Oliver Heath, Royal Holloway University of London and Humphrey Southall, University of Portsmouth
As the country gears up for the election, all eyes are on the bellwether constituencies that historically reflect the broader national mood.
Jenni Ramone, Nottingham Trent University
Reviews of Channel 4’s new sitcom, Queenie, are divided. The good reviews have praised the show’s authenticity, while the negative ones have called it “crude” and “bland”. Having watched the show, I wonder if the real problem is that reviewers have expected the show to deliver on every count – and they want a heroine who represents the “strong Black woman”.
Daniel Kelly, Sheffield Hallam University
In terms of men’s health issues, prostate cancer features high on the agenda. It’s the second most diagnosed cancer in men globally – closely followed by lung cancer. And it’s the most common cancer in men in the UK.
Mike Cook, King’s College London
OpenAI’s new “strategic partnership” and licensing agreement with the Financial Times (FT) follows similar deals between the US tech company and publishers such as Associated Press, German media giant Axel Springer and French newspaper Le Monde.
Elke Schwarz, Queen Mary University of London
A report by Jerusalem-based investigative journalists published in +972 magazine finds that AI targeting systems have played a key role in identifying – and potentially misidentifying – tens of thousands of targets in Gaza. This suggests that autonomous warfare is no longer a future scenario. It is already here and the consequences are horrifying.
Adrian Gepp, Bangor University and Milind Tiwari, Charles Sturt University
A multi-billion pound criminal enterprise lurks amid our supermarket shelves. Food crime not only harms our wallets but threatens public health. It includes activities such as mislabelling a product, replacing a food or ingredient with another substance that is inferior, and even poisoning.
Chris Greenough, Edge Hill University
Have you ever wondered why so many images depicting the crucifixion show Jesus with a very defined, slender and toned body? Either slim, but with a six-pack, or displaying muscles and brawn. While these images are hardly a reflection of what little can be surmised about the historical Jesus, they certainly reflect social and cultural ideas about masculinity and idealised notions of manhood.
Toby James, University of East Anglia and Holly Ann Garnett, Royal Military College of Canada
This year has been widely proclaimed to be the year of elections, with national elections expected in at least 64 countries. This means that half of the world’s population will have the opportunity to change their government, choose their representatives and indirectly shape policy. It began as a year of hope – and the prospect of democratic empowerment.
Orly Siow, Lund University and Sofia Collignon, Queen Mary University of London
Yet again a black woman in British public life has been subjected to racist and sexist abuse. This may be shocking, but it is not surprising.
Christopher Strelluf, University of Warwick
In response to a community petition, Tower Hamlets council in east London has designated Cockney as a “community language”. This recognition paves the way for the borough to actively challenge the linguistic discrimination that speakers of “non-standard” English dialects face.