The Latest Breaking News from The Conversation

Many people imagine the Victorians to be the stern “we are not amused” type, yet they had a pretty cruel sense of humour when it came to Valentine’s Day. While today’s lovers often exchange cute (and cheesy) cards, the Victorians loved to send insulting “vinegar Valentines”.

In a surprise announcement on February 10, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that his administration was preparing to hold presidential elections before the middle of May. Alongside these elections, he is reported to be planning to hold a referendum on a peace deal with Russia.

The latest wellness trend and “sleep hack” involves switching off the bathroom light before stepping into the shower. In the dimness, the water feels louder, the day’s visual clutter fades and the hope is that sleep will come more easily. This practice, often called “dark showering”, has spread on social…

The sports featured at the Winter Olympics defy gravity and physics. Many competitors move at breakneck speeds down steep, snowy inclines or careen across icy surfaces in a bid to set world records and earn their place on the podium.

The aspiration to write a “state-of-the-nation” drama is the great white whale of political writing. Take the work of legendary German playwright Bertolt Brecht. Exiled by Hitler to Scandinavia in 1933, he attempted to capture life in his homeland from anecdotes and verbatim accounts. The result, his state-of-the-nation play Fear…

The Food and Drug Administration has refused to review an application from the biotech company Moderna to approve its mRNA-based flu vaccine.

Editor’s note: This story is the first in a series of articles from Canada’s top social sciences and humanities academics. Click here to register for In Conversation with Myriam Denov, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. ET. This is a virtual event co-hosted by The Conversation Canada and the Social Sciences…

Parents looking to support their children’s learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) will find no shortage of branded STEM sets, subscription science boxes, private coding programs or educational toys for kids.

Whenever US federal immigration agents pull up to a location in Minneapolis, people take their whistles out, start blowing them and start filming.

In the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, dating apps typically see a spike in new users and activity. More profiles are created, more messages sent, more swipes logged.

It’s become a common refrain in South Africa: there’s no drought, dams and reservoirs are full, but the taps are dry.