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The 19th-century maritime superstitions that were believed to protect men at sea

Maritime folklore has long been shuffled to the margins of nautical history, presented as the quaint, colourful oddities of a former age. Yet this body of beliefs, practices and stories can offer important insights into how seafarers of the 19th century viewed and understood their working environment.

The Conversation

Hosepipe ban survival guide: which garden plants to save and which to sacrifice

With hosepipe bans in force across several English regions and more restrictions likely to follow, gardeners face some tough choices. When every drop counts, which plants deserve your precious water from the water butt, and which should you leave to fend for themselves?

The Conversation

A Philosopher Looks at Clothes by Kate Moran is engaging and unpretentious – we need more philosophy books like this

With a few exceptions, philosophers have had little to say about clothes. Maybe this is because the topic seems frivolous, or feminine, unworthy of the attention of a predominantly male collection of thinkers.

The Conversation

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Sylvia Plath’s ‘fig tree analogy’ from The Bell Jar is being misappropriated

In chapter seven of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar (1963), protagonist Esther Greenwood imagines her life branching out before her like a green fig-tree. Each individual fig on the branches represents a different “wonderful future” – a family, a successful career, romance, travel, fame, etc.

The Conversation

A potted history of fermented foods – from pickles to kimchi

Are you a pro at pickling? How about baking sourdough bread or brewing your own kombucha? If the answer is yes, you’ve probably picked up on one of the recent trends promoting fermented foods, which promise to boost your gut health and save both you and the planet from the…

The Conversation

In Reframing Blackness, Alayo Akinkugbe challenges museums to see blackness first

In Reframing Blackness, writer and curator Alayo Akinkugbe explores the way that art history is taught, and the impact this has had on what we see in national museums in western cities. This teaching has often led to the exclusion of blackness from mainstream art spaces. Akinkugbe challenges this by…

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Why the Sycamore Gap tree provoked such strong emotional reactions – a psychologist explains

In September 2023, so many people were shocked when the famous Sycamore Gap tree, thriving in a dip along Hadrian’s Wall, was deliberately cut down overnight. For many, the tree symbolised British resilience, heritage and an enduring history. The public response was swift and intense, with widespread outrage and grief…

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Superman wasn’t always so squeaky clean – in early comics he was a radical vigilante

Superman was the very first superhero. He debuted in Action Comics issue #1 which was released in June 1938. Over time, the character has been assigned multiple nicknames: “The Man of Steel”, “The Man of Tomorrow” and “The Big Blue Boy Scout”. However, in his first appearance in ravaged Depression-era…

The Conversation

The Salt Path scandal: defending a memoir’s ‘emotional truth’ is a high-risk strategy

Raynor Winn, author of the award-winning memoir The Salt Path, which was recently adapted into a film, has been accused of “lies, deceit and desperation”. Writing in The Observer, reporter Chloe Hadjimatheou claims that Winn left out significant facts and invented parts of the story.

The Conversation

The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke is a powerful account of one child’s gift to another

What does it mean to save a life – and what does it cost? In The Story of a Heart, Rachel Clarke answers this not with slogans or sentiment, but with quiet, searing honesty. This book, which won this year’s Women’s prize for non-fiction, is about organ donation, yes, but…

The Conversation

A brief history of the slogan T-shirt

You probably have a drawer full of T-shirts. They’re comfy, easy to style, cheap and ubiquitous. But the T-shirt is anything but basic. For 70 years, they’ve been worn as a tool for self-expression, rebellion and protest. And in 2025, the slogan T-shirt is as powerful as it has ever…

The Conversation

Comics and graphic novels can empower refugees to tell their stories on their own terms

There are more refugees in the world today than at any other point in history. The United Nations estimates that there are now more than 120 million people forcibly displaced from their homes. That is one in every 69 people on Earth. Some 73% of this population is hosted in…

The Conversation

Virgin by Lorde is a layered work of performance art – her smartest references explained

With her latest album, Virgin, Lorde is stretching the concept of the virgin beyond the common definition. Some may consider the album’s title and its cover art – an X-ray of Lorde’s pelvis showing an IUD – to be contradictory.

The Conversation

Why white clothing is a requirement at Wimbledon

When Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner at the Roland Garros men’s final on June 8 2025, in what is already seen as a classic match, there was some comment on the sartorial choices of the two players.

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Radical listening: two big ideas and six core skills that could help you connect more deeply with others

Even though we live in a constantly connected world, more people feel lonely than ever before. According to public polling company Gallup, nearly a quarter of the world’s population reports feeling lonely.

The Conversation

Sixteenth-century tennis was a dangerous sport played with balls covered in wool

In 1570, a Frenchman was arrested for smuggling clandestine correspondence between France and England. A passing comment in his interrogation document reveals that he also happened to be carrying a leather bag “in which there were three or four dozen balls of wool for playing tennis”.

The Conversation

Survey shows support for electoral reform now at 60% – so could it happen?

Public support for reforming the UK’s first past the post electoral system has risen markedly of late. So is there any serious chance that such reform could actually happen?

The Conversation

Labour’s disability cuts rebellion: a former government whip asks, how did Keir Starmer not see this coming?

The government has promised to make major concessions to its universal credit and personal independence payment bill after a large-scale and very public rebellion by Labour MPs threatened to derail a vote due on July 1.

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Why evolution can explain human testicle size but not our unique chins

The human body is a machine whose many parts – from the microscopic details of our cells to our limbs, eyes, liver and brain – have been assembled in fits and starts over the 4 billion years of our history.

The Conversation

Trump’s f-bomb: a psychologist explains why the president makes fast and furious statements

Donald Trump’s latest forthright outburst was made as part of his attempts to create a peace deal with Iran and Israel. “I’m not happy with Israel,” he told reporters on June 24. “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know…

The Conversation

I’ve studied faiths and cultures around the world. Here’s how finance can be made more inclusive and sustainable

Financial products are becoming increasingly sophisticated – as are the frauds associated with things like crypto, hacking and digital robbery. Many people are already overwhelmed by financial matters, and being unable to manage money can lead to mental health problems.

The Conversation

Tracing the Drax family’s millions – a story of British landed gentry, slavery and sugar plantations

Rich British aristocratic families with a legacy of owning colonial slave plantations are often accused by campaigners that their wealth solely originates from these plantations. One frequent target of this criticism has been the Drax family of Dorset, which is headed by Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, who was the Conservative MP…

The Conversation

Nineteen Eighty-Four might have been inspired by George Orwell’s fear of drowning

George Orwell had a traumatic relationship with the sea. In August 1947, while he was writing Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) on the island of Jura in the Scottish Hebrides, he went on a fishing trip with his young son, nephew and niece.

The Conversation

Jaws at 50: a cinematic masterpiece – and an incredible piece of propaganda

Jaws turns 50 on June 20. Last year, Quentin Tarantino called Stephen Spielberg’s film “possibly the greatest movie ever made”. Though he was quick to add that it isn’t the best film in terms of script, cinematography or acting, he was convinced that its overall quality as a movie remains…

The Conversation

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden wins the 2025 Women’s prize – an expertly woven tale of personal crises and national horror

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden has won the 2025 Women’s prize. It revisits a dark, under-explored chapter of Dutch history. It asks what happened to all the possessions that Jews who were forced to flee or were taken to camps during the second world war had to leave…

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