Cutting off military aid to Ukraine in its hour of need. Imposing heavy tariffs on America’s allies. Cosying up to far-right parties across Europe to sow division. Threatening to annex Greenland and deliberately trying to undermine Canada. Much of the time it’s quite hard to make sense of Donald Trump’s foreign policy. It can be difficult to see any real benefit to America, and at the same time it risks doing a great deal of harm around the world.
Perhaps there’s no real method behind some of these policies. Maybe they are simply driven by spite. Psychologist Simon McCarthy-Jones has made a study of spite and believes that a lot of what the Trump administration is doing is more focused on punishing people and countries that he considers to have crossed him than acting in America’s best interests. He argues it’s an irrational approach that is unlikely to end well.
Did you know that a significant proportion of the first cars on the road were powered by electricity? Me neither. Interestingly, back in the day, these tended to be marketed as “ladies’ cars”. Not a strategy that would work now, you have to imagine. And indeed it may have held back the development of electric vehicles for decades.
Another interesting discovery today is that giving blood is good for your health. It also helps save other people’s lives, if you needed any more incentive.
The latest edition of The Conversation Weekly podcast tells the shocking story of how a remote city in the Amazonian jungle faced near total collapse under the weight of COVID-19. One man even became famous locally for having been apparently buried alive. Five years after the pandemic officially began, we hear the fascinating memories of this surreal time.
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Jonathan Este
Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor
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EPA-EFE/Samuel Corum/pool
Simon McCarthy-Jones, Trinity College Dublin
Policies enacted from a sense of spite may backfire in the long-term.
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“The electric that meets every need of the society woman” – extract from a Baker Electric Vehicles ad, 1909.
GRANGER - Historical Picture Archive / Alamy
Josef Taalbi, Lund University
An innovation expert looked at decades of car adverts to find out.
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Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock
Michelle Spear, University of Bristol
Is blood donation a secret to better health? A new study explores potential benefits.
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Ginebra Pena/EPA
Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Researcher Japhy Wilson tells The Conversation Weekly podcast the surreal story of what happened in one Peruvian city in the Amazon jungle during the first wave of COVID.
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World
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Cindy May, Lancaster University
Power is increasingly being wielded by Trump and his executive branch, which the lawmakers in Congress are either compliant or powerless.
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Politics + Society
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Martin Farr, Newcastle University
Overseas development has always fallen in and out of favour between governments. But this feels different – and terminal.
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Claire Fox, University of Manchester
Actions that might ordinarily be dismissed as failures can actually be hidden, unconventional forms of strength.
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Arts + Culture
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Alice Mercier, University of Westminster
The world depicted through Oxenbury’s illustrations is one of family gatherings, mealtimes and activities, but also of oceans, forests, night skies and caves.
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Jessica Widner, University of Strathclyde
Kang’s novels offer an important lens for understanding Korean history and politics, and the grief and strength of the Korean people.
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Business + Economy
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Steve Schifferes, City St George's, University of London
The evolution of trade gives key insights into why protectionism is as American as apple pie.
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Education
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Fiona Scott, University of Sheffield
Playing online can help children explore and trial their developing identities.
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Environment
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Lukas Slothuus, University of Sussex
Fossil fuels are a dangerous way to secure the economic foundation of an independent Greenland.
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Jack Marley, The Conversation
Their dams will help soak up some carbon, but the real benefit will be to stressed ecosystems.
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Health
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Alison Pilnick, Manchester Metropolitan University
Competing realities can be a major source of distress for those with dementia and some ways of responding are more effective than others.
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Cathy Moore, University of Westminster
Can we turn a global killer into a global healer?
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Science + Technology
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Amy Gresham, University of Reading; Graeme Shannon, Bangor University; John Healey, Bangor University
Research reveals that fallow deer have an unexpected appetite for brambles, a plant often seen as a woodland nuisance.
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