Our most read articles of 2025
Our most read articles of 2025 In 2025, researchers at the University of Reading published 56 articles on The Conversation, generating almost 1.2 million reads worldwide. These articles showcase the...Read More >
The Conversation
We built a database of 290,000 English medieval soldiers – here’s what it reveals
Battle of Sluys, 1340, depicted by Jean Froissart (1337-1410) | Wikimedia Commons When you picture medieval warfare, you might think of epic battles and famous monarchs. But what about the...Read More >
COP30: Zambia’s forest communities need finance for solar power – so they don’t have to cut down trees to pay for it
Across rural Zambia, small solar home systems and lanterns have transformed daily life. Between 2018 and 2022, more than one million small solar devices were sold across the country. These...Read More >
A psychedelic tour of Earth’s ecosystems – from the desert to Siberia
Every mind-bending molecule in nature has an evolutionary origin; a defence against being eaten, a lure for pollinators, or perhaps a happy biochemical accident. Though they seem extraordinary, life has...Read More >
The Children’s Booker prize will include works of translation – here are five expert recommendations to get your kids excited
Photo by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash The buzz around the newly announced Children’s Booker has focused on its potential to “tell kids they matter”, as they get their own version...Read More >
Why on Earth is the planet’s day getting shorter?
Earth will complete a rotation 1.33 milliseconds earlier than usual on Tuesday, August 5. That makes it one of the shortest days of 2025 at 86,399.99867 seconds long. How that...Read More >
Melsonby hoard: iron-age Yorkshire discovery reveals ancient Britons’ connections with Europe
The Melsonby hoard is a remarkable collection of more than 800 iron-age metal artefacts, which was found in a field near Melsonby, North Yorkshire, in December 2021. Its discovery represents...Read More >
Just Stop Oil’s protest during The Tempest is an extension of theatre’s radical tradition
The theatre has long staged and debated society’s most pressing concerns. But when protest moves beyond the script and into the theatre itself, the reaction can shift from applause to...Read More >
AI voice technology used in The Brutalist is nothing new – the backlash is about transparency
Director Brady Corbet’s stunning new film, The Brutalist, has won three Golden Globes and remains a frontrunner for this year’s Oscars despite a controversy over its use of AI which...Read More >
Elon Musk and the history of the ‘Roman salute’
How often do you think about the Roman empire? Elon Musk claims to think about it every day. Given his frequent references to Roman antiquity, I think we can take...Read More >
