Policing is not the answer to shoplifting, feeding people is
By Merissa Daborn
Big businesses like to tell us that, as consumers, we all pay for food theft. Weve been sold a narrative that as consumers who dont steal, we pay for the theft of food by others on our grocery receipts.
Reported...
Māori atheism on the rise: the legacy of colonisation is driving a decline in traditional Christian beliefs
By Masoumeh Sara Rahmani Et Al
Religious beliefs among Māori have shifted significantly over the past two decades.
The number of Māori identifying as having no religion in the census between 2006 and 2018 increased from 36.5% to 53.5%. Māori...
Spectacle, speed and savageness: Disney’s The Artful Dodger comes down under for a pop period spin
By Megan Nash
In a 1950 essay on Charles Dickens, literary critic Dorothy Van Ghent suggested the author had an unusual way of writing about the human form.
She identified his habit of seeing the parts of the body as separable and...
Israel's ground offensive in Gaza City is ignoring the past lessons of urban warfare
By James Horncastle
Mediators are seeking to extend the truce between Israel and Hamas beyond Wednesday amid the exchange of hostages for prisoners. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to resume the war with full force...
Cyberbullying girls with pornographic deepfakes is a form of misogyny
By Amanda Margaret Narvali Et Al
The BBC recently reported on a disturbing new form of cyberbullying that took place at a school in Almendralejo, Spain.
A group of girls were harmed by male classmates who used an app powered by artificial intelligence...
Striving for transparency: Why Canada’s pesticide regulations need an overhaul
By Valérie Langlois Et Al
In 2021, Health Canada announced a freeze on changing maximum residue limits (MRLs) the maximum allowable pesticide residues acceptable under Canadian law. This decision followed substantial public outcry following...
How big UK housebuilders have remained profitable without meeting housing supply targets
By Chris Foye Et Al
We must bulldoze through the planning system to get Britain building again. So said Sir Keir Starmer at the Labour partys last annual conference. He argued its time to fight the blockers and build the 1.5 million homes...
Governments have been able to overrule the Reserve Bank for 80 years. Why stop now?
By Peter Martin1
Pay close enough attention to parliament these next few days, and youre likely to witness something truly remarkable: politicians from both sides of politics uniting to remove the power of politicians to overrule the...
Almost half the men surveyed think they could land a passenger plane. Experts disagree
By Guido Carim Junior Et Al
Picture this: youre nestled comfortably in your seat cruising towards your holiday destination when a flight attendants voice breaks through the silence:
Ladies and gentlemen, both pilots are incapacitated. Are there...
At a time when journalism needs to be at its strongest, an open letter on the Israel/Hamas war has left the profession diminished
By Denis Muller
The journalists who signed an open letter to Australian media organisations last week calling for ethical reporting on the war in Gaza have succeeded in intensifying the dispute over whether the coverage has been fair. At...
'Father of Reconciliation' Pat Dodson to quit parliament
By Michelle Grattan
Labor senator Pat Dodson, often dubbed the father of reconciliation, is quitting parliament due to ill health.
Dodson, 75, told the Labor caucus on Tuesday he would resign as a senator for Western Australia, effective...
How does Australia's health system stack up internationally? Not bad, if you're willing to wait for it
By Stephen Duckett
When things are going bad in the health system, we are reassured weve got one of the best health systems in the world. But were rarely told where we actually stand relative to others.
A new report from the Organisation...
Let's turn down the dial on conflict and focus on solutions
By Misha Ketchell
Is Australias political system doing a good job of serving its citizens? If not, how can we help it work better?
These questions have become even more pressing in recent months. The war in Gaza has spilled over to...
Alleged assassination plot against Sikh separatist could hamper India-U.S. relations
By Saira Bano
The United States government recently stated it had thwarted a plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in the U.S. and issued a warning to the Indian government. According to media reports, U.S. authorities say they...
Pollution from coal power plants contributes to far more deaths than scientists realized, study shows
By Lucas Henneman
Air pollution particles from coal-fired power plants are more harmful to human health than many experts realized, and its more than twice as likely to contribute to premature deaths as air pollution particles from other...
Drug resistance may make common infections like thrush untreatable
By Christine Carson
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest global threats to health, food security and development. This month, The Conversations experts explore how we got here and the potential solutions.
Weve all heard about...
WeWork approached physical space as if it were virtual, which led to the company's downfall
By Joseph L. Clarke
On Nov. 6, the co-working firm WeWork filed for bankruptcy. WeWork, founded by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in 2010, had a simple business model: it signed long-term leases on urban buildings, fitting them out with...
Fallen autumn leaves are a valuable resource – here's how to make the most of them
By Muhammad Ali Et Al
Towards the end of autumn the days get colder and shorter. This triggers the reduction of the plant hormone auxin in most deciduous trees, which start to shed their leaves.
In natural woodlands, this isnt an issue....
Why the man-hating feminist is a myth – according to science
By Aífe Hopkins-Doyle Et Al
As part of the Women Against Feminism campaign that launched in 2014, social media posts have featured young women holding placards with the message I dont need feminism because… listing various reasons ranging from...
The potential of psychedelics to heal our racial traumas
By Vinita Srivastava
Clinical psychologist and professor Monnica Williams is on a mission to bring psychedelics to therapists offices to help people heal from their racial traumas. To do this, shes jumping over some big hurdles.
Judging...
What the UK government's back to work plan covers – and why it is unlikely to boost people's job prospects
By Paul Sissons
Ahead of the UK governments latest economic statement, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and the secretary of state for work and pensions, Mel Stride, unveiled a new employment support package dubbed the back to work...
South Africa’s immigration proposals are based on false claims and poor logic – experts
By Loren B Landau Et Al
The South African government recently issued a long-awaited policy statement called a White Paper outlining proposed changes to the countrys asylum and immigration system. More than 20 years after its first...
Airlines are frustrating travelers by changing frequent flyer program rules – here's why they keep doing it
By Jay L. Zagorsky Et Al
As the U.S. holiday travel season picks up, many people are noticing that their frequent flyer benefits arent going as far as they used to.
In September 2023, Delta Air Lines revamped its frequent flyer program to make...
Antibiotic resistance causes more deaths than malaria and HIV/Aids combined. What Africa is doing to fight this silent epidemic
By Tom Nyirenda
Each year antimicrobial resistance the ability of microbes to survive agents designed to kill them claims more lives than malaria and HIV/Aids combined. Africa bears the brunt of this development, which thrives on...
Immune health is all about balance – an immunologist explains why both too strong and too weak an immune response can lead to illness
By Aimee Pugh Bernard
For immune health, some influencers seem to think the Goldilocks philosophy of just right is overrated. Why settle for less immunity when you can have more? Many social media posts push supplements and other life hacks...
Good profits from bad news: How the Kennedy assassination helped make network TV news wealthy
By Michael J. Socolow
In journalism, bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads is a famous industry catchphrase, which explains why violent crime, war and terrorism, and natural disasters are ubiquitous on TV news.
The fact that journalists and...
Thanksgiving stories gloss over the history of US settlement on Native lands
By Lisa Michelle King
Too often, K-12 social studies classes in the U.S. teach a mostly glossed-over story of U.S. settlement. Textbooks tell the stories of adventurous European explorers founding colonies in the New World, and stories of the...
Education linked to better employment prospects upon release from prison
By Ben Stickle Et Al
Better job prospects. Higher wages. A greater chance of staying out of jail. Those are the key outcomes that we discovered for incarcerated people who get an education while serving their time.
Our findings were...
Being homeless means not being free − as Americans are supposed to be
By Paul Schofield
Homelessness is a state of deprivation. Those who are homeless need shelter to be safe; they dont have it. They need a toilet for basic bodily functions; they dont have one. They need a shower to keep clean; they dont have...
Every state is about to dole out federal funding for broadband internet – not every state is ready for the task
By Brian Whitacre
When the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed in late 2021, it included US$42.5 billion for broadband internet access as part of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. The program aims to ensure...
How do crystals form?
By Natalie Bursztyn
How do crystals form? Alyssa Marie, age 5, New Mexico
Scientifically speaking, the term crystal refers to any solid that has an ordered chemical structure. This means that its parts are arranged in a precisely...
Myths about plastic pollution are leading to public confusion: here's why
By Lesley Henderson
Does the prediction that there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050 concern you? How about reports that we eat a credit cards worth of plastic per week? These are some of the facts about plastic that are...
Westworld at 50: Michael Crichton's AI dystopia was ahead of its time
By Keith McDonald
Westworld turns 50 on November 21. Director Michael Crichtons cautionary tale showed that high-concept feature films could act as a vehicle for social commentary. Westworld blended cinematic genres, taking into account the...
Tax cuts rumoured but the UK's autumn statement will offer little economic comfort
By Nick O'Donovan
The UK chancellors autumn statement is likely to be relatively uneventful yet extremely significant. Although some headline-seeking tax cuts are rumoured, sluggish economic growth and persistent inflation leave little...
What is a sonar pulse and how can it injure humans under water?
By Christine Erbe
Over the weekend, the Australian government revealed that last Tuesday its navy divers had sustained minor injuries, likely due to sonar pulses from a Chinese navy vessel.
The divers had been clearing fishing nets from...
Who is Sam Altman, OpenAI's wunderkind ex-CEO – and why does it matter that he got sacked?
By Toby Walsh
On Friday, OpenAIs high-flying chief executive Sam Altman was unexpectedly fired by the companys board. Co-founder and chief technology officer Greg Brockman was also removed as the board president, after which he promptly...
The Optus chief was right to quit but real change is unlikely at the telco until bigger issues are fixed
By Helen Bird
Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin bowed to the inevitable on Monday and resigned as chief executive of Australias second largest telecommunications company.
Why inevitable? Poor communication and a lacklustre...
With COVID surging, should I wear a mask?
By C Raina MacIntyre
COVID is on the rise again, with a peak likely over the holiday season.
Given this, health authorities in a number of Australian states have recommended people start wearing masks again. In Western Australia, masks have...
ABC chief is right: impartiality is paramount when reporting the Israel-Gaza war
By Denis Muller
On November 17, the ABCs editor-in-chief and managing director, David Anderson, was interviewed on Radio 774, the ABCs local station in Melbourne, about criticisms of the national broadcasters coverage of the Israel-Gaza...
The rule of law is fundamental to a free society – so why don’t NZ courts always uphold it?
By Allan Beever
Ever since the 17th century, the rule of law has been regarded as one of the fundamental values of a free society. It means you cannot be forced to do something unless there is a law requiring you to do it.
It also...
How can you define a 'drug'? Nobody really knows
By Sam Baron
Whats a medical drug? Ask someone on the street and theyre likely to tell you its the kind of thing you take when youre unwell.
This understanding is wrong, as we will see. But after a thorough investigation, my...
TikTok has a startling amount of sexual content – and it's way too easy for children to access
By Sonja Petrovic Et Al
Explicit content has long been a feature of the internet and social media, and young peoples exposure to it has been a persistent concern.
This issue has taken centre stage again with the meteoric rise of TikTok....
AI is now accessible to everyone: 3 things parents should teach their kids
By Kathy Mills Et Al
It is almost a year since ChatGPT burst onto the scene, fuelling great excitement as well as concern about what it might mean for education.
The changes keep coming. Earlier in the year, MyAI was embedded into social...
Why are we obsessed with renovation? Amanda Lohrey explores the promise and limits of transforming our environment
By Monique Rooney
The cover of The Conversion is an image of two yellow-tailed black cockatoos ascending against a pale sky, their horizontal outstretched wings crossed by the vertical lines that run from their beaks to their tail...
South African university students use AI to help them understand – not to avoid work
By Tanja Bosch Et Al
When ChatGPT was released in November 2022, it sparked many conversations and moral panics. These centre on the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on the information environment. People worry that AI...
Gaza: should global brands join the protests?
By Aisha Ijaz
US doughnut chain Krispy Kreme has been involved in a humanitarian fundraiser for Palestinians in Gaza, putting itself on the same side as millions of protesters around the world. This might sound unsurprising in an era...
Biden's low approval ratings don't mean he is bound to lose the 2024 US election -- here's why
By Paul Whiteley
US Democrats have been spooked by some recent polling which suggests that voters intend to pick Donald Trump ahead of Joe Biden in some key states in the 2024 presidential election.
A CNN poll reported on the website...
What Xi got out of his meeting with Biden
By Tom Harper
Chinas leader Xi Jinping flew into San Francisco to meet US president Joe Biden on November 15 for his first visit to the US since 2017.
The meeting, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) conference, was...
What is LockBit, the cybercrime gang hacking some of the world's largest organisations?
By Jennifer Medbury
While ransomware incidents have been occurring for more than 30 years, only in the last decade has the term ransomware appeared regularly in popular media. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that blocks access to...
Let coastlines be coastlines: How nature-based approaches can protect Canada's coasts
By Keahna Margeson
Along Canadian coasts, storm surges and flooding have gone from breaking news to seasonal norms.
Phenomena Canadians have historically thought of as freak natural disasters are becoming regular predictable...
