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How military exercises help the UK and its allies prepare for a future war

The past few weeks have seen aerial duels being fought over the North Sea and a naval vessel being sunk off Scotland’s west coast. Fortunately this was not a case of hostile combat – these episodes took place during two major multinational military exercises: Exercise Atlantic Thunder and Exercise Cobra…

The Conversation · Oct 9

American military bases in the UK – controversial, but seen as vital

The recent incidents concerning RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire have highlighted that fact that the US military does have quite a significant presence on UK soil. What this presence fully amounts to, though, is unclear.

The Conversation · Oct 9

Women are more emotionally intelligent than men, and that’s a problem – landmark study

Who comes to mind when you think of someone emotionally intelligent? Someone who can read a room, defuse an argument, and who knows exactly what to say when a friend is struggling? For many people, that person is a woman. It’s such a widely held belief that popular psychology treats…

The Conversation · Oct 9

The war on terror failed Afghanistan. But the people’s hopes for democracy live on

Twenty-five years ago this week, the United States launched strikes in Afghanistan, targeting al-Qaeda training camps and Taliban military installations. It marked the beginning of the first military campaign in the US-led “global war on terror”.

The Conversation · Oct 9

Albanese government partially retreats on credit card issue after small business revolt

The Albanese government has made a partial retreat on the controversial move by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to ban businesses from using credit cards to pay their tax bills.

The Conversation · Oct 9

Grief, community and memory: Log Boy is a wickedly intelligent post-AIDS play

Anthony (Anthony Nicola) is an anxious, grief-stricken mess mourning the loss of his partner, Michael, who died from AIDS. Over the weekend of his partner’s funeral, Anthony must play host to Michael’s closest and cattiest friends, Justin (Paul Capsis) and Jamie (Paul Reichstein).

The Conversation · Oct 9

‘We will not be sacrificed’: Pacific climate voices were clear and strong this week – and we’re listening

Preparatory meetings for the United Nations’ annual climate summit are usually quiet affairs, focused on laying the political and technical groundwork for the main COP event. But this year felt very different.

The Conversation · Oct 9

What makes an Olympic emblem memorable – and does Brisbane’s new design fit the bill?

A cockatoo, a flame and a map all in a single symbol – now known as Brisbane 2032’s Olympic and Paralympic emblem. Is it saying too much, and who is it really speaking to?

The Conversation · Oct 9

Is this the ‘mathocalypse’? Why OpenAI’s latest results dump has left mathematicians in shock

Earlier this week, OpenAI published a trove of hundreds of mathematical results it claimed could “push the frontier of human knowledge”. Produced largely by an unreleased artificial intelligence (AI) model, the 722 papers relate to 372 open problems covering everything from algebra and geometry to theoretical computer science.

The Conversation · Oct 9

After Firmus shelved the biggest ASX listing in 30 years, what does it say to investors about AI hype?

It was pitched to investors as “the biggest initial public offering (IPO) in a generation”.

The Conversation · Oct 9