By Joshua Busby, Professor of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin
Greg Pollock, Adjunct Professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Seven months into the US conflict with Iran, with no clear end in sight, the global oil market has now largely exhausted the safety measures that exist to keep a lid on petroleum prices.
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By Johannes Lumma, Gallagher Research Fellow in the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford
Jasper Verschuur, Assistant Professor in Engineering Systems and Climate, Delft University of Technology
Over a dozen countries depend on the Bab al-Mandab Strait for more than half of their maritime trade by value.
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By Mattias Öberg, Senior Lecturer, Toxicology, Karolinska Institutet
Residents near a Lancashire chemical plant have high Pfas levels in their blood. A decade of research shows what that can and can’t tell us.
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By Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor in the Department of Government, University of Essex
Authoritarian regimes have a history of keeping information about escalating disasters secret, even when it could harm their own citizens.
With more weather-related disasters caused by climate change predicted, the issue of whether governments are willing to act faster to share information with neighbouring nations is an increasing concern.
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By David J. Galbreath, Professor of War and Technology, University of Bath
In a recent phone call, Donald Trump urged Volodymyr Zelensky to stop Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. Whether a request or a demand, this appears, certainly at first glance, fundamentally different from the Biden administration’s policy of restricting the use of US long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia.
The US president has justified his position primarily on economic grounds. He argues that the regular attacks on Russian…
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By Lynsey Cowlishaw, PhD Candidate in History and Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King's College London
The women I return to most – Elizabeth I, her potential heir Arbella Stuart (and rival to James Charles Stuart, later King James I), Virginia Woolf, Katharine Hepburn, Debbie Harry – never had children. Their reasons were wildly different: some chose it, some were prevented, some never got the chance. The pattern raises two questions. Did their work or their position cost them their choice? And why does it seem to matter, overshadowing the legacy and achievements of great women?
Falling…
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By Katie MacLean, PhD candidate in literature and languages, University of Stirling
As Jane Austen drafted Sense and Sensibility in the late 1790s, Britain was experiencing a huge financial crisis. Despite its publication nearly 215 years ago, the novel’s most recent screen adaptation highlights the surprising relatability for a gen Z audience of the heroines’ economic and romantic struggles.
The novel follows sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood (played here by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles) after the death of their father. When their elder half-brother, John Dashwood, inherits…
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By Jo Adetunji, Executive Editor – Partnerships, The Conversation
Three minutes. One big research idea. And a chance to persuade you that they should win.
That’s the challenge facing six finalists in the 2026 Vitae Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition, sponsored by The Conversation.
In just three minutes, the six doctoral researchers must explain their research in a compelling and engaging spoken presentation — making complex ideas accessible to an audience beyond their field. There’s no room for jargon or lengthy explanations – the challenge is to capture attention, communicate the significance of their work and leave the audience…
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By Neo Mathinya, Lecturer, University of the Free State
Linus Franke, Professor Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences, University of the Free State
South Africa’s rural development debate often starts with a familiar idea: if rural households have more land, they can produce more food, earn more money and become “emerging farmers” who eventually develop into commercial farmers.
This idea appears in several government policy documents, such as the National Development Plan 2030, the Comprehensive Rural Development…
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By Gabriel Kanuti Ndimbo, Lecturer in Development Studies, University of Dar es Salaam
Chakupewa Joseph Mpambije, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies, University of Dar es Salaam
A lack of food is not the only cause of malnutrition. Poverty, disease, poor sanitation, climate pressures and limited access to healthcare also shape it.
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