The Conversation Weekly

Content created with the help of generative artificial intelligence is popping up everywhere, and it’s worrying some artists. They’re concerned that their intellectual property may be at risk if generative AI tools have been built by scraping the internet for data and images, regardless of whether they had permissions to do so.

In this episode we speak with a computer scientist about how some artists are trying novel ways to sab...

Some young South Africans have begun to question Nelson Mandela's legacy, and the choices made in the transition to democracy after the end of apartheid in 1994. Some have even called him a "sellout". 

In the third and final part of our special series What happened to Nelson Mandela's South Africa?, marking 30 years of democracy in South Africa post-apartheid, we talk to two academics about the way Mandela is viewed by youn...

In the second part of our special series What happened to Nelson Mandela's South Africa?, marking 30 years of democracy in South Africa post-apartheid, we talk to two experts about the economic policies introduced to transform the country under Mandela's successor, Thabo Mbeki, and the ensuing turmoil of the Jacob Zuma presidency that followed. 

Featuring Mashupye Maserumule, a professor of public affairs at Tshwane Univers...

It was a moment many South Africans never believed they'd live to see. On 10 May 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of a democratic South Africa, ending the deadly and brutal white minority apartheid regime. 

To mark 30 years since South Africa's post-apartheid transition began, we're running a special three-part podcast series, What happened to Nelson Mandela's South Africa? In this first episode, ...

It's been 30 years since Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa and the country's brutal and deadly apartheid system came to a formal end. As part of The Conversation's coverage of the anniversary, we're running a special three-part podcast series this month on The Conversation Weekly.

In What happened to Nelson Mandela's South Africa?, Thabo Leshilo, politics and society editor at The Conversation Africa, speaks t...

For almost 15 years, scientists have debated whether the Anthropocene should be an official geological epoch marking the profound influence of humans on the planet. Then in March, an international panel of scientists formally rejected the proposal for a new Anthropocene epoch.

In this episode, two scientists give us their different opinions on whether that was the right decision and what it means for the future use of the word A...

We’re bringing you an extra episode this week from Don’t Call Me Resilient, another podcast from The Conversation. Hosted by Vinita Srivastava at The Conversation in Canada, Don’t Call Me Resilient is your weekly dose of news and current events through a sharply-focused anti-racist lens.

In this episode, Vinita talks to Hilal Elver about the use of hunger as a tool of war in Gaza. Hilal is a former UN Special Rapporteur on ...

Our experiences of the world are diverse, often changing as we move across borders from one country to another. They can also vary based on language or subtle shifts in climate. Yet, we rarely consider what causes these differences and divisions. 

In this episode we speak to geographer Maxim Samson at De Paul University in the US about the unseen boundaries that can shape our collective and personal perceptions of the world...

As the climate crisis gets ever more severe, the fossil fuel industry is struggling to recruit new talent. And now a number of existing employees are deciding to leave their jobs, some quietly, some very publicly, because of concerns over climate change. In this episode we speak to a researcher about this phenomenon of climate quitting.

Featuring Grace Augustine, associate professor in business and society at the University of B...

As Russians head to the polls for presidential elections, conspiracy theories are swirling everywhere. In this episode we speak to a disinformation expert about the central role these conspiracy theories play in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Featuring Ilya Yablokov, lecturer in journalism and digital media at the University of Sheffield in the UK. Plus an introduction from Grégory Rayko, international editor at The Conversation in Fr...

High heels, lace and handbags. In recent decades, there’s been a huge shift in the role of North Korean women and the choices they’re able to make – including what they wear. In this episode, we hear about new research on how North Korean women are driving a new form of grassroots capitalism, and changing the country in the process. 

Featuring Bronwen Dalton, head of the department of management at the University of Technol...

With unlimited information at our fingertips and dozens of platforms on which to share our opinions, it can sometimes feel like we’re supposed to be experts in everything. It can be exhausting. In this episode, we talk to a psychologist whose research and experiences of intellectual humility have taught him that acknowledging what we don’t know is as important as asserting what we do know.

Featuring Daryl Van Tongeren, associate...

When the war in Gaza eventually ends, pressure will mount for negotiations to begin for a deal. When that day comes, how can opposing sides in the Israel-Palestine conflict find enough common ground to reach an agreement? In this episode, we hear about a method called peace polling, tried out successfully in Northern Ireland, that could offer a blueprint for how to reach a settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.

Featuring ...

Humans spend about one third of our lives asleep and while most of us dream regularly, some people remember their dreams more than others. But scientists still know surprisingly little about why or how we experience dreams. In this episode we find out about new research from a sleep lab in France that has unlocked a way to find out more by communicating with people as they dream. 

Featuring Başak Türker, a postdoctoral rese...

Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy, goes to the polls on February 14 to elect a new president. It’s one of the largest elections to take place since an explosion of generative AI tools became available that can manipulate video and audio – and a number of deepfake videos have gone viral during the campaign.

In this episode, we look at what Indonesia’s experience is revealing about the disinformation battleground ahea...

In some cultures, people are frugal while in others they tend to be generous. Some cultures favour meticulous planning while others favour living in the moment. Theories abound about how and why differences like these between cultures emerge and, increasingly, researchers are looking to the environments people live in for answers.

In this episode, Mend Mariwany explores what role ecological factors, including the climate, play i...

In our chaotic, rapidly changing modern world, many of us have come to rely on science for objectivity and to provide sense of order. So it may be disconcerting to learn that there is no single, definitive list of all life on Earth. And there never has been.

In this episode, we take you inside the world of taxonomy, where competing lists, rogue taxonomists and recent accusations of anarchy have revealed the messy struggle to cla...

Nearly eight decades on from the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27 1945, the number of concentration camp prisoners forcibly tattooed, remains, for many, the symbol of the Holocaust. The Nazis murdered six million Jews, one million of whom died at Auschwitz. Today, there are ever fewer survivors still alive to bear witness to this genocide.

In this episode, brought to us by Dale Berning Sawa, we find out what motivates some ...

When you think about the far right, you probably picture groups of young, white men carrying images of swastikas or torches. But the face of the far right is changing, at least on social media. In this episode, we hear about new research into a cohort of women influencers pushing far right ideology on mainstream platforms like Instagram and YouTube. 

The Conversation's Avery Anapol speak to Eviane Leidig, a postdoctoral res...