By Febe Armanios, Professor of History, Middlebury College
When the United States and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, images of smoke billowing over Iranian cities began to dominate the news. But another feature of those skylines has remained constant: the thousands of satellite dishes that dot Tehran’s rooftops, picking up signals that originate far beyond Iran’s borders – despite attempts to confiscate them.
For two decades, Christian television channels produced in the United States and Europe have made their…
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By Tony Milligan, Teaching Associate in Philosophy, School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities, University of Sheffield
The classic 1988 anime Akira returns to cinema screens on April 17. Set in a dystopian neo-Tokyo, it is one of the few pieces of cyberpunk manga which has translated well onto the screen. Its ultimate message is disturbing: we are no better or worse than the elites who are using technology to dominate us. All of us are just part of a bigger game. A game involving power and our limited ability to wield it.
Directed by the original manga creator, Katsuhiro Otomo, the hand-drawn animation is incredible, the storyline complex and the violence relentless. Along with Blade…
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By Vladimir Chlouba, Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond
After the main Namibian party started alternating candidates between men and women, female representation in the National Assembly nearly doubled.
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By Heather Hensman Kettrey, Associate Professor of Sociology, Clemson University
Heidi Zinzow, Professor of Psychology, Clemson University
Megan Rebecca Fallon, Interpersonal Violence Prevention Coordinator, Clemson University
Students guessed how their school would handle sexual misconduct based on how their university had previously responded to anti-LGBTQ+ incidents and other kinds of harm.
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By Michael C. Horowitz, Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
Lauren Kahn, Senior Research Analyst, Center for Security and Emerging Technology, Georgetown University
One-way attack drones have changed the face of the Russia-Ukraine war and give Iran a boost in countering US and Israeli forces.
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The federal government has secured access to 250,000 tonnes of extra urea from Indonesia for Australian farmers.
The deal between Incitec Pivot Fertilisers and PT Pupuk Indonesia was facilitated by the governments of the two countries.
It will provide about 20% of the remaining fertiliser needed for the current season, which runs from November last year to October this year.
There has been considerable panic among many farmers about the disruption of urea supplies. Without adequate fertiliser crop yields would be down, with some farmers not planting crops at…
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By Alex Smalley, Research Fellow in Environmental Psychology, University of Exeter
On a chilly yet beautifully clear evening last November, I sat on a video call with colleagues and happened to mention the live feed from the International Space Station – a real-time broadcast from onboard cameras as the station orbits earth.
Several people hadn’t heard of it, and so I dug out the link and sent it over. We then turned to Nasa’s spot the station smartphone app, which shows you the ageing…
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By Andrew Neal, Personal Chair of International Security, University of Edinburgh
Lord Robertson, former UK defence secretary and Nato chief, has said that the UK’s national security is “in peril”. He is right. There is no secret about what the threats are. In addition to the woeful news from the Middle East and Ukraine every day, stories of sabotage, hacking,…
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By Aris Politopoulos, Assistant Professor in Archaeology and Cultural Politics, Leiden University
Angus Mol, Associate Professor in Archaeology, Leiden University
Walter Crist, Guest Researcher, Centre for Arts in Society, Leiden University
You can compare throwing one of these ancient dice to a coin toss – although this discovery also underscores that dice are much older than coins.
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By Robert William Smith, Professor of History, University of Alberta
Aristotle believed the planets revolved around Earth and God could not have created other worlds. Today, scientists scour the surface of Mars for ‘biosignatures’ of microbial life.
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