The Conversation Weekly

How close is a four-day working week? Over the last few years, companies and governments in a number of countries have begun to experiment with the idea of a four-day work week – and some of the results are in. We talk to experts about these recent trials, explore how they fit into the long history of ever-shrinking work hours, and wonder what this all might mean for the future of work. Featuring Anthony Veal, adjunct professor a the Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Jana Javornik, associate professor of work and employment relations at Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds and José-Ignacio Antón associate professor at the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Salamanca in Spain. In our second story, historian Melissa Wanjiru-Mwita from the Technical University of Kenya explains her research on the history and politics of how informal settlements in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, got their names. And Catesby Holmes, international editor at The Conversation in New York, recommends two recent stories about immigration in the US.The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. Full credits for this episode available here.Further reading:The success of Iceland’s ‘four-day week’ trial has been greatly overstated, by Anthony Veal, University of Technology SydneyFour-day week: how workplaces can successfully establish it, by Rita Fontinha, University of Reading and James Walker, University of ReadingPost-pandemic return to work is a perfect opportunity to move to a four-day week, by David Spencer, University of LeedsAre we ready to work from only Monday to Thursday?, by José-Ignacio Antón, University of Salamanca (in Spanish) Is it becoming easier to be a working mother?, by Jana Javornik, University of LeedsThe fascinating history of how residents named their informal settlements in Nairobi, by Melissa Wanjiru-Mwita, Technical University of KenyaThis is what happens to child migrants found alone at the border, from the moment they cross into the US until age 18, by Randi Mandelbaum, Rutgers UniversityDACA in doubt after court ruling: 3 questions answered, by Kevin Johnson, University of California, Davis

Are there limits to how much faster, higher or stronger humans can get? We talk to researchers in biomechanics, sports technology and psychology, to find out.Featuring Nicole Forrester, a former Canadian Olympic high jumper and now assistant professor in the school of media at Ryerson University in Toronto, Anthony Blazevich, professor of biomechanics at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia, and Jonathan Taylor, lecturer in sport and exercise at Teesside University in the UK.In our second story, we hear the story of the troubled 1920 Antwerp Olympics, held in the wake of the first world war and the Spanish flu pandemic from Keith Rathbone, senior lecturer in modern European history and sports history at Macquarie University in Sydney.And Thabo Leshilo, politics editor at The Conversation in Johannesburg, recommends some analysis on the recent unrest in South Africa following the imprisonment of former president, Jacob Zuma.The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. Full credits for this episode available here.Further ReadingSuper shoes: Explaining athletics’ new technological arms race, by Jonathan Taylor, Teesside UniversityHow the COVID-19 delay of the Tokyo Olympics helped some athletes break records, by Jane Thornton, Western UniversityThe secret formula for becoming an elite athlete, by Nicole W. Forrester, Ryerson UniversitySardines for breakfast, hypothermia rescues: the story of the cash-strapped, post-pandemic 1920 Olympics, by Keith Rathbone, Macquarie UniversityUnrest is being used to subvert South Africa’s democracy: giving in is not an option, by Mcebisi Ndletyana, University of JohannesburgWhy have South Africans been on a looting rampage? Research offers insights, by Guy Lamb, Stellenbosch University

How do you mimic meat? We take a look at the science behind plant-based and cultured meat in this episode, where it might lead and how ready people are to eat meat grown in a lab.Mariana Lamas, a research associate at the Centre for Culinary Innovation at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, Canada, talks us through some of the key elements that make a plant-based meat mimic successful. Andrew Stout, PhD candidate in biomedical engineering at Tufts University in Massachusetts, US, explains how he grows meat in a petri dish, and where he sees the future of the field. And Matti Wilks, postdoctoral research associate in psychology at Yale University in Connecticut, tells us what she's found by asking people about their readiness to eat cultured meat.In our second story (25m30), we hear about new research on cigarette advertising and how it lures in children in Indonesia – ranked in the top 10 countries in the world for the number of adults who smoke. Nurjanah, senior lecturer in health promotion at Universitas Dian Nuswantoro in Semarang City, explains what she and her colleagues found when they mapped the proximity of cigarette advertising to schools.And Hannah Hoag, deputy editor at The Conversation in Canada, gives us some of her recommended environment stories to dip into this week (34m40).The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can find us on Twitter @TC_Audio, on Instagram at theconversationdotcom or via email on podcast@theconversation.com. You can also sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. Full credits for this episode available here.Further readingHow scientists make plant-based foods taste and look more like meat, by Mariana Lamas, Northern Alberta Institute of TechnologyNo animal required, but would people eat artificial meat?, by Clive Phillips, The University of Queensland and Matti Wilks, The University of Queensland (now Yale)Plant-based burgers: should some be considered ‘junk food’?, by Richard Hoffman, University of HertfordshireLab-grown meat could leave marginalized people in need, by Sarah Duignan, McMaster UniversityResearch: teenagers whose schools are surrounded by cigarette advertisements tend to smoke more, Dian Kusuma, Imperial College London; Abdillah Ahsan, University of Indonesia; Nurjanah and Sri Handayani, Dian Nuswantoro University (In Bahasa Indonesia)Putting an end to billions in fishing subsidies could improve fish stocks and ocean health, by Daniel Skerritt, University of British ColumbiaScientists aim to build a detailed seafloor map by 2030 to reveal the ocean’s unknowns, by Sean Mullan, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Why is it so difficult to prosecute militaries for alleged war crimes? In this episode of The Conversation Weekly, we speak to experts about the legal hurdles. By hanging around military bases in the US and Israel, Craig Jones managed to meet a usually very secretive group of people: military lawyers. Jones, a lecturer in political geography at Newcastle University in the UK, explains what he learnt from these conversations – including the way different militaries interpret international law to suit their own purposes. And why victims and their families have such little recourse to justice. And Amy Maguire, associate professor at the University of Newcastle Law School in Australia, tells us the history of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and how its investigations into alleged war crimes work. She explains the context of a newly opened ICC investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories.In our second story we look at why sarcasm is so difficult for children to understand. Penny Pexman, professor of psychology at the University of Calgary in Canada, talks about her new research aimed at making it easier for them to learn.And Megan Clement, a commissioning editor at The Conversation in Paris, gives us some of her recommended reading. The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can find us on Twitter @TC_Audio, on Instagram at theconversationdotcom or via email on podcast@theconversation.com. You can also sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. Full credits for this article available here. Further reading‘Almost divine power’: the lawyers who sign off who lives and who dies in modern war zones, by Craig Jones, Newcastle UniversityWhy is accountability for alleged war crimes so hard to achieve in the Israel-Palestinian conflict?, by Amy Maguire, University of NewcastleCan the world stop Israel and Hamas from committing war crimes? 7 questions answered about international law, by Asaf Lubin, Indiana UniversitySyria and Iraq: RAF killed only one civilian in airstrikes – why the discrepancy with what others report?, by Peter Lee, University of PortsmouthWhy it’s difficult for children to understand sarcasm, by Penny Pexman, University of CalgarySuckers for learning: why octopuses are so intelligent, by Lisa Poncet, Université de Caen NormandieTotal an offshore wind turbines – diversifying to survive, by Sylvain Roche, Sciences Po Bordeaux (in French)

After the US government released its long-awaited report on unidentified aerial phenomena, we explore the cultural history and scientific taboo around UFOs. And three months after rebels killed the president of Chad in central Africa, we talk to experts about the balance of power there. Welcome to The Conversation Weekly. In the end, when it finally dropped on June 25, the US government's report on unidentified aerial phenomena didn’t mention the word extraterrestrial once. And nobody had expected it to. We talk to Chris Impey, university distinguished professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona, about what it did actually say and why doing serious research into UFOs has been such a taboo for scientists. And Greg Eghigian, professor of history at Penn State University, gives us a cultural history of UFOs and how what started as an American obsession spread around the world. And in our second story, we head to Chad in central Africa where the country's long-serving president, Idriss Déby was killed suddenly by rebels in April. Line Engbo Gissel, associate professor of global political sociology at Roskilde University in Denmark and Troels Burchall Henningsen, assistant professor at the Royal Danish Defence College, talk us about Chad's 'gatekeeper politics' and why its legacy will live on beyond Déby. And Naomi Joseph, arts and culture editor at The Conversation in London, gives us some recommended reading. The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can find us on Twitter @TC_Audio, on Instagram at theconversationdotcom or via email on podcast@theconversation.com. You can also sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. Full credits for this article available here. Further readingPentagon UFO report: No aliens, but government transparency and desire for better data might bring science to the UFO world, by Chris Impey, University of ArizonaThe truth is still out there: why the current UFO craze may be a problem of intelligence failings, by Kyle Cunliffe, University of SalfordPentagon report says UFOs can’t be explained, and this admission is a big deal , by Adam Dodd, The University of QueenslandUFOs: how to calculate the odds that an alien spaceship has been spotted, by Anders Sandberg, University of OxfordLegacy of Chad’s gatekeeper politics lives on beyond Déby – and carries grave risks, by Line Engbo Gissel, Roskilde University and Troels Burchall Henningsen, Royal Danish Defence CollegeFrance’s decision to pull troops out of the Sahel invites a less military approach, by Folahanmi Aina, King's College LondonChina is using mythology and sci-fi to sell its space programme to the world, by Molly Silk, University of ManchesterWhy this Rodin scholar would gladly see the back of The Thinker, by Natasha Ruiz-Gómez, University of Essex

When catastrophes like a pandemic strike, how do we make sure societies learn – and implement – lessons from disaster? We talk to three researchers coming at this question in different ways. First, a story from northern Australia about how Indigenous knowledge that can help to prevent natural disasters has been with us for thousands of years. We speak to Kamaljit Sangha, senior ecological economist at the Darwin Centre for Bushfire Research at Charles Darwin University in northern Australia.Second, what happens when a country with a long history of preparing for disasters, faces something it didn't predict. With Elizabeth Maly, associate professor of international research at the Institute of Disaster Science at Japan's Tohoku University. And third, use the recovery from a disaster like the pandemic as a catalyst for change. We speak to Ian Goldin, professor of globalisation and development at the University of Oxford in the UK. And Julius Maina, East Africa editor at The Conversation in Nairobi, recommends some analysis of this week's crucial election in Ethiopia. The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can find us on Twitter @TC_Audio, on Instagram at theconversationdotcom or via email on podcast@theconversation.com. You can also sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. Full credits for this article available here. The stories in this episode are tied to two series on The Conversation. Resilient recovery looks at how to recover from the pandemic in a way that makes societies more resilient and able to deal with future challenges. It’s supported by a grant from PreventionWeb, a platform from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. And a second series called Disaster and Resilience focused on the nexus between disaster, disadvantage and resilience, supported by a grant form the Paul Ramsay foundation. Further reading:Indigenous expertise is reducing bushfires in northern Australia. It’s time to consider similar approaches for other disasters, by Kamaljit K Sangha, Charles Darwin University; Andrew Edwards, Charles Darwin University, and Willie Rioli Sr, Indigenous KnowledgeTsunamis, earthquakes, nuclear meltdowns and COVID-19 – what Japan has and hasn’t learned from centuries of disaster, by Elizabeth Maly, Tohoku UniversityCOVID-19 has shown that following the same road will lead the world over a precipice, by Ian Goldin, University of OxfordRecovery: a series from The Anthill podcast. Part 1: How Europe recovered from the Black Death, featuring Adrian Bell, University of Reading, Eleanor Russell, University of Cambridge and Mark Bailey, University of East AngliaMore than a decade after the Black Saturday fires, it’s time we got serious about long-term disaster recovery planningLisa Gibbs, The University of MelbourneLearning from COVID: how to improve future supplies of medical equipment and vaccines, by Liz Breen, University of BradfordWhat we can learn about risk from the COVID experience, by Geoff Mulgan, UCL

Jair Bolsonaro is openly nostalgic for the era of Brazil’s military dictatorship, which ended in 1985. Since the former army captain was elected president in 2018, he’s packed his government full of military men and maintained a close relationship with the armed forces. But in recent months it’s not always been straightforward. With Brazil heading towards presidential elections in 2022, and Bolsonaro slumping in the polls, some of those military officers who’ve tasted political power may be assessing their options. We speak to two experts about the history of relations between politics and the military in Brazil – and what’s at stake. Maud Chirio is a lecturer in history at Université Gustave Eiffel in Paris, is a specialist in Brazil's military dictatorship. And Vinicius Mariano de Carvalho is director of King’s Brazil Institute at King's College London and former member of the army, who studies civilian-military relations. And in our second story (24m20s), we travel back to 12th century Islamic Iberia with the help of zooarchaeologist Marcos García García, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of York in the UK. By sifting through ancient household waste at an archaeological dig outside Córdoba in Spain, he’s revealing clues about the people left out of history.And Nick Lehr, arts and culture editor at The Conversation in the US, tells us about a new series of articles on transgender young people (34m15s). To go alongside it, The Conversation has put together an email newsletter course to help shed light on the issues that transgender young people and their families face. Anyone of any age, gender or sexuality that is interested in learning about the latest research on transgender youth can sign up here to receive the mini-course in the form of four emails over about a week.The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Mau Loseto. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can find us on Twitter @TC_Audio, on Instagram at theconversationdotcom. or via email on podcast@theconversation.com. You can also sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. Full credits for this article available here. Further readingBrazil’s economic crisis, prolonged by COVID-19, poses an enormous challenge to the Amazon, by Peter Richards, George Washington UniversityLe Brésil, une démocratie militarisée, by Maud Chirio, Université Gustave EiffelPopulism in Brazil: how liberalisation and austerity led to the rise of Lula and Bolsonaro, by Patricia Justino, United Nations University and Bruno Martorano, United Nations UniversityLos cerdos no mienten: un basurero cristiano en la Córdoba islámica, by Marcos García García, University of York and Guillermo García-Contreras Ruiz, Universidad de GranadaNew archaeology finding shows how Muslim cuisine endured in secret despite policing by the Spanish Catholic regime, by Aleks Pluskowski, University of Reading; Guillermo García-Contreras Ruiz, Universidad de Granada, and Marcos García García, University of YorkTrans kids in the US were seeking treatment decades before today’s political battles over access to health care, by Jules Gill-Peterson, University of PittsburghHow the bulletin board systems, email lists and Geocities pages of the early internet created a place for trans youth to find one another and explore coming out, by Avery Dame-Griff, Appalachian State University

Iranians are about to get the chance to vote for a new president on June 18. Hassan Rouhani, president since 2013, is stepping down after serving two terms in office. The frontrunner to succeed him is Ebrahim Raisi, an ultra-conservative and head of the judiciary. Getting information about how Iranians view their society and its political leaders is notoriously difficult. In this episode we speak to two academics in The Netherlands who take a different approach – anonymous online surveys. And they’re getting tens of thousands of people to participate.Ammar Maleki, assistant professor in public law and governance at Tilburg University, and Pooyan Tamimi Arab, assistant professor of religious studies at Utrecht University recently carried out a new survey about voting intentions via the Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran, a non-profit, independent research organisation. They found there's been a dramatic decline in those who intend to vote – and we talk to them about why, and what message this will send to the rulers of the Islamic Republic. Our second story provides advice on how to ensure future generations continue to enjoy one of nature’s greatest wonders: fireflies. We talk to Avalon Owens, a PhD candidate in biology at Tufts University, about her new research into why fireflies need the dark in their search for love.And Haley Lewis, culture and society editor at The Conversation in Ottawa, gives us some recommended reading about the 215 First Nations children found in a mass unmarked grave in British Columbia, Canada. The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl.If you'd like to sign up for The Conversation's free daily newsletter, please subscribe here. To get in touch, find us on Twitter @TC_Audio or on Instagram at theconversationdotcom. Or you can email us on podcast@theconversation.com. Full credits for this episode can be found here.Further reading:Why Iranians won’t vote: new survey reveals massive political disenchantment, by Pooyan Tamimi Arab, Utrecht University and Ammar Maleki, Tilburg UniversityIran’s secular shift: new survey reveals huge changes in religious beliefs, by Pooyan Tamimi Arab, Utrecht University and Ammar Maleki, Tilburg UniversityWhy the West must challenge Iran on human rights, by Kyle Matthews, Concordia UniversityIran’s leaders signal interest in new nuclear deal, but U.S. must act soon, by James Devine, Mount Allison UniversityNo longer ‘the disappeared’: Mourning the 215 children found in graves at Kamloops Indian Residential School, by Veldon Coburn, University of OttawaWhy many Canadians don’t seem to care about the lasting effects of residential schools, by Joanna R. Quinn, Western UniversityIndigenous lawyer: Investigate discovery of 215 children’s graves in Kamloops as a crime against humanity, by Beverly Jacobs, University of WindsorFireflies need dark nights for their summer light shows – here’s how you can help, by Avalon C.S. Owens and Sara Lewis, Tufts University

In this episode, who is making money from our oceans and is it sustainable? And why Brazilian women who lived through Zika are avoiding getting pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Listen to episode 18 of The Conversation Weekly. From deep-sea mining, to fishing, to oil and gas exploration, the ocean economy is booming. A key question is what the economic exploitation of our oceans is doing to the ocean environment. It's important to balance economic growth both with preservation of ocean habitats and the livelihoods of the people who’ve depended on the ocean for generations. In this episode, we speak to three experts about the scale of the problem, and what's being done to make the exploitation of the oceans more sustainable. Jean-Baptise Jouffray, post-doctoral researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University, explains the size of the ocean economy and how it’d dominated by 100 large corporations. Anna Metaxas, professor of oceanography at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, tells us what mining of the deep sea floor for precious metals could do the environment. And Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, lecturer in sustainable development at St Andrew's University in Scotland, explains how the pressure on marine resources in West Africa is pushing fishing communities to criminality to survive. In our second story, we're heading to Brazil, which remains a global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic -- just a few years after another devastating epidemic, Zika. Catesby Holmes speaks to Letícia Marteleto, professor of sociology at the The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts, about her new research into how Zika and COVID-19 have had a double effect on women’s attitudes about getting pregnant.And Françoise Marmouyet, editorial coordinator for The Conversation in Paris, tells us about a new podcast series about the state of democracy in France, the US and China.On World Ocean’s Day, June 8, The Conversation will be holding a webinar about the next ocean decade. Find out more here. The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl.If you'd like to sign up for The Conversation's free daily newsletter, please subscribe here. To get in touch, find us on Twitter @TC_Audio or on Instagram at theconversationdotcom. Or you can email us on podcast@theconversation.com. Full credits for this episode can be found here.Further reading: You can read more stories from our Oceans 21 series here, examining the history and future of the world’s oceans.Blue economy: how a handful of companies reap most of the benefits in multi-billion ocean industries, by John Virdin, Duke University; Henrik Österblom and Jean-Baptiste Jouffray, Stockholm UniversityGetting to the bottom of things: Can mining the deep sea be sustainable?, by Anna Metaxas, Dalhousie University and Verena Tunnicliffe, University of VictoriaWomen are a mainstay of fishing in West Africa. But they get a raw deal, by Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood and Sayra van den Berg Bhagwandas, University of St AndrewsNew mangrove forest mapping tool puts conservation in reach of coastal communities, by Trevor Gareth Jones, University of British ColumbiaScarred by Zika and fearing new COVID-19 variants, Brazilian women say no to another pandemic pregnancy, by Letícia Marteleto, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal ArtsQuelle démocratie ? (1 / 3) : “La démocratie française est-elle en crise ?” (Podcast in French)

New scientific guidelines have been released this week on embryo research and the use of stem cells. We talk to experts about what’s changed – including a recommendation to relax the 14-day time limit for human embryo research. And we hear about a wave of romantic comedy films emerging from South Africa that are re-imagining the city of Johannesburg. Welcome to episode 17 of The Conversation Weekly. It's been five years since the last set of guidelines from the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) were published. Since then, scientists have made significant developments in stem cell and embryo research. Now, new ISSCR guidelines have just been published. In this episode, we look at what's changing in this field of research, and what the new guidelines say. One of the most significant shifts concerns what's called the 14-day rule, a time limit for how long human embryos can be grown in the lab. While these aren't law, they guide the regulations about this kind of research in countries around the world. We hear from Megan Munsie, deputy director for the Centre for Stem Cell Systems at the University of Melbourne and one of the scientists who sat on the panel that reviewed the guidelines about what's changed. Jun Wu, assistant professor in molecular biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, explains his new research on human embryo models and why it provides an alternative to using human embryos. And César Palacios-González, senior research fellow in practical ethics at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, talks through some of the questions philosophers consider about the ethics of human embryo research. In our second story (at 25m20), we head to South Africa, where a wave of romantic comedies have hit the big screen in recent years. Many of them are based in Johannesburg. Pier Paolo Frassinelli, professor of communication and media studies at the University of Johannesburg, talks to us about his research into these films and how they are reimagining the city.And Wale Fatade, commissioning editor at The Conversation in Lagos, Nigeria, gives us his recommended reading. The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Special thanks for this episode go to Matt Williams in New York. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. If you'd like to sign up for The Conversation's free daily newsletter, please subscribe here. To get in touch, find us on Twitter @TC_Audio or on Instagram at theconversationdotcom. Or you can email us on podcast@theconversation.com. Full credits for this episode can be found here. Further reading:New global guidelines for stem cell research aim to drive discussions, not lay down the law, by Megan Munsie, The University of Melbourne and Melissa Little, Murdoch Children's Research InstituteResearchers have grown ‘human embryos’ from skin cells. What does that mean, and is it ethical? by Megan Munsie, The University of Melbourne and Helen Abud, Monash UniversityFirst human-monkey embryos created – a small step towards a huge ethical problem, by Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford and César Palacios-González, University of OxfordSouth Africa’s romcom revolution and how it reimagines Joburg, by Pier Paolo Frassinelli, University of JohannesburgEthiopia’s blockchain deal is a watershed moment – for the technology, and for Africa, by Iwa Salami, University of East LondonWhy young Nigerians are returning to masquerade rituals, even in a Christian community, by Kingsley Ikechukwu Uwaegbute, University of Nigeria