For the first time in several generations, inflation is a concern for people in the UK. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 9% in the year to April 2022, the highest 12-month inflation rate since reliable records began. ...
Liverpool against Real Madrid in the Champions League final is a fixture for football fans to savour – two giants battling it out for one of the most prized trophies in the game. And regardless of the result, some will also see this match as a win fo...
Since Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister of Pakistan on April 9, the future of the long disputed and war-torn Kashmir region, on the borders of India and Pakistan, is at the forefront of many minds....
What does it mean to be a Ukrainian? In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we talk to three experts about the origins of Ukrainian nationalism, and how Ukrainian national identity is changing....
With an estimated population of more than 3.7 million people, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is home to about a quarter of Ethiopia’s urban population....
The ability to recognise faces is important in many different real life contexts and fundamental to our social relationships and interactions. It allows us to identify people we care about, and respond appropriately to them....
Going on a retreat seems like the very definition of a solitary experience. You leave behind your friends, family, and colleagues, giving up everyday life, responsibilities, cares and frustrations, for some quality time on your own....
Poor air quality is the biggest environmental health issue facing the UK, linked to an estimated 64,000 deaths a year, disproportionately affecting disadvantaged communities, and tackling this crisis should be at the top of everyone’s agenda.
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This week, the UK government sought to put itself firmly in the global driver’s seat for cutting carbon. The Prime Minister announced an amazingly ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 78% from 1990 levels by 2035. This is world-le...
Safeguarding people's living standards, re-evaluating the role of key workers in society, and reducing racial and social inequality are crucial for the UK’s economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A leading group of University of Manchester academics are imploring policy makers to use the UK’s post-pandemic recovery as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead a positive green revolution.
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Obamagate is the latest conspiracy theory to be pushed by US president, Donald Trump. It started on the morning of May 10, when Trump retweeted the word “OBAMAGATE!” By the next day, the Obamagate hashtag had accrued over two million tweets and ...
In these difficult times, the press and the public are piling complaints on governments and corporations over their responses to the pandemic - yet it is amazing how well shutdowns and quarantines have worked so far in the developed world (protests l...
Urgent fundamental changes to ‘fast fashion’ clothing items which are treated by many as disposable is needed to stem a devastating impact upon the environment according to scientists.
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Don’t take toilets for granted. Their connection to a managed sewage disposal system protects you from diseases and infections that can stunt your growth, harm your nutrition and even kill you.
For some 670 million people, this basic service is no...
The UK will go to the polls on December 12 for the third time in four years. Climate change didn’t make waves in previous elections, but this one may be different. Youth climate strikers have launched a petition calling on the UK’s political parties ...
No matter how elegant your theory is, experimental data will have the last word. Observations of the retrograde motion of the planets were fundamental to the Copernican revolution, in which the sun replaced Earth at the centre of the solar system. An...
Concern has been growing over rising rates of self-harm in teenagers. In the UK and Ireland, increases began around the time of the 2008 economic crash and show no sign of slowing. One study of the UK found rates among teenage girls rose by two-third...
Labour have voted on plans to abolish private schools by removing their charitable status and redistributing their wealth to the state sector. At the party’s conference delegates approved a motion for this to be included in the party’s next general e...
Two centuries have passed since Manchester established itself as the centre of the global cotton trade. Known as ‘Cottonopolis’, the city was using a third of the world’s cotton production at the height of its textile boom.
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EXPERT COMMENT: We’re constantly encouraged to think of the next big climate summit, conference or protest as the most important one, the one that is about to make the all-important breakthrough. The UN’s Climate Action Summit on September 23 in New ...
Across the UK, Local Authorities, and Devolved Administrations, are seeking to use their planning powers to block the development of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. This is against UK Government policy. Here, Dr Sarah Mander looks at what all o...
"We are containers, it’s only the insides of our bodies that are important..."
Haunting words from Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale that summarise how fertile women are dehumanised in the dystopic fictional nation of Gilead, ensla...
Although most of us can distinguish between and remember hundreds of different faces, some people are better at it than others. “Super-recognisers” can accurately identify faces even when they have only seen them briefly previously. At the other extr...
An ongoing trial in Spain shows that ineffective rape legislation continues to fail women. Last year’s trial of the shocking “la Manada” (“wolf-pack”) rape case brought the Spanish law under international scrutiny when a group of men were convicted o...
As Boris Johnson begins his term as British prime minister, he takes charge of a country facing a series of overlapping crises. Alongside the constitutional and political crises provoked by the Brexit process, are wider social and economic problems o...
University of Manchester - Archive (expert-comment,expert)
Inflation: how experts pick goods to track price changes and what it says about UK consumers
Champions League final 2022: the economic tactics that drive Liverpool and Real Madrid
Bullying: why most people do nothing when they witness it – and how to take action
Kashmir: what happens after Imran Khan’s downfall?
The history and evolution of Ukrainian national identity – podcast
Ukraine’s opiate users: Russian invasion has severely disrupted access to drug-treatment services
How to write to your MP if you’re concerned about the crisis in Ukraine
Addis Ababa yet to meet the needs of residents: what has to change
From ‘super-recognisers’ to the ‘face blind’ – how tests reveal the underlying cognitive processes
‘I did not see them; I saw their soul’: retreats are more about magical encounters than self-exploration
Is the UK government’s clean air approach good enough?
The UK and the UN SDGs: Make or Break Time
Tackling inequality is key for post-Covid economic recovery say experts
Manchester scientists see COVID-19 as historic moment for UK’s environmental future
How to understand Obamagate – Donald Trump’s latest conspiracy theory
Whatever the hardships of COVID-19, let's be thankful it wasn't COVID-99
Environmental cost of ‘fast fashion’ is not sustainable
A global ‘toilet revolution’ is underway – but it’s polluting water and ignoring the urban poor
To win a climate election, parties need ambition, not compromise with the fossil fuel industry
Shape of the universe: could it be curved, not flat?
Teen self-harm: rates have decreased in Denmark – here’s what other countries can learn
Abolishing private schools is admirable, but won’t make choosing a state one any easier for parents
BLOG: Manchester’s fashion ascent – and the elephant in the room
Don’t bet on the UN to fix climate change – it’s failed for 30 years
Why are Local Authorities going against UK Government on fracking?
Why businesses underestimate the need to adapt to extreme climate events
The Handmaid’s Tale: no wonder we’ve got a sequel in this age of affronts on women’s rights
Introvert? You may just be bad at recognising faces
Why are gang rape accusations treated as ‘sexual abuse’ in Spain?
Boris Johnson now leads a country mired in a Brexit identity crisis – here’s how he could reunite it