Bradley J. Irish, Arizona State University
Halloween is a time to embrace all that is disgusting, from bloody slasher films to haunted houses full of fake guts and gore.
But the attraction to stuff that grosses us out goes beyond this annual holiday.
Many elevators do not have a floor numbered 13 because of common superstitions about the number.
Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images
Barry Markovsky, University of South Carolina Continue reading
“People want to read Africa,” says University of Utah professor Kenechi Uzor of Iskanchi Press, a newly-launched independent publisher. All signs point to Uzor being correct as he works to bring a global and diverse perspective to the Western publishing world by providing English-translated and original works from African writers. Continue reading
Matyáš Moravec, University of St Andrews
Are we free or are our actions determined by the laws of physics? And how much free will do we actually want? These questions have troubled philosophers for millennia – and there are still no perfect answers.
John Curtice, University of Strathclyde
The death of Queen Elizabeth II after 70 years on the throne has, of course, been met with widespread sadness and mourning. For most people in Britain, she is the only monarch they have known. Yet, inevitably, the mourning of her passing will be followed by a discussion about the future of the monarchy as an institution. After all, much has changed since 1951.
Although it may have provided the head of state for over a thousand years, in a modern democracy like Britain the monarchy will need to retain public consent if it is to survive.
Emily Blackwell, University of Bristol
Even the most devoted cat owners wonder at some point, perhaps waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, whether their cat really loves them. Dog people like to smugly point out dogs’ long history as humankind’s best friend.
But research shows cats’ reputation as a cold and aloof pet is undeserved.
A ‘network state’ is ideologically aligned but geographically decentralised. The people are spread around the world in clusters of varying size, but their hearts are in one place.
In June 2022 Balaji Srinivasan, former chief technology officer of the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange, published an ebook entitled The Network State: How To Start a New Country. It is the latest in a flurry of utopian visions by self-styled digital visionaries, crypto believers and web 3.0 evangelists who are lining up to declare the death of the traditional concept of countries and nationhood.
David Bartram, University of Leicester
On average, happiness declines as we approach middle age, bottoming out in our 40s but then picking back up as we head into retirement, according to a number of studies. This so-called U-shaped curve of happiness is reassuring but, unfortunately, probably not true.
Jennifer Grant, University of Portsmouth
The most hated man on the internet, according to a new Netflix docuseries, is Hunter Moore. The convicted criminal and self-described “professional life ruiner” Moore enabled the non-consensual distribution of thousands of private images by founding “revenge porn” website Is Anyone Up?.
The new feature film SLAVES AND KINGS produced by the Claretians and Stellarum Films, directed by Pablo Moreno (Luz de Soledad, Poveda) and starring Antonio Reyes (The Ministry of Time, Gran Hotel), Alba Recondo (La Brujas de E’lente), and Carlos Canas (Luz de Soledad, Drug Squad), is set to premiere in movie theaters nationwide via Fathom Events and Bosco Films on August 22 (English) and August 23 (Spanish). Watch the official trailer here. Continue reading