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HISTORICAL FACTS: 19 | History Defined

The Scottish electoral system has delivered its most disproportional result yet

In the event, the SNP did not win the overall majority First Minister John Swinney sought in the 2026 Scottish election. However, between them the SNP and the Greens won 73 seats, 57% of all MSPs. It is the largest ever contingent of pro-independence MSPs at Holyrood.

The Conversation

Ibuprofen for joint pain: what you really need to know

Millions of people in the UK suffer from joint pain and arthritis. But with long wait times for scans, specialist appointments, physiotherapy and joint replacement surgery, many people turn to over-the-counter medicines, such as ibuprofen, to manage their joint pain, stay active and continue working.

The Conversation

My unsung hero of science: William Adams, the Bombay bureaucrat whose vision of a solar future was dashed by colonial conservatism

William Adams was entranced by energy. As a young man, his interest was nursed by working as a clerk in a London patent office in the 1860s. This gave him an early look at some of the first British designs for exploiting solar energy using mirrors, water or both.

The Conversation

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Peter Murrell embezzled SNP donations – why do so many voters stay loyal to the party?

When historians of Scottish politics come to consider May 2026, two dates will stand out. On May 7, the SNP won almost half of the seats in the Scottish parliamentary election. If its minority administration makes it through the term, the party will have effectively been the government at Holyrood…

The Conversation

Sonny Rollins the last great of the jazz era dies

I once met the late jazz musician Walter Theodore “Sonny” Rollins (1930 to 2026). It was in the mid 90s on Manhattan’s 48th street at Rod Baltimore’s New York Woodwind and Brass Center. The shop had the best repair department so there were always some serious players around.

The Conversation

Far removed from today’s global juggernaut, soccer was born in the well-heeled boarding schools of 19th-century England

Over the past two centuries, soccer – or football, as it is called in much of the English-speaking world – has become a truly global phenomenon that connects fans on all continents. It is also, come World Cup time, a deeply nationalist affair that pits teams and their fans from…

The Conversation

PFAS leave fingerprints in your blood – researchers are figuring out how forever chemicals transform in your body to read these clues

Virtually every living thing on Earth, from Patagonian penguins to newborn human babies, has been touched by the synthetic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a sample of human blood, tissue or breast milk without detectable levels of…

The Conversation

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Scientists used a method from ecology to identify whether icy moons could hold conditions for life

New observatories and spacecraft missions are probing environments in our solar system that could potentially host life but have long remained hidden. Icy moons like Saturn’s Enceladus and Jupiter’s Europa likely contain oceans beneath frozen outer shells. But a layer of ice prohibits space probes from sampling them directly.

The Conversation

I’ve been studying racist costume parties for a decade, and colleges are failing at educating the students about why they’re wrong

In 2014, a group of students at Bowdoin College thought it would be fun to dress up as Pilgrims and Native Americans for a Thanksgiving-themed party. This is not the first or last event like this, nor is it unique to one college.

The Conversation

Chinese American teens experience depression, anxiety at higher rates than peers – here’s why their parents may miss the warning signs

She has straight A’s, a full schedule of Advanced Placement classes, a chair in the youth orchestra and a bedroom wallpapered with college acceptance letters. She also hasn’t slept a full night in months. She lies awake at 2 a.m., convinced she is a burden to her family – and…

The Conversation

When ICE ramped up enforcement, US-born workers didn’t see any economic gains

President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to strengthen the labor market. His immigration platform – including a pledge to conduct the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history – was central to that promise.

The Conversation

I’m a doctor who helped rename PCOS to PMOS – a 10-year process of listening to 14,000 patients and health professionals speak on how to improve care

A disease’s name can have a significant influence on its diagnosis and treatment – or lack thereof. Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide. For decades, doctors thought the condition mostly affected the ovaries, but its misleading name has left many people undiagnosed…

The Conversation

Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 – so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an hour?

Colorado voters passed Amendment A, a ballot measure touted as an end to slavery in state prisons in 2018. The amendment eliminated the penal exception clause, which allowed the state to use forced labor in addition to incarceration as a punishment for crime.

The Conversation

AI godbots: religious leaders warn of ‘alarming consequences’ when machines speak in the name of God

I (Adam) am chatting with the “Apostle Stephen”, an online chatbot created by the Redeemed Christian Church of God, a church founded in Nigeria in the 1950s with a growing global following. He is, to be honest, a bit pushy for an apostle.

The Conversation

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A rare bipartisan housing victory faces a bigger problem – Americans still can’t afford housing

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed what could become the most significant housing legislation in decades. But even supporters say it doesn’t do enough to ease America’s housing affordability crunch.

The Conversation

Dealing with the heat

This roundup of The Conversation’s environment coverage was first published in our award-winning weekly climate action newsletter, Imagine.

The Conversation

New Liberal president Abbott tells party it must build bigger membership in time of ‘existential crisis’

New Liberal federal president Tony Abbott has sought to rally the party at “this time of existential crisis”, labelling it “the patriot party” and declaring it must boost its membership.

The Conversation

Why your wearable health tracker can make you feel anxious

Millions of people use a wearable health and fitness tracker. These devices can be useful for monitoring activity levels, sleep quality and heart rate. But for some, wearables can have unintended consequences on wellbeing.

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Somali piracy is back – fuelled by political turmoil, aid cuts and the Iran war

On the evening of April 26, the Egyptian merchant vessel Sward was hijacked by armed men a few miles off the Somali coast. It was steered towards an anchorage near the port of Garacad in Puntland, a semi-autonomous state in north-eastern Somalia.

The Conversation

What counts as queer art? New book expands the boundaries of identity and expression

Queer Art, by curators Mollie E. Barnes and Gemma Rolls-Bentley, isn’t afraid to ask questions: what queerness is, what queer art can be, and why queer art matters.

The Conversation

Marilyn Monroe at 100: Hollywood made her a myth – she spent her life resisting it

“I can be smart when it matters, but most men don’t like it,” says Lorelei Lee in the 1953 comedy musical, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

The Conversation

A dangerous dam-building race is threatening South Asia’s shared rivers

Bangladesh has just approved one of the largest river engineering projects its history: the Padma Barrage, a vast river-control project intended to restore water in the country’s drought-prone southwest.

The Conversation

Why Africa – and the world – remain dangerously unprepared for the next pandemic

As the news spread about the outbreak of Ebola in mid-May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report about pandemics. The title was: A World on the Edge: Priorities for a Pandemic-Resilient Future.

The Conversation

Better patient-nurse relationships can transform mental health care – and make hospital stays shorter

Being admitted to a mental health unit can be one of the most vulnerable moments in a person’s life. They often arrive in the midst of a crisis, and are fearful, confused and anxious. But in these situations, one thing can profoundly affect their experience: the relationship established with the…

The Conversation

Is the ‘Quad’ dying a slow death? Even with Trump, it still has a vital role to play

Analysts have tried to make sense of US President Donald Trump’s second term with countless, sometimes contradictory, labels. He’s isolationist and transactional. He’s a populist. Or, more recently, a neoconservative.

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