People who are good at reading have different brains

By Mikael Roll, Lund University; The Conversation The number of people who read for fun appears to be steadily dropping. Fifty percent of UK adults say...

Can you choose to believe something, just like that?

By Mark Boespflug, Fort Lewis College; The Conversation Some years ago, I was in a lively conversation with a software developer about arguments for and against...

Five things young women need to know about the menopause

By Megan Arnot, UCL; The Conversation If you’re under 40, the menopause might seem like the least of your worries right now. But for some women,...

The case for lying to kids about Santa – from a philosopher

By Tom Whyman, University of Liverpool; The Conversation I have a vivid memory of the moment I realised Santa didn’t exist. I was around six years...

AI Jesus might ‘listen’ to your confession, but it can’t absolve your sins − a scholar of Catholicism explains

Visitors were invited to pose questions to the AI Jesus, viewed on a monitor behind a latticework screen. Courtesy of the Catholic Church of the City...

Why you shouldn’t lie to your children about Father Christmas, according to philosophers

Hello Kitty at 50: a Japanese success story of simplicity and cuteness

By Sameer Hosany, Royal Holloway University of London, The Conversation Hello Kitty doesn’t look her age. And despite recently turning 50, she is showing no signs...

Why you should talk to people you disagree with about politics

By Rachel Wahl, University of Virginia, The Conversation If you talked to friends or family about politics over Thanksgiving, you might not have changed each other’s...

Do you know what populism is? Research suggests most don’t, but some view it with disdain anyway

By Andrea Wagner, MacEwan University and Anna Brigevich, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, The Conversation The rise of populism has received extensive academic and media...

Why does grass make my skin itch?

By Deryn Lee Thompson, University of South Australia, The Conversation So, you’ve enjoyed a picnic in the sunshine. Or you’ve sat on the grass for a...