Category: Academic Analysis
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The Rose Field takes Philip Pullman’s ‘Dust’ to its philosophical conclusions
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Samuel Jesse Cox, Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Lecturer in English Literature, University of Tübingen The Rose Field, the third and final volume in Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust trilogy is finally in the hands of his readers. This trilogy accompanies Pullman’s earlier series, His Dark…
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Plastic packaging could be a greater sin than food waste
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By James Cronin, Professor in Marketing and Consumer Culture Studies, Lancaster University Miljan Zivkovic/Shutterstock Food waste has long been reviled as an immoral, largely preventable feature of our consumer society. An estimated 4.7 million tonnes of edible food is thrown away by households each year in the…
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Where did the first people come from? The case for a coastal migration from southern Africa
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Alan Whitfield, Emeritus Chief Scientist, NRF-SAIAB, National Research Foundation The origins and migrations of modern humans around the world are a hot topic of debate. Genetic analyses have pointed to Africa as the continent from which our ancestors dispersed in the Late Pleistocene epoch, which…
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Some animals are more equal than others: the dark side of researching popular species
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Laura Tensen, Assistant Professor, University of Greifswald Biologists often form deep bonds with the species they study. For some, that relationship begins early in their careers and shapes decades of research. The connection can be personal, even affectionate, but it can also create tensions when…
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Trump and Putin didn’t hold new peace talks after all — but that was likely Putin’s plan all along
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Oleksa Drachewych, Assistant Professor in History, Western University Donald Trump’s administration recently announced a forthcoming meeting between the American president and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to take place in Hungary. High-level talks from representatives of both the United States and Russia were to set up such…
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Atorvastatin recall may affect hundreds of thousands of patients – and reflects FDA’s troubles inspecting medicines manufactured overseas
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By C. Michael White, Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut Several batches of the drug did not dissolve properly, which means the person taking them would receive a lower dose. Chimperil59/iStock via Getty Images If you take cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, you may have…
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Where does human thinking end and AI begin? An AI authorship protocol aims to show the difference
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Eli Alshanetsky, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Temple University If students can’t demonstrate their thinking, how can professors know whether they are learning? SDI Productions via Getty Images The latest generation of artificial intelligence models is sharper and smoother, producing polished text with fewer errors and…
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Beware the Anglo-Saxons! Why Russia likes to invoke a medieval tribe when talking about the West
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Peter Rutland, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University A new, old specter is haunting the world: the bloodthirsty Anglo-Saxons. Well, that is what the Kremlin wants the world to believe. Take the new Russian state-backed film “Tolerance.” Released in September 2025 to a less than enthusiastic…
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What both sides of America’s polarized divide share: Deep anxieties about the meaning of life and existence itself
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Carl F. Weems, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University Whatever your beliefs, existential anxiety is likely the fear at the root of why certain issues trigger you. francescoch/iStock via Getty Images Plus Opening my social media feed, I’m often confronted with a…
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Water bears survive cosmic radiation with one DNA-protecting protein – learning how could boost human resilience, too
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Tyler J. Woodward, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Iowa Tardigrades – also known as moss piglets – prefer damp environments, but they can survive just about anywhere. Thomas Shahan/Flickr, CC BY-SA A newly discovered protein from Earth’s toughest animal is inspiring breakthrough therapies for cancer and…