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Nutrition

Nutrition

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News Commentary

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Politics

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Nutrition

Nutrition

Updated Weekly
News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated Weekly
News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated Bi-monthly
Politics

Politics

Updated Twice Weekly
Physics

Physics

Updated Weekly
Nature

Nature

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Kids & Family

Kids & Family

Updated Weekly

5 MAR

Was the Gulf blindsided on Iran?

As Israel and the US continued to bomb Iran after killing the country's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Iran lashed out at its neighbours with multiple drone strikes, including against the US embassy in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia and Iran have a long and bitter rivalry. Yet, in recent years, the Saudis had begun building new diplomatic relationship with Iran, even as they and other Gulf states continued to host American military bases, and court American investment. Now the Gulf states find themselves in the middle of the very regional conflict many of its leaders hoped to avoid. It's one which threatens longstanding efforts to cement the Gulf as a hub for finance, travel and tourism, and as an oasis of security. Were they blindsided? Or did some actually want the US to attack Iran? With the US and Israel seemingly calling the shots, what will the Gulf states do now? In today's episode, we speak to Simon Mabon, a professor of international relations at Lancaster University in the UK and expert in Saudi-Iran relations, about how the Gulf's delicate balancing act between the US and Iran came toppling down. This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany and Katie Flood. The executive producers was Gemma Ware. Mixing by Eleanor Brezzi and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Read the full credits for this episode and sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation. If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Mentioned in this episode: The Making of an Autocrat Search "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series: The Making of an Autocrat. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.

5 Mar

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29 min
3 DAYS AGO

Mystery covid methane spike solved

Six years ago, as countries around the world went into COVID lockdowns, the air got cleaner. Factories slowed down, roads emptied and aeroplanes were grounded. As people stayed home, the world burned fewer fossil fuels and so carbon dioxide emissions dropped. But something else was also happening in the atmosphere. Levels of methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas that warms the planet even faster than CO2, rose faster in 2020 than at any point since records began in the 1980s. And methane levels kept on rising during 2021 and 2022. Ever since, scientists have been trying to piece together what caused this sudden mysterious increase in methane. Now, they think they have the answer – and it was partly due to COVID lockdowns. In this episode, we speak to Philippe Ciais, a researcher at the Laboratory for Environmental and Climate Science at Université Paris-Saclay in France, and one of the authors of a new study in the journal Science about the spike in methane levels, who explains how they solved the mystery. This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany and Katie Flood and Gemma Ware was the executive producer. Mixing by Eleanor Brezzi and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Read the full credits for this episode and sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation. If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Mentioned in this episode: The Making of an Autocrat Search "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series: The Making of an Autocrat. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.

3 days ago

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23 min
5 DAYS AGO

What is period scooping? And other menstrual hacks you should think twice about

Period scooping sounds like something you would only hear in a biology lab, not while doom-scrolling TikTok. Yet earlier this year, videos claiming you can “scoop out” your period to avoid the mess and shorten the whole thing racked up millions of views. In this episode, we hear from Sally King, a visiting fellow at King’s College London, about why you can't shorten your period, and why you need to be careful about upsetting the pH balance of your body. She also gives us her perspective as a menstrual physiologist on other period hacks, including menstrual blood face masks, and drinks that some influencers say can shorten your period. Strange Health is a podcast from The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. If you've got a question about a viral trend or video you've seen and you'd like us to delve into the science behind it in a future episode, please email us at strangehealth@theconversation.com. Full credits for this episode available here. If you like the show, please consider donating to support our work. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation here. If you've got a questeion Hosts: Katie Edwards from The Conversation and Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol Executive Producer: Gemma Ware Editing and mixing: Anouk Millet Artwork: Alice Mason Menstrual health literacy is alarmingly low – what you don’t know can harm youWould you put period blood on your face? What science says about ‘menstrual masking’Your vagina cleans itself: why vagina cleaning fads are unnecessary and harmful

5 days ago

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39 min
3 MAR

Does light therapy work? The science of stroboscopic stimulation

Light therapy sounds wholesome. Sit in front of a lamp. Feel better. But nowadays, it can also mean strapping on a flashing mask and watching your own brain generate kaleidoscopic hallucinations behind closed eyelids. In this episode, host Katie Edwards tries on a stroboscopic light mask being promoted by celebrities including Jennifer Aniston and Rosamund Pike to find out what happens. And David Schwartzman, a research fellow at the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science at the University of Sussex, explains how stroboscopic light produces hallucinations in the brain, and how it's currently being trialled to treat conditions like depression. Strange Health is a podcast from The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Full credits for this episode available here. If you like the show, please consider donating to support our work. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation here. Hosts: Katie Edwards from The Conversation and Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol Executive Producer: Gemma Ware Editing and mixing: Anouk Millet Artwork: Alice Mason Can a psychedelic-induced mystical experience really improve your mental health?SAD lamps: do they work? Experts explain how they help the winter blues

3 Mar

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40 min
10 FEB

What is the vagus nerve and can you really reset it?

The vagus nerve has become the internet’s favourite body part. On social media, it is everywhere. People hum into their phones, gargle with theatrical enthusiasm, dunk their faces into bowls of ice water and poke at their ears in the hope of “activating” it. So in this episode we focus our attention on the body’s longest cranial nerve and ask a simple question: what does the vagus nerve actually do, and can we really hack it? Hosts Katie Edwards and Dan Baumgardt turn this week to Arshad Majid, a professor of cerebrovascular neurology at the University of Sheffield and an expert in vagus nerve stimulation. Strange Health is a podcast from The Conversation is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Full credits for this episode available here. If you like the show, please consider donating to support our work. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation here. Hosts: Katie Edwards from The Conversation and Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol Executive Producer: Gemma Ware Editing and mixing: Anouk MIllet Artwork: Alice Mason From decapitation to positive psychology: how one nerve connects body, brain and mindStimulating the pathway connecting body and brain may change chronic condition patients’ lives

10 Feb

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37 min
24 FEB

What your body odour says about you

Body odour has a reputation problem. It is often treated as a hygiene failure or a social offence. In reality, it is biology at work, plus a big helping of culture. And yet people online are trying chlorophyll shots to make their BO smell better. Hosts Katie Edwards and Dan Baumgardt discuss what evidence there is behind this, plus some of the health conditions that can affect body odour. And we talk to Mats Olsson, a professor of experimental psychology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, who studies how humans perceive body odour. Strange Health is a podcast from The Conversation is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Full credits for this episode available here. If you like the show, please consider donating to support our work. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation here. Hosts: Katie Edwards from The Conversation and Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol Executive Producer: Gemma Ware Editing and mixing: Anouk Millet Artwork: Alice Mason

24 Feb

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41 min
17 FEB

Meet the mites that live on you: from demodex to dust mites and scabies

You are not alone in your own skin. Millions of microscopic creatures live there too. Our skin is home to entire ecosystems of microscopic life. Bacteria and fungi get most of the attention, but mites are there too. Among the most common are demodex mites, tiny eight-legged relatives of spiders that live inside hair follicles and pores, especially on the face. Almost all adults carry them. In this episode we explore what these microscopic housemates are actually doing on our bodies and why the idea of them can feel so unsettling. While demodex may be harmless, there are plenty of other mites that can cause problems, from dust mites, to scabies. Hosts Katie Edwards and Dan Baumgardt turn this week to Alejandra Perotti, professor of invertebrate biology at the University of Reading, who studies the relationship between mites and humans. Strange Health is a podcast from The Conversation is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Full credits for this episode available here. If you like the show, please consider donating to support our work. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation here. Hosts: Katie Edwards from The Conversation and Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol Executive Producer: Gemma Ware Editing and mixing: Sikander Khan Artwork: Alice Mason Invisible skin mites called Demodex almost certainly live on your face – but what about your mascara?How often should you really be washing your bedding? A microbiologist explainsScabies outbreak in UK and Europe – what you need to know

17 Feb

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36 min
20 JAN

Is detoxing your liver worth the hype?

Social media is full of green juices, charcoal supplements, foot patches and seven-day “liver resets”, all promising to purge the body of mysterious toxins and return it to a purer state. But do you really need to detox your liver? In the first episode of Strange Health, hosts Katie Edwards, a health editor at The Conversation, and Dan Baumgardt, a practising GP and lecturer in health and life sciences at the University of Bristol wince and occasionally laugh their way through some of the internet’s most popular detox trends. They also speak to Trish Lalor, a liver expert from the University of Birmingham, whose message is refreshingly blunt: “your body is really set up to do it by itself.” Strange Health is a podcast from The Conversation is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. If you like the show, please consider donating to support our work. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation here. Hosts: Katie Edwards and Dan Baumgardt Executive Producer: Gemma Ware Editing and mixing: Sikander Khan Artwork: Alice Mason

20 Jan

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34 min
19 FEB

The 'national humiliation' behind Russia's war on Ukraine

As the 21st century dawned, a newly-elected Vladmir Putin was making friends on the world stage. He smiled for photo ops at G8 meetings, and was the first foreign leader to call George W. Bush after the attacks of 9/11, offering his support against terrorism. So what changed? To understand Russia's view of the world now – and its continued aggression towards Ukraine – it helps to know more about the psyche of the country and its leader. In today's episode, we talk to James Rodgers, a reader in international journalism at City St George's, University of London, about how a festering sense of national humiliation after the collapse of the Soviet Union hardened Putin's tough man regime and led Russia to turn its back on the west. This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware with editing help from Ashlynne McGhee. Mixing by Michelle Macklem and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Read the full credits for this episode and sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation. If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Vladimir Putin’s history war where truth is the first casualtyThe painful post-Soviet transition from communism to capitalism – Recovery podcast series part fiveIn pushing for Ukraine elections, Trump is falling into Putin-laid trap to delegitimize Zelenskyy Mentioned in this episode: The Making of an Autocrat Search "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series: The Making of an Autocrat. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.

19 Feb

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24 min
26 FEB

South Korea's birth rate is rising, but the population is still shrinking

South Korea’s very low birth rate and ageing population have long served as a cautionary tale for other governments worried that they’ll see similar demographic challenges. But now, for the second year running, more people in South Korea are having children. The 6.8% rise in births in 2025 is the largest rise since 2007, and has taken the country’s total fertility rate to 0.80, up from 0.75 in 2024. The news is being cautiously celebrated, but with South Korea’s overall population still shrinking, it is yet to reverse its demographic fortunes. In this episode, we speak to Stuart Gietel-Basten, a demographer and professor of social science and public policy at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, about how South Korea has got to this point and some of the structural issues the country still faces. This episode was written and produced by Gemma Ware and Katie Flood. Mixing by Eleanor Brezzi and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Read the full credits for this episode and sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation. If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. Japan is not the only country worrying about population decline – get used to a two-speed worldChina’s population decline is a result of decades of botched family planning measures and will have global implicationsSouth Korea’s gender imbalance is bad news for men − outnumbering women, many face bleak marriage prospects Mentioned in this episode: The Making of an Autocrat Search "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series: The Making of an Autocrat. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.

26 Feb

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28 min

Listen to experts explain the world around us and tell the stories behind brand new research. Podcasts from The Conversation, an independent source of news and views, sourced from the academic and research community. Shows in English, French and Bahasa Indonesia. Free to listen.

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