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Business News

Updated 01/07/2021
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Science

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Updated 31/07/2019

08/05/2025

The 'Mo Salah effect' on reducing prejudice

Liverpool FC just won the English Premier League. Contributing to their 5-1 victory over Tottenham to seal the title was Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian superstar who is the league's top scorer in the 2024-5 season. We're revisiting an episode that we first ran in December 2022 about research which used Salah to demonstrate how a celebrity footballer who is openly Muslim can help to reduce Islamophobia. Salma Mousa, now an assistant professor of political science at UCLA in the US, talks to us about her research. This episode was produced and written by Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our other producers are Mend Mariwany and Katie Flood. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. More details can be found in an article that accompanied the original episode.

08/05/2025

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17 min
09/04/2025

How AI could influence the evolution of humanity

Some of the leading brains behind generative AI have warned about the risk of artificial superintelligence wiping out humanity, if left unchecked. But what if the influence of AI on humans is much more mundane, influencing our evolution over thousands of years through natural selection? In this episode we talk to evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks about what AI could do to the evolution of humanity, from smaller brains to fewer friends. This episode was written and produced by Gemma Ware. Sound design was by Eloise Stevens 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.

09/04/2025

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27 min
17/04/2025

The Birkin bag game

The Birkin bag made by French luxury retailer Hermès has become a status symbol for the global elite. Notoriously difficult to obtain, the world's rich obsess over how to get their hands on one. But when US retailer Walmart recently launched a much cheaper bag that looked very similar to the Birkin, nicknamed a "Wirkin" by others, it sparked discussions about wealth disparity and the ethics of conspicuous consumption. In this episode we speak to two sociologists, Parul Bhandari from the University of Cambridge in the UK and Aarushi Bhandari from Davidson College in the US, about the Birkin and what it symbolises. This episode was written and produced by Katie Flood. Sound design and mixing by Eloise Stevens 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. Birkin bags, Swiss ski resorts and Louis Vuitton: how super-rich Delhi housewives strive to be part of a global eliteBirkin handbags, Walmart’s ‘Wirkin’ and the meme-ification of class warfare

17/04/2025

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25 min
27/03/2025

Shipping produces 3% of global emissions. How to get that down, quickly

Ships transport around 80% of the world’s cargo. From your food, to your car to your phone, chances are it got to you by sea. The vast majority of the world’s container ships burn fossil fuels, which is why 3% of global emissions come from shipping – slightly more than the 2.5% of emissions from aviation. The race is on to reduce these emissions, and quickly, to meet the Paris agreement targets. In this episode we find out what technologies are available to shipping companies to reduce their carbon emissions – from sails, to alternative fuels or a 'Google maps for the ocean'. Featuring Daniel Precioso, post-doctoral researcher at IE University in Spain and Alice Larkin, Professor of Climate Science and Energy Policy, University of Manchester. This episode was written and produced by Gemma Ware with assistance from Mend Mariwany. Sound design was by Eloise Stevens 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. Sails and satellite navigation could cut shipping industry’s emissions by up to a thirdGlobal shipping is under pressure to stop its heavy fuel oil use fast – that’s not simple, but changes are comingFive ways to cut emissions from shipping

27/03/2025

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22 min
12/04/2023

Theory of everything: do we really need one?

The quest for a theory of everything – explaining all the forces and particles in the universe – is arguably the holy grail of physics. While each of our main theories of physics works extraordinarily well, they also clash with each other. But do we really need a theory of everything? And are we anywhere near achieving one? Featuring Vlatko Vedral, a professor of physics at the University of Oxford and Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, an assistant professor in physics and astronomy and core faculty in women's and gender studies at the University Of New Hampshire. This episode is presented by Miriam Frankel and produced by Hannah Fisher. Executive producers are Jo Adetunji and Gemma Ware. Social media and platform production by Alice Mason, sound design by Eloise Stevens and music by Neeta Sarl. A transcript is available here. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation. Further reading: The standard model of particle physics may be broken – an expert explains

12/04/2023

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57 min
03/03/2022

Défis globaux… solutions locales ! (2/3)

Que ce soit la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique ou la protection de la biodiversité, les défis environnementaux de notre époque impressionnent souvent par leur ampleur et leur caractère systémique. Il peut alors être bon de partir sur le terrain pour voir comment des équipes de recherche tentent de répondre concrètement à de tels enjeux. C’est l’objectif de notre série « Défis globaux… solutions locales ! », réalisée en partenariat avec le Cirad Dans ce nouvel épisode, nous rejoignons le chercheur en agronomie Raphaël Belmin pour évoquer la transition agroécologique au Sénégal. Depuis 2019, le pays affiche sa volonté de développer des pratiques agricoles innovantes et durables. Il s’agit de mieux gérer les ressources naturelles, l’eau principalement, dans un contexte de dérèglements climatiques et de croissance démographique. Cet élan est notamment porté par la Dynamique pour une transition agroécologique au Sénégal (DyTAES), un réseau très actif dans ce pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest, dont Raphaël Belmin nous présente les différentes actions. Crédits "In extenso." est un podcast produit par The Conversation France. Retrouvez les autres épisodes sur le site de The Conversation ou sur les plateformes de podcasts.Conception, Jennifer Gallé. Réalisation, Romain Pollet. Chargé de production Rayane Meguenni Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

03/03/2022

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22 min
02/07/2025

Kerrynne Liddle on seizing more opportunities with Indigenous Australians

The shadow minister for Indigenous Australians and social services says we need 'unpleasant conversations' to achieve real outcomes – like keeping families together. Mentioned in this episode: Your support matters Support non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025 Sign up to The Conversation's newsletter https://theconversation.com/au/newsletters The Making of an Autocrat Search: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. 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.

02/07/2025

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33 min
20/03/2025

Prospects of lasting peace between Turkey and the Kurds

For over 40 years, the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, has waged an armed insurgency against Turkey, fighting for Kurdish rights and autonomy. But in late February, Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK’s imprisoned founder, called for the group to lay down its arms and dissolve itself. Days later, the PKK, which is labelled as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, Europe and the US, declared a ceasefire with Turkey. In this episode, we speak to political scientist Pinar Dinc at Lund University in Sweden about what’s led to this moment and whether it could be the beginning of a lasting peace between Turkey and the Kurds. This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany. Sound design was by Eloise Stevens and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. 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. Syria integration deal with Kurds brings relief after days of bitter violence wracks war-torn countryWhat’s behind Erdoğan’s calculated shift on Kurds and its potential consequencesPKK leader’s call to disarm fuels hope for end to Kurdish conflict – but peace is not imminent

20/03/2025

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26 min
21/11/2024

50 years since the discovery of ancient hominin fossil Lucy in Ethiopia, calls grow to decolonize paleoanthropology

It's been 50 years since the American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson discovered the fossil of ancient hominin 'Lucy' in the Afar region of Ethiopia. The find took the story of human evolution back beyond 3 million years for the first time. Yet, despite largely centring on the African continent as the "cradle of mankind", the narrative of hominin fossil discovery is striking for its lack of African scientists. In this week's episode, Yohannes Haile-Selassie, director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University in the US, explains why the story of ancient human origins is so western-centric, and why he's calling for the decolonisation of paleoanthropology. This episode was produced by Mend Mariwany with sound design by Michelle Macklem and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation. If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen. Further reading:‘Deep inside, something told me I had found the earliest human ancestor; I went numb’ – Yohannes Haile-Selassie on his lifetime quest to discover ancient humanityLucy, discovered 50 years ago in Ethiopia, stood just 3.5 feet tall − but she still towers over our understanding of human origins Meet 3-million-year-old Lucy – she’ll tell you a lot about modern African heritage

21/11/2024

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28 min
01/04/2022

How the future of shopping was shaped by its past

How pop-ups, home delivery and fast fashion go back as far as the 1800s. Rachel Bowlby, professor of comparative literature at UCL tells the story of how the pandemic changed the way we shop – with many ‘new’ initiatives actually reinventing old ways of doing things. You can read the text version of this in-depth article here. The audio version is read by Jane Wing in partnership with Noa, News Over Audio. Listen to more articles from The Conversation, for free, on the Noa app. The music in In Depth Out Loud is Night Caves by Lee Rosevere. In Depth Out Loud is produced by Gemma Ware. This story was edited by Paul Keavney and Mike Herd and came out of a project at The Conversation called Insights. You can read more stories in the series here.

01/04/2022

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27 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.