “ig-pay atin-lay”, while words beginning with a vowel have a “-way” at the end. With a little practice, you can hold entire conversations in Pig Latin.
However, creating new forms of communication goes far beyond children’s games or brain exercises.…
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