By Laura O'Flanagan, PhD Candidate, School of English, Dublin City University
There are few films this year as ambitious as director Julian Schnabel’s In the Hand of Dante. Combining manuscript mystery, gangster thriller and spiritual odyssey, the film moves between medieval Italy and the 21st-century criminal underworld in pursuit of questions about creativity, faith, power and redemption.
This film is a big, gutsy gamble. Casting a heavily costumed Martin Scorsese in an acting role with overwrought philosophical dialogue was always going to be a risk. Your enjoyment of it…
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By Tom St Quinton, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Leeds Beckett University
Research has found that when you manipulate people to doubt free will, bad things happen – including cheating and aggression. But does it hold up?
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By Ed Hawkins, Professor of Climate Science, University of Reading
Hayley J. Fowler, Professor of Climate Change Impacts, Newcastle University
The summer of 1976 was an extraordinary heatwave for its time. With 15 consecutive days of temperatures over 32°C, it was an unprecedented length for a UK heatwave, coming at the end of a year-long drought. This led to severe water shortages and frequent wildfires, followed by flash floods.
But the climate has substantially changed since 1976. Global temperatures have risen by about 1°C since then and summer 2025 was hotter than 1976 for the UK, with three shorter heatwaves rather than one long one.…
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By Glen Robbins, Research Associate, PRISM, University of Cape Town; Adjunct lecturer, Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria, University of the Witwatersrand
A German loan for fixing Johannesburg’s electricity utility is unlikely to make much difference to users yet: prices will probably rise faster than inflation.
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By Jon Bergdoll, Interim Director of Data & Research Partnerships at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University
Giving that’s associated with the wealthiest Americans – from bequests and foundations to universities and donor-advised funds – fared better than usual.
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By Simon Bowmaker, Distinguished Clinical Professor of Economics, New York University
Paul Wachtel, Emeritus Professor of Economics, New York University
Alan Greenspan, who died on June 22, 2026, at the age of 100, is best remembered for his 18 years at the helm of the Federal Reserve. What many people don’t know is that an earlier and more obscure stint during the administration of President Gerald Ford shaped him as a public servant.
As professors of economics, we haven’t just covered Greenspan’s legacy for our students. We…
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By Keisha M. Wint, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Parents and educators sometimes avoid having conversations about grief with children because they don’t know what to say. Here are some tips for how to approach it.
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By Julie Dawson, Professor of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Kiki Hubbard, Researcher, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Paulina Jenney, Research Coordinator, Urban and Regional Food System Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison
When huge companies assert their patents, smaller businesses and public plant breeders are dissuaded from conducting research that might not be illegal at all.
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By Zoltan Nagy, Professor of Building Services, Eindhoven University of Technology
Heat waves can be dangerous, and the conditions indoors can be worse than outdoors. A study of all the single-family homes in Austin, Texas, shows why.
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By Jeremy David Engels, Liberal Arts Endowed Professor of Communication, Penn State
“Namaste,” a common greeting in India and South Asia, has become a global cultural phenomenon – the word appears everywhere, from wellness retreats to political events to pop culture.
In many yoga classes in North America and Europe, it is a ritual to end practice by saying “namaste,” which means, in global yoga culture, something like “the divine in me bows to the divine in you.”
This tradition is not without controversy. Some critics accuse Western yogis of cultural appropriation whenever…
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