The Conversation Weekly

Zimbabwe is on the cusp of abolishing the death penalty after its Death Penalty Abolition Bill was approved by the senate on December 12. The bill is now sitting on the desk of Zimbabwe’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, a known opponent of the death penalty, waiting for his assent.In this episode, we speak to two experts on the death penalty, Carolyn Hoyle and Parvais Jabbar from the University of Oxford's Death Penalty Research Unit, who explain how Zimbabwe got here and what abolition means for both the country, and the continent. This episode was written and produced by Gemma Ware and Mend Mariwany with sound design by Michelle Macklem. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading Zimbabwe’s likely to abolish the death penalty: how it got here and what it means for the continentKenyan prisoners on death row weren’t deterred by the threat of the death penalty: new research findingsWhy the death penalty is losing favour in sub-Saharan Africa Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Surveys suggest that in many western democracies, political trust is at rock bottom. But is it really such a bad thing for people living in a democracy to distrust their government?In this episode, we talk to political scientist Grant Duncan, visiting scholar in politics at City St George's, University of London, about why he thinks a certain level of distrust and scepticism of powerful politicians is actually healthy for democracy. And about how populists, like Donald Trump, manage to use people’s distrust in political elites to their advantage.This episode was written and produced by Gemma Ware, Mend Mariwany and Katie Flood with sound design by Michelle Macklem. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading Don’t trust politicians? That may not be such a bad thingWhy people vote for politicians they know are liarsTrusting societies are overall happier – a happiness expert explains why  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An orca that pulled along the corpse of its baby for 17 days. An opposum that plays dead to fool predators. And a chimpanzee that cleaned the teeth of its dead baby. Observations of behaviours like these suggest animals have a complex relationship with death.In this week’s episode, we speak to Susana Monsó, an associate professor of philosophy at the National Distance Education University in Madrid, Spain, about the different ways animals understand death. This episode was written and produced by Katie Flood with sound design by Michelle Macklem and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further readingLos animales entienden la muerte más de lo que se pensabaWhat the grieving mother orca tells us about how animals experience deathElephant calves have been found buried – what does that mean? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The online retail giant Amazon is known for its resistance to unions. In this week’s episode, we tell the story of what happened at one warehouse in Coventry in the UK when its workers tried to gain official recognition for the GMB union, one of the country’s biggest labour unions.We talk to Tom Vickers, a sociologist at Nottingham Trent University in the UK, who spent weeks observing workers’ efforts to unionise at the warehouse as part of a research secondment with the GMB. And John Logan, a professor of labor and employment Studies at San Francisco State University in the US, explains why some companies, many of them American, are so doggedly anti-union. The episode also includes an introduction from Sarah Reid, business and economy editor at The Conversation in the UK.This episode was written and produced by Katie Flood with sound design by Michelle Macklem and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading:I spent months with Amazon workers in Coventry before they narrowly voted against unionising. This is what I learnedAmazon still seems hell bent on turning workers into robots – here’s a better way forwardAmazon, Starbucks and the sparking of a new American union movement Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been 50 years since the American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson discovered the fossil of ancient hominin 'Lucy' in the Afar region of Ethiopia. The find took the story of human evolution back beyond 3 million years for the first time. Yet, despite largely centring on the African continent as the "cradle of mankind", the narrative of hominin fossil discovery is striking for its lack of African scientists.In this week's episode, Yohannes Haile-Selassie, director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University in the US, explains why the story of ancient human origins is so western-centric, and why he's calling for the decolonisation of paleoanthropology.This episode was produced by Mend Mariwany with sound design by Michelle Macklem and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading:‘Deep inside, something told me I had found the earliest human ancestor; I went numb’ – Yohannes Haile-Selassie on his lifetime quest to discover ancient humanityLucy, discovered 50 years ago in Ethiopia, stood just 3.5 feet tall − but she still towers over our understanding of human origins Meet 3-million-year-old Lucy – she’ll tell you a lot about modern African heritage  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For generations, cod fishing was a way of life in Newfoundland and Labrador, the easternmost province in Canada. But in 1992, after cod stocks in the north Atlantic plummeted, the federal government imposed a moratorium on cod fishing. It was to last for 32 years until June 2024, when the government lifted the ban in a controversial decision.In this episode we speak to Tyler Eddy, a research scientist in fisheries science at Memorial University of Newfoundland, to shed light on what’s happened. It's a story that offers a cautionary tale for those politicians trying to balance the complex demands of protecting ecosystems that also support substantial economies.This episode was produced by Katie Flood and Gemma Ware. Sound design was by Michelle Macklem and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading:The federal government has lifted the moratorium on Northern cod fishing after 32 yearsThe Atlantic: The driving force behind ocean circulation and our taste for codTiny oceanic plankton adapted to warming during the last ice age, but probably won’t survive future climate change – new study Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when a gangster leaves their life on the street? How do they transition to something new? We find out through the life stories of two people who joined them as young men and came out the other side. Featuring an interview with Gaz, a former gang member in Sierra Leone, and Dennis Rodgers, a research professor at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland who leads a global research project on gangs. This episode was produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware. Sound design was by Michelle Macklem and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading:Gangs’stories: The Sierra Leonian gangster who gave up violence and drugs for poetryGangs’stories : A glimpse of hard lives around the worldFrom dealing drugs to selling tortillas: the surprising future of former gang members Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amid deep political polarization and extreme campaign rhetoric, the U.S. presidential election on November 5 is likely to be decided by a small number of voters in swing states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan. But why is it so close?In this episode Naomi Schalit, senior politics editor at the The Conversation U.S., speaks to Jesse Rhodes, associate professor of political science at UMass Amherst, who has been surveying Americans on the issues that matter to them, and their concerns as the election approaches. This episode was produced by Katie Flood with assistance from Mend Mariwany. Sound design was by Michelle Macklem and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading:Why vote for Harris or Trump? A cheat sheet on the candidates’ records, why their supporters like them and why picking one or the other makes senseUS voters say they’re ready for a woman president − but sexist attitudes still go along with opposition to HarrisYes, sexism among Republican voters helped sink Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Take a walk along a beach in parts of South Australia, and you may come across unusual patches of pink sand. When a team of geologists began analysing samples of this mysterious sand to find out where it comes from, their search took them back through time to a previously undiscovered mountain range in Antarctica. In this episode Sharmaine Verhaert, a PhD candidate in earth sciences at the University of Adelaide, explains how the discovery was made. This episode was produced by Gemma Ware, Katie Flood and Mend Mariwany. Sound design was by Michelle Macklem and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading:South Australia’s enigmatic pink sand was born in ice-covered Antarctic mountains, new research showsAustralian amber has revealed ‘living fossils’ traced back to Gondwana 42 million years agoThe Anthropocene epoch that isn’t – what the decision not to label a new geological epoch means for Earth’s future Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were awarded the 2024 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine for their discovery of microRNA, tiny biological molecules that tell the cells in our body what kind of cell to be by turning on and off certain genes.In this episode, we speak to Ambros, who is professor of natural sciences at UMass Chan Medical School in the US, about the discovery that led to his Nobel prize and find out what he’s researching now. And we hear from Justin Stebbing, professor of biomedical sciences at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, about how a deeper understanding of microRNA is opening up new avenues for potential treatment of diseases such as cancer. This episode was produced by Gemma Ware, Katie Flood and Mend Mariwany. Sound design was by Michelle Macklem and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading:MicroRNA − a new Nobel laureate describes the scientific process of discovering these tiny molecules that turn genes on and offMicroRNA is the Nobel-winning master regulator of the genome – researchers are learning to treat disease by harnessing how it controls genesNobel prize in medicine awarded for discovery of microRNAs, the molecules that control our genesFull coverage of the 2024 Nobel prizes on The Conversation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an extra episode this week, we're running the first part of Know Your Place: what happened to class in British politics, a new series from The Conversation Documentaries. Host Laura Hood, senior politics editor at The Conversation in London, explores when the relationship between class and voting in the UK broke down and why. Featuring John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and senior research fellow at the National Centre for Social Research, Paula Surridge, professor of political sociology at the University of Bristol, Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London and Geoffrey Evans, professor in the sociology of politics at the University of Oxford.Subscribe to The Conversation Documentaries to listen to the full series. Know your place is a series supported by the National Centre for Social Research. It's produced and mixed by Anouk Millet for The Conversation. This episode of The Conversation Weekly was mixed by Michelle Macklem. Full credits available here.The Conversation Documentaries, formerly The Anthill podcast, is home to in-depth audio series from The Conversation UK, a not-for-profit independent news organisation. Find out more and donate here. And consider signing up for our free daily newsletter.Further readingAge, not class, is now the biggest divide in British politics, new research confirmsBrexit identities: how Leave versus Remain replaced Conservative versus Labour affiliations of British votersUK election: Reform and Green members campaigned more online – but pounded the pavements less Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Middle East is perilously close to all-out war. In the year since the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, millions of people have been displaced from their homes in Gaza, Israel, the West Bank and now Lebanon, and tens of thousands killed.In this episode, we speak to two experts from the Middle East, Mireille Rebeiz and Amnon Aran, to get a sense of the strategic calculations being made by both Israel and its neighbours at this frightening moment for the region. Rebeiz is chair of Middle East Studies at Dickinson College in the US and Aran is professor of International Relations, City St George's, University of London in the UK. This episode was produced by Mend Mariwany and mixed by Michelle Macklem. Full credits for this episode are available.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen. Further reading and listening:Does Hezbollah represent Lebanon? And what impact will the death of longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah have? October 7 marks 12 months of escalation into the ‘forever war’ now engulfing the Middle EastA year of escalating conflict in the Middle East has ushered in a new era of regional displacement Inside the Oslo accords: a new podcast series marks 30 years since Israel-Palestine secret peace negotiations Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new drug to prevent HIV infection is showing hugely promising results in clinical trials when injected every six months.In this episode, we speak to South African HIV doctor and scientist Linda-Gail Bekker at the University of Cape Town about her involvement in one of the trials for lenacapavir and why she thinks it could be so ground-breaking. This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany and sound design was by Michelle Macklem. Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading:HIV breakthrough: drug trial shows injection twice a year is 100% effective against infectionThe HIV epidemic 40 years on: 5 essential reads on breakthroughs, blind spots and new challengesHIV prevention: new injection could boost the fight, but some hurdles remain Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What makes some people more likely to feel disproportionate sympathy to people facing accusations of sexual misconduct – a concept known as himpathy? In this episode, we speak to a human behaviour expert whose research seeks to understand the psychological factors behind it.Featuring Samantha Dodson, assistant professor of organizational behaviour and human resources at the University of Calgary in Canada, and an introduction form Eleni Vlahiotis, business and economy editor at The Conversation in Canada. This episode was written and produced by Katie Flood with assistance from Mend Mariwany and sound design by Michelle Macklem. Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation. If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading:How ‘himpathy’ helps shield perpetrators of sexual misconduct from repercussionsTrump found liable for assaulting, defaming E. Jean Carroll – after a trial where he relied on a discredited myth about how women should react to rapeKavanaugh is a reminder: Accused sexual harassers get promoted anyway Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A rare and ancient plant has been waiting for its long-lost mate. The only known specimens of Encephalartos woodii, a rare and ancient species of cycad, are male, all clones of the same plant found over 100 years ago deep in a South African forest. Now a team of researchers is on a mission to find an elusive female version of the plant with the help of drones and artificial intelligence. In this episode we speak to Laura Cinti, a research fellow at the University of Southampton in the UK, about her determined quest to save the species – called the world's "loneliest" plant. The story in this episode came out of our series Plant Curious, exploring scientific studies that challenge the way you view plantlife. The episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with assistance from Katie Flood and sound design by Michelle Macklem. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation. A transcript is also available. If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading:Searching for a female partner for the world’s ‘loneliest’ plantThe silent conversations of plantsClimate mapping can point to danger spots where new pest threatens Africa’s cycads Thirsty tomatoes emit ultrasonic sounds – and other plants may be listening Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An epidemic of mpox in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, is spreading quickly, particularly among young children. Mpox is a serious, at times fatal, virus – and the world knows how to prevent it. There are effective vaccines stockpiled in many western countries. Yet, after an earlier global epidemic in 2022 was largely brought under control in Europe and North America, the ongoing battle to protect people in Africa from mpox was ignored. In this episode we ask a virologist and a paediatrician why Africa's mpox crisis was so neglected and what needs to happen now to save lives, particularly children's. Featuring Nadia Adjoa Sam-Agudu, professor of paediatric infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota in the US and Wolfgang Preiser, head of the division of medical virology at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, with an introduction from Nadine Dreyer, health and medicine editor at The Conversation Africa. This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with assistance from Katie Flood and sound design by Michelle Macklem. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen.Further reading:Mpox in the DRC: children are at high risk – health expert explains whyMpox outbreak in Africa was neglected – it could now turn into the next global pandemicMpox cases are soaring in Africa – what must be done to prevent a global pandemicAfrica desperately needs mpox vaccines. But donations from rich countries won’t fix this or the next health emergency Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dating apps are having a rocky moment, with some of the biggest struggling to attract paying users. In this episode, we hear from researchers exploring how dating apps have changed modern dating and the expectations around it. And we find out why some dating app users aren’t actually there looking for love, but keep on swiping anyway.Featuring Treena Orchard, associate professor at the School of Health Studies at Western University in Canada, and Carolina Bandinelli associate professor in media and creative industries at the University of Warwick in the UK.This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany, with assistance from Katie Flood and sound design by Michelle Macklem. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, which is an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. And please do rate and review the show wherever you listen. If you listen on PocketCasts, they've just launched the ability to rate shows here.Further reading:Swipe right or left? How dating apps are impacting modern masculinityDating apps are accused of being ‘addictive’. What makes us keep swiping?The problems with dating apps and how they could be fixed – two relationship experts discussDating apps: Lack of regulation, oversight and competition affects quality, and millions stand to lose Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second of two episodes on geoengineering, we hear the case against trying to reflect sunlight to cool the Earth.Solar radiation modification has attracted attention and investment in recent years as a way to potential reverse the effects of climate change, but it remains a controversial idea.We hear from researchers pushing a non-use agreement for solar geoengineering who explain why they believe these types of technologies are a dangerous distraction from what needs to be done to reduce fossil fuel emissions. Featuring Chukwumerije Okereke, professor in global governance and public policy at the University of Bristol, and Co-Director at the Center for Climate Change and Development at Alex Ekwueme Federal University in Nigeria and Aarti Gupta, professor of global environmental governance at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. And responses from Shaun Fitzgerald at the Centre for Climate Change at the University of Cambridge in the UKListen to the first episode to hear scientists who argue modifying the climate can help buy the world time.This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with assistance from Katie Flood and sound design by Michelle Macklem. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.Further reading:Not such a bright idea: cooling the Earth by reflecting sunlight back to space is a dangerous distractionSolar geoengineering might work, but local temperatures could keep rising for yearsBlocking out the sun won’t fix climate change – but it could buy us timeThe overshoot myth: you can’t keep burning fossil fuels and expect scientists of the future to get us back to 1.5°CAfrica has vast gas reserves – here’s how to stop them adding to climate change Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Geoengineering, the modification of the climate using technological interventions to reverse climate change, is a hugely divisive issue and we’ve decided to explore it in two episodes. In this first episode, we talk to scientists working on potential geoengineering technologies who argue the case for conducting research into these interventions. We speak to Shaun Fitzgerald, director of the Centre for Climate Repair at the University of Cambridge in the UK and Hugh Hunt, deputy director at the Centre, as well as Ben Kravitz, assistant professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences at Indiana University in the US. We're also joined by Stacy Morford, environment and climate editor at The Conversation in the US.Part two, out tomorrow, will focus on the case against a particular type of solar geoengineering called solar radiation management. This episode was written and produced by Katie Flood, Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Michelle Macklem. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.Further reading:What could we do to cool the Arctic, specifically?Climate engineering carries serious national security risks − countries facing extreme heat may try it anyway, and the world needs to be preparedBlocking out the sun won’t fix climate change – but it could buy us timeThe overshoot myth: you can’t keep burning fossil fuels and expect scientists of the future to get us back to 1.5°C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we take a short production break in August, we're re-running an episode from 2023 about Neanderthals, and what new discoveries about their research could tell us about Homo Sapiens. For generations, Neanderthals have been a source of fascination for scientists. This species of ancient hominim inhabited the world for around 500,000 years until they suddenly disappeared 42,000 years ago. Today, the cause of their extinction remains a mystery.Archaeologist Ludovic Slimak at the University of Toulouse III, Paul Sabatier in France and his team have spent three decades excavating caves, studying ancient artefacts and delving into the world of Neanderthals and they've recently published provocative new findings. He tells us more about how Neanderthals lived, what happened to them and why their extinction might hold profound insights into the story of own species, Homo Sapiens.This episode was produced and written by Mend Mariwany with assistance from Katie Flood. The executive producer was Gemma Ware. Sound design was by Eloise Stevens and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available here. A transcript is now available. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.Further reading: Q&A with Ludovic Slimak, the archeologist who wants to rewrite the history of early humans in EuropeModern human DNA contains bits from all over the Neanderthal genome – except the Y chromosome. What happened?How Neanderthal language differed from modern human – they probably didn’t use metaphorsThe reconstruction of a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman’s face makes her look quite friendly – there’s a problem with thatWhy did modern humans replace the Neanderthals? The key might lie in our social structures Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.