By Mark Durden, Emeritus Professor, University of South Wales
The kitsch, the gaudy, the banal, the common, the superficial, the cheap: Martin Parr – who has died at the age of 73 – embraced and celebrated them all in his extraordinary pictures.
Born in Epsom in 1952 to solidly middle-class Methodist parents, Parr’s suburban childhood was dominated by his parents’ church going and passionate interest in ornithology. He was a keen trainspotter. His interest in photography was kindled by his grandfather…
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By Dipa Kamdar, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, Kingston University
From cholesterol chemistry to muscle pain fears, this guide unpacks how statins work, who they help most, and why concerns persist despite strong evidence.
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By Stefan Hanß, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History, University of Manchester
New biochemical techniques offer unmatched insight into early modern medicine, as traces of plants, animals and even human waste have been sampled from pages.
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By Neil Saunders, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, Department of Mathematical Sciences, City St George's, University of London
Mathematics is a “science which requires a great amount of imagination”, said the 19th-century Russian maths professor Sofya Kovalevskaya – a pioneering figure for women’s equality in this subject.
We all have an imagination, so I believe everyone has the ability to enjoy mathematics. It’s not just arithmetic but a magical mixture of logic, reasoning, pattern spotting and creative thinking.
Of course,…
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By Lisa Kowalchuk, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Guelph
Like much of the western world, Canada is facing a crisis in waste disposal as landfills reach their capacity. In Ontario, a live countdown gives municipal landfills just eight more years before they are full. We urgently need to reduce our garbage.
The scramble for a solution has governments considering and even approving…
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By Barry Smith, Director of the Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Stuck in front of our screens all day, we often ignore our senses beyond sound and vision. And yet they are always at work. When we’re more alert we feel the rough and smooth surfaces of objects, the stiffness in our shoulders, the softness of bread.
In the morning, we may feel the tingle of toothpaste, hear and feel the running water in the shower, smell the shampoo, and later the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
Aristotle told us there were five senses. But he also told us the world was made up of…
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By Alexander Sergeant, Lecturer in Digital Media Production, University of Westminster
Despite the reputation of It’s a Wonderful Life as a heartwarming Christmas classic, both its fans and detractors like to remind audiences that it’s no feel-good film. For at least two-thirds of its running time, it is essentially the story of a man’s suicide attempt.
We watch as kind-hearted George Bailey has his dreams quashed, his ambitions curtailed and his business ruined. Then it gets even worse. At about two hours in, we watch this poor, despairing man standing on a bridge outside…
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By Damian Robinson, Director, Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology, University of Oxford
Franck Goddio, Visiting Professor, Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology, University of Oxford
Beneath the shifting waters of Alexandria’s eastern harbour, on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, lie the drowned remnants of a once-splendid city – ports, palaces and temples swallowed by the sea. Submerged by earthquakes and a rising sea level, these lost monuments have become the focus of survey and excavations by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology, in conjunction with Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Much of our recent work has centred around Antirhodos Island, revealing a temple to the ancient…
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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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