The Conversation

By Jillian Sunderland and Jordan Foster Young men and teenage boys are learning to see their faces and bodies as projects to measure, rank and optimise. On social media platforms ...

By Lauren C. Hall, Christine Padgett, James Sauer, and María Yanotti As countries around the world look to follow Australia’s lead and implement a social media ban for ...

By Dipa Kamdar If you spend any time on social media, you may have noticed a curious trend: wellness influencers singing the praises of nicotine. Not smoking or vaping but ...

By Lorinda Cramer The “frugal chic” aesthetic is having its moment, however contradictory the concept may seem. Frugal suggests a focus on thriftiness, while “chic” oozes a sense of classic ...

By Mal James First conceived as a mail-order-only company in 1963, known as Biba’s Postal Boutique, the brand captured the revolutionary 1960s and 1970s attitude and style, offering trend-seekers affordable, ...

By Emily Brayshaw Even before the film’s release, the costumes for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights caused controversy. Wuthering Heights was first published in 1847 and the story switches back ...

By Martha Shaw and Alexis Stones The endless creativity that Lego bricks present means they can be used for far more than following instructions to build the model on the ...

By Lucy Gill-Simmen The UK’s proposed post-16 education and skills policy promises a nation “where nobody is left behind”. The country’s modern industrial strategy 2025 talks of a workforce ...

By Tamsin Johnson Marks and Spencer is one of the latest UK high-street brands to launch a ski-wear collection. Even supermarket Lidl are in on the action, with their ski ...

By Theresa Larkin When we talk about a biological clock ticking, it usually means the pressure women feel to fall pregnant before a certain age. It’s linked to the ...

By Naomi Braithwaite UK heritage shoemaker Russell & Bromley has been bought by high-street clothing giant Next. Despite the brand’s rescue from administration, dozens of jobs will be lost ...

By Byron HydeTHE Enhanced Games, slated to commence in May 2026, has sparked outrage across the sporting world. This new competition is the first in history to openly permit performance-enhancing drugs, ...

By Jordan Foster Just weeks after the premiere of popular gay hockey romance series Heated Rivalry, star Hudson Williams’ extensive skincare routine has gone viral. In a now-viral video for ...

By Michael Paarlberg, Virginia Commonwealth University As protest and military action raised the prospect of regime change in Iran and Venezuela, the voices of both countries’ diasporas were heard loud ...

By Asbel Bohigues As governments around the world tighten migration controls, Spain has taken a strikingly different path. In January 2026, the Spanish cabinet approved a decree opening a pathway to ...

By Lauren Ball and Emily Burch If you’ve spent any time on TikTok or Instagram lately, you may have seen people blending oats with water or juice and calling ...

By Lauren Alex O’Hagan and Lame M Kenalemang-Palm In the depths of winter, sunscreen might not be top of many people’s shopping lists. Yet it remains a staple ...

By Mireille Rebeiz and Josiane Yazbeck More than a year after a ceasefire nominally ended active fighting, much of southern Lebanon bears the ecological scars of war. Avocado orchards are ...

By Bethany Clark, Aberystwyth University In January some people start the year by trying to eat fewer animal products. Veganuary, as the campaign is called, began in 2014 and now attracts 25.8 ...

By Adam Taylor As Christmas fades into memory, many of us continue to focus our attention on the new year and its promise of a fresh start. For millions of ...

By Sasha Grishin Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo are two fashion designers who redefined “the look” of fashion on the street from the 1970s onwards. They were born a year ...

By Arash Beidollahkhani Protests that began in late December over rising prices and a collapsing currency have now spread to most of Iran’s 31 provinces, with demonstrators taking aim at ...

A vast amount of information has not necessarily meant more reliable information, writes James Rodgers, a former BBC correspondent who held postings in Gaza, Moscow and Brussels On December 10, the ...

A historian describes the turbulent times of the real nativity By Joan Taylor Every year, millions of people sing the beautiful carol Silent Night, with its line “all is calm, ...