
With Trump in the White House, China and Latin America may try to forge an even deeper relationship
Within days of Donald Trumps election win in November 2024, Chinas president Xi Jinping was at a ceremony opening a deep-water port in Peru as part of a diplomatic blitz through Latin America. Xis presence was a symbol of...

2024’s extreme ocean heat leaves 2 mysteries to solve
The oceans are heating up as the planet warms. This past year, 2024, was the warmest ever measured for the global ocean, following a record-breaking 2023. In fact, every decade since 1984, when satellite recordkeeping of...

Shared heat tolerance leaves ecosystems at risk of sudden climate-driven collapse – new research
Last year, much of the worlds largest coral reef system was transformed into a white boneyard, featuring ghostly silhouettes of horns, brains and lettuces. The threat of sudden biodiversity loss from climate change had...

The Traitors: how trustworthy is a Welsh accent? A sociolinguist explains
One of the more unexpected plot twists on the latest series of the BBCs The Traitors was contestant Charlotte revealing that despite being from London, she was putting on a Welsh accent to seem more trustworthy to her...

A Real Pain is a subtle but powerful exploration of remembrance culture and personal trauma
We are constantly confronted by history. The history of our cultures and traditions. Of our families. Of our own personal relationships. Can we or should we seek to ever escape the tightly woven net of our preoccupation...

Why resilience won’t solve the mental health crisis among young people
Around 20% of eight to 16 year olds in the UK had a probable mental health disorder in 2023, according to NHS statistics. This is up from 12.5% in 2017. At the same time, a 2024 report from the Childrens Commissioner for...

Canada halts new parent immigration sponsorships, keeping families apart
The Canadian government recently announced it is indefinitely pausing new permanent residency sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents. Up until the pause, a limited number of qualifying Canadian citizens and...