SHOCKING: 6 | Mind Blowing Facts

Shakespeare for children: an expert’s top ten books to spark their imagination

As pupils head back to school, they may well encounter Shakespeare’s plays and poems – perhaps for the first time.

The Conversation · Sep 22, 2025

I’ve researched the politics of flags in Northern Ireland for decades – here’s what England needs to understand

Flags – particularly the union flag and the St George’s Cross – continue to appear in towns and cities in England, at times in response to the housing of migrants and asylum seekers in the local area.

The Conversation · Sep 12, 2025

How to help trigger positive tipping points – and speed up climate action

The collapse of a major system of ocean currents, the meltdown of major ice sheets or the dieback of the Amazon rainforest are all examples of negative climate tipping points. These are the big risks associated with a changing climate, where harmful change becomes self-propelling. Each could cause environmental disasters…

The Conversation · Sep 4, 2025

Why I had to become a murder detective for my book about an 18th-century Jewish pedlar

This article contains details of antisemitism and violence that some readers may find upsetting.

The Conversation · Aug 26, 2025

William Blake’s painting The Ghost of a Flea speaks to processing childhood trauma

In William Blake’s painting The Ghost of a Flea (1820) a huge muscled figure fills the frame. He steps forward, the left side of his body towards the viewer. In one outstretched hand he holds a bleeding bowl (used to catch the blood released during bloodletting) made from an acorn.…

The Conversation · Aug 19, 2025

In Jane Austen’s Persuasion, respite is a key ingredient for romance

It’s that time of year again. Flight costs are up, schools are out, and anyone lucky enough to afford a break is heading – literally or metaphorically – for the hills. Some might harbour visions of a beautiful stranger alone in a beach or bar, someone who takes a keen…

The Conversation · Aug 18, 2025

How scientists can contribute to social movements and climate action

Despite decades of scientists’ warnings about climate and ecological breakdown, record-breaking heat and escalating environmental disasters have become commonplace. Science has been attacked, dismissed and politicised, and the world is accelerating in a terrifying direction.

The Conversation · Aug 18, 2025

Animal Farm at 80: why the animals really matter in Orwell’s parable about communism

George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945) turns 80 on August 17 2025. If there’s one thing every student of history or politics knows, it’s that the novella is not really about animals. Sure, the principal characters are pigs and horses. But really, so we are told, it is about the Soviet…

The Conversation · Aug 14, 2025

Politics has always been a game – but why does it now feel like we’re being cheated?

Donald Trump – who has spent at least 45 days of his presidency so far on the golf course – has once again been accused of cheating, and this time there is video evidence. Trump’s long history of golfing malpractice is well documented, not least in Rick Reilly’s Commander in…

The Conversation · Aug 14, 2025

Jane Austen fight club: experts go head-to-head arguing for her best leading man

To mark the 250th anniversary of her birth, we’re pitting Jane Austen’s much-loved novels against each other in a battle of wit, charm and romance. Seven leading Austen experts have made their case for her ultimate leading man, but the winner is down to you. Cast your vote in the…

The Conversation · Aug 13, 2025