The Christmas tree is a tradition older than Christmas
Sixteenth-century German Protestants, eager to remove the iconography and relics of the Roman Catholic Church, gave the Christmas tree a huge boost when they used it to replace Nativity scenes
The Conversation / 19 Dec, 2022
Married to the mob: what the lives of two Camorra women tell us about how to challenge the power of the mafia
Women have traditionally been ignored and considered irrelevant in the story of the Camorra and other Italian mafias, and indeed in most organised crime groups around the world
The Conversation / 18 Dec, 2022
6 moments in African football in 2022 that will be talked about for years to come
Morocco has made history by becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final
The Conversation / 18 Dec, 2022
Measles: Why the World Health Organization has declared it an imminent global threat’
The author writes that there is a risk of this misinformation further translating into greater levels of hesitancy and vaccine refusal for routine immunisation
The Conversation / 07 Dec, 2022
Qatar’s death row and the invisible migrant workforce deemed unworthy of due process
The authors write that as Qatar moves into the spotlight as the host of the FIFA World Cup, so too, should its human rights record
The Conversation / 30 Nov, 2022
Why are shallow earthquakes more destructive? The disaster in Java is a devastating example
The author writes that Cianjur earthquake had a greater impact because it ruptured within a few kilometres (10km) of the city of Cianjur, where the shaking was classified as “severe”
The Conversation / 24 Nov, 2022
World Cup: This year’s special Al Rihla ball has the aerodynamics of a champion, according to a sports physicist
Every new ball is met with complaints from somebody, but the science shows that the Al Rihla should feel familiar to the players in this year’s World Cup, the author writes
The Conversation / 21 Nov, 2022
Can an African team win the World Cup? New football study crunches the numbers
The author writes that African countries have become less competitive because they do not compete regularly with the world’s best nations, less than 20% of Africa’s top countries’ matches are against elite contenders
The Conversation / 20 Nov, 2022
Global population hits 8 billion, but per-capita consumption is still the main problem
The authors say that if countries replace the pursuit of economic growth with broader measures of social and ecological wellbeing, there will be significant decrease in material consumption, while not undermining overall quality of life
The Conversation / 17 Nov, 2022
Permacrisis: what it means and why it’s word of the year for 2022
"Permacrisis" is a term that perfectly embodies the dizzying sense of lurching from one unprecedented event to another, as we wonder bleakly what new horrors might be around the corner."
The Conversation / 13 Nov, 2022
Japan’s ‘waste not, want not’ philosophy has deep religious and cultural roots, from monsters and meditation to Marie Kondo’s tidying up
The author says that reverence for objects has persisted throughout Japanese history in many forms, sometimes for practical reasons, and sometimes more symbolic ones
The Conversation / 13 Nov, 2022
Is Twitter’s ‘blue tick’ a status symbol or ID badge? And what will happen if anyone can buy one?
The authors write that according to Twitter, the blue tick lets people know an account of interest is authentic and currently and that there are seven categories of ‘public interest accounts’
The Conversation / 09 Nov, 2022
