The Conversation

Compared to the widespread media coverage of the 2016 Ebola epidemic when it started, news reports on its aftermath were limited. As a result, very few people know that Ebola survivors have struggled to continue with their lives since the end of the epidemic. These survivors include widows, orphans who are now homeless, and thousands of people who are now blind or have permanent vision problems.

This year’s International Booker Prize shortlist presents a diverse and intriguing array of books that all demonstrate the highly creative imagination and inventiveness of their authors. Across these novels, we meet the unreliable narrator of a meta-fiction, a failed modern witch, a family of Iranian émigrés, a filmmaker compromised by the Nazis, a brutal prison warden, and a gender-traversing figure who seeks to save their own skin by shapeshifting. Six literary experts guide you through the nominations.

Some groups of Trump voters are having second thoughts. The most regretful are those with whom Trump made significant gains in 2024. They include political independents, African Americans, younger people and those with more education.

The 61st Venice Biennale has shifted from a spiritual artistic showcase into an ideological battlefield under new rightwing leadership. The reinstatement of controversial nations prompted the collective resignation of the official jury, widespread artist boycotts, and intense public demonstrations. Clashes between peaceful activists and riot police highlighted the tension. Art serves as a vehicle for state agendas and a tool for resistance.

US–China cooperation no longer automatically implies positive spillover effects for the rest of the world. It is at best a private bargain between two great powers, imposing hidden costs on those outside, looking in. The Trump administration has ushered in a noticeable shift in how the US views its economic interests: no longer premised on shared liberal values, but on spheres of influence among great powers. The question is not whether the US and China can cooperate. It is what kind of order their cooperation will produce.

Automatic license plate readers occupy thousands of American intersections, integrating with advanced artificial intelligence and creating searchable databases facilitating mass surveillance of marginalized communities. Private companies provide the equipment frequently bypassing local oversight laws. Significant costs exist. Little evidence supports claims regarding violent crime reduction. Activists are now organizing to resist this rapidly expanding government data dragnet nationwide across the United States today.

When it comes to Hezbollah, Israel’s military simply cannot completely defeat a resistance movement that is so embedded in the social, political and cultural fabric of Lebanon. This would require not just a military victory, but the subjugation of its supporters and the delegitimisation of its ideology.

Critics frequently dismiss Disney World as a manufactured environment lacking true substance. This “authenticity objection” suggests the parks provide only mindless distraction. Philosophical analysis reveals Disney never purports to be anything other than a themed amusement park. Devoted fans also maintain their own unique identities outside this fantasy. The Magic Kingdom offers valuable spaces for diverse families to create lasting and collective memories together.

Intermittent fasting has become a buzzword in nutrition circles, with many people looking to it as a way to lose weight or improve their health. But new research from the Cochrane Collaboration shows intermittent fasting is no more effective for weight loss than receiving traditional dietary advice or even doing nothing at all.

Texas killed James G. Broadnax on April 30, 2026, for a 2008 double murder after prosecutors used 40 pages of Broadnax’s rap lyrics during the sentencing phase to argue a criminal mentality. Legal scholars identify a pattern of treating fictional lyrics as literal confessions, a practice that reflects historical racial stereotypes. Using art to justify executions extends the discriminatory legacy of Jim Crow laws into today’s courtrooms.

At its best, the U.S. is seen as allowing individuals the freedom to live the life they want. Liberty and rugged individualism have been hallmarks of America since its beginnings, so it should come as no surprise that they are also central to the American Dream. Given this, has the American Dream become more or less difficult to achieve over time? Unfortunately, for a growing number of Americans, it appears to be more difficult.

Traditional performance reviews are failing the modern workforce because they focus on retrospective assessments and reductive metrics. Employees often view these systems as significant failures yet keep using them due to institutional habits and a false sense of objectivity. Effective management requires a shift toward continuous feedback and adaptable objectives to better reflect the collaborative and creative nature of contemporary professional work environments.

Everything in space – from the Earth and Sun to black holes – accounts for just 15% of all matter in the universe. The rest of the cosmos seems to be made of an invisible material astronomers call dark matter. With the release of its first images this month, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory has begun a 10-year mission to help unravel the mystery of dark matter. The observatory will continue the legacy of its namesake, a trailblazing astronomer who advanced our understanding of the other 85% of the universe.

The current backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives represent a dangerous normalization of authoritarian politics. By recasting equity as a threat to national order, political leaders use administrative measures to erase historical analysis of systemic racism. This process mirrors Hannah Arendt’s warnings regarding the banality of evil. Societies must recognize these erosions of rights to prevent cruelty from becoming a routine function of governance.

It may sound hard to believe, but the almost trillion-dollar U.S. military is struggling to fight cheap drones in its war with Iran. Iran has built a simple drone, the Shahed, with a motorcycle-type engine, loaded it with explosives and successfully targeted its neighbors’ cities and power plants.

Newspapers are being inundated by AI-generated letters to the editor, as are academic journals. Lawmakers are inundated with AI-generated constituent comments. Courts around the world are flooded with AI-generated filings, particularly by people representing themselves. AI conferences are flooded with AI-generated research papers. Social media is flooded with AI posts. In music, open source software, education, investigative journalism and hiring, it’s the same story.

Hungarian voters have overwhelmingly rejected the 16-year rule of authoritarian strongman Viktor Orbán, which will allow the new government to roll back some of the illiberal measures introduced Orbán governments over the years. One of Magyar’s key election promises was to restore press freedom, and reform state-run media, which, under Orbán, had become a powerful tool for distributing disinformation.

One-way attack drones represent a new era of precise mass by combining inexpensive manufacturing with sophisticated guidance systems. The weapons allow mid-tier powers like Iran to strike targets accurately at a fraction of cruise missile costs. Modern militaries must now invest in drone technology and defensive netting to survive this rapidly evolving technological landscape.

A temporary ceasefire in the Iran war offers slight relief for global oil markets but damaged infrastructure in neighboring nations ensures supply remains tight for months. Long-term security requires reducing reliance on imports through electrification and high prices for diesel and jet fuel will persist despite diplomatic progress.

The war in Iran significantly diminished United States global standing across four distinct strategic areas. Moscow and Beijing profited from American military distraction by increasing regional influence and securing economic advantages. Trump’s unilateral actions alienated traditional NATO allies and abandoned stated national security priorities. China now assumes the role of global mediator. This conflict signals a potential end to the U.S.-led liberal international order.

Iran negotiated from a 10-point plan focusing on sanctions relief and control over the Strait of Hormuz. Despite sustained military strikes, the regime demonstrated institutional resilience and economic leverage, highlighting the limits of military dominance. Tehran successfully converted intense pressure into durable political and financial gains.

Israeli politicians are increasingly calling for the permanent occupation and annexation of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River. These demands mirror early Zionist territorial goals from the early 20th century. As current Israeli forces face significant fatigue from multiple conflicts, these expansionist policies risk igniting further sectarian violence and domestic opposition within Israel.

Bipartisan calls for President Donald Trump’s removal from office increased on April 7, 2026, after he issued threats to destroy “a whole civilization” if Iran refuses to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Concerns over Trump’s fitness for office have grown in recent weeks as his commentary has become more erratic. The Constitution’s 25th Amendment provides a way for high-level officials to remove a president from office.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a global energy crisis and severe fertilizer shortages as one-third of internationally traded fertilizer passes through this vital waterway. Farmers face reduced productivity because essential nutrients like nitrogen and phosphate are becoming scarce and expensive. Supply chain disruptions will inevitably lead to higher grocery prices for consumers and a burgeoning food emergency for vulnerable nations.

Digital disruption and the climate crisis are often framed as economic or social challenges. But they force crucial moral questions. Who will be held accountable for the human cost? What will it take to transform business culture so that those costs are not treated as inevitable and acceptable? The answers will shape not only technology’s impact on humanity and the planet but the moral foundations of democracy itself.

Political leaders in the United States, Israel, and Iran are increasingly employing religious rhetoric to justify ongoing military actions. From biblical metaphors used by American and Israeli officials to messianic narratives within the Iranian leadership, faith serves as a tool for authoritarian nationalism, but the instrumentalization of scripture sets a dangerous precedent for international relations, complicating efforts toward peace and violating historical secular norms during war.