John Hammond, University of Reading and Yiorgos Gadanakis, University of Reading
Welcome to this special report on the food industry, the fourth instalment in our series on where the global economy is heading in 2023. It follows recent articles on inflation, energy and the cost of living.
Viren Swami, Anglia Ruskin University
The festive season seems to be a good time for love, or so many Christmas films would have us believe. One incredibly popular trope is “the return” – where the main character, usually with a successful career in the city, returns to their hometown for the festive period.
Andrea Wigfield, Sheffield Hallam University and John Ratcliffe, Sheffield Hallam University
Christmas is said to be a time for connecting with friends, family and having fun. But it can also be time of loneliness. Indeed, the results of a 2018 survey looking at loneliness during Christmas time in the UK revealed that 17% of people felt more lonely over the festive period.
Simon Chadwick, SKEMA Business School and Paul Widdop, University of Manchester
After four weeks, 64 games and more than a decade of controversy, Argentina has won the Fifa men’s World Cup in Qatar. And as Lionel Messi and his teammates celebrate victory over France, another competition has also reached its conclusion – the battle for “soft power”.
Anaïs Walsdorf, University of Warwick
In November the Wellcome Collection closed their Medicine Man gallery. In a Twitter thread, they acknowledged that “the display still perpetuates a version of medical history that is based on racist, sexist and ableist theories and language.”
Craig Gunn, University of Bristol
After a good night out you may not be surprised when you wake up feeling rough the next morning. But what may surprise you is if your friends aren’t feeling the same way. Some may feel worse, some better and some (if they’re lucky) may not feel any of the negative consequences at all.
Sallie Burrough, University of Oxford
“You know what’s wrong with scientific power? It’s a form of inherited wealth. And you know what assholes congenitally rich people are.” That’s how filmmaker Michael Crichton put it in Jurassic Park nearly 30 years ago. The problem of scientific colonialism has not, however, gone away.
Kate Kirk, University of Leicester
As nurses prepare to strike for the first time, an A&E nurse and lecturer in Organisational Behaviour in Healthcare writes about the stress, fear, grief and guilt they feel every day working on the frontline of an NHS in crises.
Giulia Poerio, University of Sussex
Despite what we’re often taught to believe, daydreaming can be immensely useful. Not only can it be a source of pleasure and a way to relieve boredom, research shows that our ability to mentally escape the present can also boost creativity, problem-solving and planning, and provide an antidote to loneliness.
Carl W Jones, University of Westminster
Kim Kardashian is refining her personal brand. Right-wing news outlet Fox TV is gaining viewers through attention-grabbing headlines. Photographer Gabriele Galimberti is gaining notoriety. All this is due to a recent advertising campaign from leading global fashion brand Balenciaga that has caused widespread controversy.