The Conversation Weekly

In this episode, we look at why millions of Americans are struggling to feed themselves. We explore some of the reasons behind racial disparities in U.S. food insecurity, and hear from experts with their suggested solutions. And the discovery of the bones of a small child, carefully buried in Kenya 78,000 years ago, provide a peek into the minds of ancient humans. Listen to episode 16 of The Conversation Weekly podcast. Before the pandemic hit, official food insecurity rates in the U.S. were at an all time low. But there was a big racial divide. In 2019, the official food insecurity rate for Black people was 19% – more than twice as high as it was for white people at just under 8%. It was just under 16% for Hispanic people. To find out why, and what’s been going on during the pandemic, we’ve talked to three experts who study food insecurity and food justice. Caitlin Caspi, associate professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut, explains what happened at a local level during the pandemic, and the role food pantries play in helping people put food on the table. Craig Gundersen, professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, talks us through what has happened to food insecurity rates, and where the racial disparities are. And Julian Agyeman, professor of urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University, explains what the legacy of racist urban planning policies has meant for access to food in American cities. 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. A transcript is available here. In our second story, we talk to Maria Martinón-Torres, director of the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana in Spain, about a landmark archaeological find in a cave in south-eastern Kenya that turned out to be the oldest burial ever discovered in Africa. And Jonathan Este, international affairs editor at The Conversation in the UK, recommends some recent analysis by experts about the conflict in Israel-Palestine. Further reading:All the articles in our ongoing series on food and poverty in the US are available here. What is food insecurity?, by Caitlin Caspi, University of ConnecticutHow urban planning and housing policy helped create ‘food apartheid’ in US cities, by Julian Agyeman, Tufts UniversityThe Biden administration can eliminate food insecurity in the United States – here’s how, by Craig Gundersen, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignWhy people with disabilities are at greater risk of going hungry – especially during a pandemic, by Melissa L. Caldwell, University of California, Santa CruzA nutrition report card for Americans: Dark clouds, silver linings, by Dariush Mozaffarian, Tufts UniversityUn niño recostado delicadamente, el primer enterramiento humano de África, by María Martinón-Torres, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH)A cave site in Kenya’s forests reveals the oldest human burial in Africa, by Alison Crowther, The University of Queensland and Patrick Faulkner, University of SydneyJerusalem: the politics behind the latest explosion of violence in the Holy City, by Carlo Aldrovandi, Trinity College DublinIsraeli politics and the Palestine question: everything you need to know, by John Strawson, University of East London

As India’s COVID-19 crisis continues, we look at what’s holding back the country's vaccination rollout and how a shift in distribution and pricing strategy is causing concern. And we speak to a researcher who went hunting for fungi in the world's largest seed bank. Listen to episode 15 of The Conversation Weekly podcast.The Conversation is a non-profit organisation. If you're able to support what we do, please consider donating here. Thank you.India's catastrophic COVID-19 crisis shows little sign of improving. By early May, just over 2% of India's population had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In this episode, we look at why it's currently so hard to get a vaccine in India and speak to three experts about the situation. Rajib Dasgupta, professor and chairperson at the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, tells us that the decision to open up vaccine eligibility to all adults from May 1 had been held back by a shortage of supply. R Ramakumar, professor of economics at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, raises concerns about a shift in pricing and distribution that happened at the same time. And Gagandeep Kang, professor of microbiology at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, explains what we know so far about the vaccines and the variants currently circulating in the country. In our second story, Rowena Hill, a PhD candidate at Kew Gardens and Queen Mary University of London, explains how she found a hidden world of microscopic fungi living inside the seeds of the world's largest seed bank.And Carissa Lee, Indigenous and public policy editor at The Conversation in Australia gives some recommended reading on a recent series marking 30 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Special thanks for this episode go to Namita Kohli in New Delhi. 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. And a transcript is available here.Further reading:Why variants are most likely to blame for India’s COVID surge, by Rajib Dasgupta, Jawaharlal Nehru University Charging Indians for COVID vaccines is bad, letting vaccine producers charge what they like is unconscionable, by R. Ramakumar, Tata Institute of Social SciencesIndia: election loss in West Bengal may be start of a backlash against Modi’s handling of COVID crisis, by Saba Hussain, Coventry UniversityCOVID in India: the deep-rooted issues behind the current crisis, by Vageesh Jain, UCL‘Each burning pyre is an unspeakable, screeching horror’ – one researcher on the frontline of India’s COVID crisis. by Vyoma Dhar Sharma, University of OxfordCOVID in India: a tragedy with its roots in Narendra Modi’s leadership style, by Nitasha Kaul, University of WestminsterHow we discovered a hidden world of fungi inside the world’s biggest seed bank, by Rowena Hill, Queen Mary University of LondonNot criminals or passive victims: media need to reframe their representation of Aboriginal deaths in custody, by Amanda Porter and Eddie Cubillo, The University of MelbourneIndigenous deaths in custody: inquests can be sites of justice or administrative violence, by Alison Whittaker, University of Technology Sydney

In this episode, how Cuba is pushing ahead with the development of its own coronavirus vaccines – and could be nearing vaccine sovereignty. And we hear from a researcher about what he learnt from asking hundreds of people about the biggest decisions of their lives. You’re listening to episode 14 of The Conversation Weekly podcast. Throughout 2020, the small island nation of Cuba was able to limit the spread of COVID-19. By early May, 675 people had died from the disease. But case numbers have been increasing in 2021 and there are currently around 1,000 new cases being recorded each day. That makes Cuba’s race to make its own coronavirus vaccine even more urgent. This week we speak to three experts to help explain how Cuba’s race for a coronavirus vaccine is going – and where it fits into the wider picture of global vaccine diplomacy: Amilcar Pérez Riverol, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of São Paulo State in Brazil, Jennifer Hosek, professor of languages, literatures and cultures at Queen's University, Ontario in Canada, and Peter Hotez, professor of paediatrics and molecular virology at Baylor College of Medicine in the US.In our second story, we speak to Adrian Camilleri about his research asking people about the big decisions they've taken in their lives. He tells us that the process of making a big decision can have an impact on how you think about it later in your life.And Finlay Macdonald, senior editor at The Conversation in New Zealand, gives us his recommended reads for the week.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. A transcript of the episode is available here.  Further readingThe scene from Cuba: How it’s getting so much right on COVID-19, by Jennifer Ruth Hosek, Queen's University, OntarioCuba’s economic woes may fuel America’s next migrant crisis, by William M. LeoGrande, American University School of Public AffairsCuba steps up in the fight against coronavirus, at home and around the world, by Janice Argaillot, Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)By sending doctors to Italy, Cuba continues its long campaign of medical diplomacy, by Stéphanie Panichelli-Batalla, University of WarwickI asked hundreds of people about their biggest life decisions. Here’s what I learned, by Adrian R. Camilleri, University of Technology SydneyNZ’s hate speech proposals need more detail and wider debate before they become law, by Eddie Clark, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonForensics and ship logs solve a 200-year mystery about where the first kiwi specimen was collected, by Paul Scofield, University of Canterbury and Vanesa De Pietri, University of Canterbury

In this episode, as Scotland prepares to vote in landmark parliamentary elections on May 6, we explore why the question of independence from the UK is dominating the debate. And a team of researchers working with fruit flies, has discovered a biological switch that can turn neuroplasticity on and off in the brain. What might that mean? Welcome to episode 13 of The Conversation Weekly. It's been seven years since Scotland voted to remain the UK in the 2014 independence referendum. Now, as Scotland prepares to vote in elections for the Scottish Parliament on May 6, all eyes are on first minister Nicola Sturgeon and her pro-independence Scottish National Party. If pro-independence parties win a majority in the Scottish parliament – Sturgeon will ask the UK government in Westminster, led by prime minister, Boris Johnson, for a second referendum on Scottish independence. But he's highly unlikely to agree. To find out more about what’s at stake in these upcoming elections, we speak to three experts, including one high-profile politician turned academic, to explain the situation. Kezia Dugdale, is director of the John Smith Centre and a lecturer in public policy at the University of Glasgow, and a former leaders of the Scottish Labour Party. She describes the political landscape going into the elections. Darren Nyatanga, a PhD candidate at the University of Liverpool, talks us through the constitutional questions at the heart of the independence debate. And economist Graeme Roy, dean of external engagement at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow, explains Scotland's economic circumstances, and the economic arguments being used by nationalists and unionists. For our second story, we hear about some new research into neuroplasticity – the brain's ability to change its structure. Sarah Ackerman, postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Neuroscience and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon, explains what her team has found about what controls these changes. And Moina Spooner, commissioning editor at The Conversation in Nairobi, Kenya, gives us her recommended reads for the week.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. A transcript of this episode is available here.Further readingScottish independence: could wind power Scotland back into the EU?, by Piotr Marek Jaworski, Edinburgh Napier University and Kenny Crossan, Edinburgh Napier UniversityScottish independence referendum: why the economic issues are quite different to 2014, by Graeme Roy, University of Strathclyde Scottish election: Alex Salmond’s Alba gamble could yet tip scales on second independence referendum, by William McDougall, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityScotland could vote to separate in 2021, testing Canada’s independence formula, by Catherine Frost, McMaster UniversityAstrocyte cells in the fruit fly brain are an on-off switch that controls when neurons can change and grow, by Sarah DeGenova Ackerman, University of OregonSomalia: toxic elite politics and the need for cautious external mediation, by Claire Elder, London School of Economics and Political ScienceWhy Kenya is on thin ice in its justification for sending Somali refugees back home, by Oscar Gakuo Mwangi, National University of Lesotho

In this episode, insurgent groups in northern Nigeria continue to kidnap schoolchildren as the government struggles to protect communities against militants such as Boko Haram. And we speak to a researcher who has interviewed Kenyan women about why they joined the jihadist group Al-Shabaab. Welcome to episode 12 of The Conversation Weekly.Schoolchildren in northern Nigeria continue to be abducted by insurgents, including the jihadist group Boko Haram, whose name means ‘Western education is forbidden’. In this episode, Wale Fatade from The Conversation in Lagos speaks to two experts to find out why children are still at such risk. Hakeem Onapajo, senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Nile University in Nigeria, explains that Boko Haram targets children for us as slaves in its camps, including girls as sex slaves. And Samuel Okunade, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pretoria, laments that the government’s failure to improve the security situation has left communities to fend for themselves. In our second story, we cross the continent to Kenya to hear about women who joined the jihadist group, Al-Shabaab. Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen, lecturer in the Department of Social Sciences at the Technical University of Mombasa in Kenya, has been interviewing women who have since left Al-Shabaab about their experiences and why they joined the group. She explains that while some joined willingly, others were forcibly recruited, and the line between voluntary and involuntary is often blurred.And Bryan Keogh, business editor at The Conversation in New York, gives us his recommended reads. 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. And a transcript is available here. Further readingWhy children are prime targets of armed groups in northern Nigeria, by Hakeem Onapajo, Nile University of NigeriaNigeria’s poor response to Boko Haram has left border communities feeling abandoned, by Samuel Okunade, University of PretoriaWhy there’s a mismatch between funding for Nigeria’s military and its performance, by Temitope Francis Abiodun, University of IbadanWhy we did it: the Kenyan women and girls who joined Al-Shabaab, by Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen, Technical University of MombasaPasha 100: Tackling banditry, terrorism and kidnapping in Nigeria, including an interview with Sheriff Folarin, Covenant UniversityHow climate insecurity could trigger more conflict in Somalia, by Andrew E. Yaw Tchie, Norwegian Institute of International AffairsWhy Somali clan elders could hold the key to opening dialogue with Al-Shabaab, by Mohammed Ibrahim Shire, University of PortsmouthVaccine mandates aren’t the only – or easiest – way for employers to compel workers to get their shots by Elizabeth C. Tippett, University of OregonAt what age are people usually happiest? New research offers surprising clues by Clare Mehta, Emmanuel College.

In this episode, how new discoveries continue to change our understanding of what dinosaurs looked like – and are helping to shed light on bigger questions about evolution. And after Israel’s fourth election in two years ended in another political stalemate, a foreign policy expert explains what this could mean for the Middle East. Welcome to episode 11 of The Conversation Weekly, the world explained by experts. Ever since palaeontologists started classifying fossils and bones as dinosaurs in the early 19th century, artists have been using them to try and imagine what dinosaurs looked like. But, however much Hollywood may have instilled a certain vision of dinosaurs into our minds in recent decades, we’re still a long way off having all the answers about what dinosaurs actually looked like. We speak to two palaeontologists about what new evidence is emerging and how our dinosaur imaginings have changed. Maria McNamara, professor of palaeobiology at University College Cork in Ireland, explains about the, at times controversial, history of feathered dinosaurs – and what new information is starting to emerge about dinosaur colour. And Nicolas Campione, senior lecturer in palaeobiology at the University of New England in Australia, tells us the two main techniques palaeontologists have used for estimating the size of dinosaurs. In our second story, we head to Israel, where coalition negotiations are continuing following elections on March 23. Whatever happens next will have ramifications for Israel’s foreign policy, which is closely tied with domestic politics. Amnon Aran, senior lecturer in international politics of the Middle East, at City, University of London, talks us through how history could inform what happens next, and what the foreign policy stakes are for whoever takes the reins of the next Israeli government. And Eva Catalán, associate editor at The Conversation in Spain, gives us her recommended reads.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. A transcript of this episode is available here. Further reading:Prehistoric pigments reveal how melanin has shaped bird and mammal evolution, by Maria McNamara, Tiffany Slater and Valentina Rossi, University College CorkThe mystery of feather origins: how fluffy pterosaurs have reignited debate, by Maria McNamara, University College Cork and Zixiao Yang, Nanjing UniversityHow do you weigh a dinosaur? There are two ways, and it turns out they’re both right, by Nicolas Campione, University of New EnglandLargest ever flying creatures had longer necks than giraffes – we found out how these pterosaurs kept their heads up, by David Martill, University of Portsmouth and Cariad Williams, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignGodzilla vs. Kong: A functional morphologist uses science to pick a winner, by Kiersten Formoso, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesStark choice for Israel as voters head to polls for fourth time in two years, by Amnon Aran, City, University of LondonIsrael elections: Netanyahu may hold on to power, but political paralysis will remain, by Ran Porat, Monash UniversityIsrael election: why is Palestine no longer an important campaign issue?, by Peter Malcontent, Utrecht UniversityWhat can statistics tell us about vaccine safety?, by Virgilio Gómez Rubio, University of Castilla-La Mancha and Anabel Forte Deltell, University of València (in Spanish)The success of influencers in their use of the Spanish language: idiolects and emotions in social networks, by María Nayra Rodríguez Rodríguez, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (in Spanish)

In this episode, why some economists are worried about a growing army of "zombie companies" with lots of debts – and what this could mean for the shape of our economies. And the researchers who've found a new way to prevent predators from eating the eggs of endangered birds – via a form of biological, psychological warfare. Welcome to episode 10 of The Conversation Weekly, the world explained by experts. With interest rates at record lows, many companies have been able to borrow money at very little cost. This cheap cash, which was flooding financial markets before the pandemic began, led some companies to rack up big debts. Economists call these “zombie companies” – firms that may struggle to pay the interest on their large debts. It’s a problem that’s been exacerbated by the pandemic, as revenues dried up in many sectors of the economy. Karl Schmedders, professor of finance at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, explains how zombie companies are born, why the pandemic could have made the problem worse and what might happen next. And Sandy Brian Hager, senior lecturer in international political economy at City, University of London, explains his research about why the size of a company has a bearing on the shape of the recovery ahead.In our second story, we hear about a new technique to protect endangered birds whose nests are often attacked by invasive predators. Scientists used fake smells to trick predators such as ferrets and hedgehogs into ignoring the birds' eggs. Catherine Price, postdoctoral researcher in conservation biology at the University of Sydney, tells us what happened when they tested the idea in the Mackenzie Basin on New Zealand's South Island. And Luthfi Dzulfikar, associate editor at The Conversation in Indonesia, gives us his recommended reads. 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 readingTakeovers: a tidal wave of buyouts is coming in 2021 – here’s what it means, by Karl Schmedders and Patrick Reinmoeller, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)Attack of zombie companies: don’t let them eat bailouts that are vital to restore the economy, by Robert Earle, University of Zürich; Jung Park and Karl Schmedders, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)Giant firms have a hidden borrowing advantage that has helped keep them on top for decades – new research, by Sandy Brian Hager, City, University of London and Joseph Baines, King's College LondonBiggest companies pay the least tax, leaving society more vulnerable to pandemic – new research, by Sandy Brian Hager, City, University of London and Joseph Baines, King's College LondonScientists used ‘fake news’ to stop predators killing endangered birds — and the result was remarkable, by Peter Banks, University of Sydney and Catherine Price, University of SydneyA study on the undocumented shows the glaring inequality gap in Indonesia's civil registration system, by Widi Sari, Harriz Jati, Meutia Aulia Rahmi, and Santi Kusumaningrum, PUSKAPA (in Bahasa Indonesia)National Film Day: Indonesia's young "santri" are producing film to preserve and criticize the Islamic boarding school tradition, by Ahmad Nuril Huda, Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Intan Lampung (in Bahasa Indonesia)

This week, the inside story of how scientists working at Cern’s Large Hadron Collider found tantalising new evidence which could mean we have to rethink what we know about the universe. And an update on the situation for Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in Bangladesh after a deadly fire swept through a refugee camp there. Welcome to episode 9 of The Conversation Weekly, the world explained by experts.In late March, particle physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a massive particle accelerator at Cern in Geneva, announced, tentatively, that they’d had a bit of a breakthrough. If what they think they’ve seen is proven correct, it could mean evidence for brand new physics – perhaps even a new force of nature. We get the inside story from Harry Cliff, a particle physicist at the University of Cambridge who works on the LHCb, one of Cern's four giant experiments. And Celine Boehm, professor and head of physics at the University of Sydney, explains the bigger picture of where this all fits into the world of theoretical physics, including the ongoing hunt for dark matter.In our second story, Rubayat Jesmin, a PhD candidate at Binghamton University in New York explains why the situation got even more precarious situation for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, after a fire ripped through one of the camps where many were living in Bangladesh.And Nehal El-Hadi, science and technology editor at The Conversation in Toronto, 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.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. And a transcript is available here. Further readingEvidence of brand new physics at Cern? Why we’re cautiously optimistic about our new findings, by Harry Cliff, University of Cambridge; Konstantinos Alexandros Petridis, University of Bristol, and Paula Alvarez Cartelle, University of CambridgeNew physics at the Large Hadron Collider? Scientists are excited, but it’s too soon to be sure, by Sam Baron, Australian Catholic UniversityThe Standard Model of particle physics: The absolutely amazing theory of almost everything, by Glenn Starkman, Case Western Reserve UniversityWithout school, a ‘lost generation’ of Rohingya refugee children face uncertain future, by Rubayat Jesmin, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkWe know how to cut off the financial valve to Myanmar’s military. The world just needs the resolve to act, by Jonathan Liljeblad, Australian National UniversityResistance to military regime in Myanmar mounts as nurses, bankers join protests – despite bloody crackdown, by Tharaphi Than, Northern Illinois UniversityPreviously thought to be science fiction, a planet in a triple-star system has been discovered, by Samantha Lawler, University of ReginaBursting social bubbles after COVID-19 will make cities happier and healthier again, by Meg Holden, Atiya Mahmood, Ghazaleh Akbarnejad, Lainey Martin and Meghan Winters at Simon Fraser University

In this episode of The Conversation Weekly, four experts dissect the impact a year of working from home has had on employees and the companies they work for — and what a more hybrid future might look like. And we talk to a researcher who asked people to sit in bath tubs full of ice cold water to find out why some of us are able to stand the cold better than others.For many people who can do their job from home, the pandemic meant a sudden shift from office-based to remote working. But a year of working from home, has taken its toll on some. We hear from Marie-Colombe Afota, assistant professor in leadership, IÉSEG School of Management in France on her new research into remote working during the pandemic, and Dave Cook, PhD candidate in anthropology at University College London, explains why burnout has become a public health issue. Jean-Nicolas Reyt, assistant professor at McGill University in Montreal, tells us how the view of chief executives towards remote working shifted over the past year and why. And Ruchi Sinha gives us a view of the conversations going on in Australia where hybrid working is already becoming a reality. In our second story, we talk to Victoria Wyckelsma, postdoctoral research fellow in muscle physiology at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, about her new study which revealed how our genes influence how resistant we are to cold temperatures. And Sunanda Creagh from The Conversation in Australia gives us some recommended reading about the recent floods in Sydney. 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 readingCOVID a year on: inequalities and anxieties about returning to workplaces are becoming clearer, by Jane Parry and Michalis Veliziotis, University of SouthamptonFaced by their employers' scepticism, remote workers are make themselves more available to signal their engagement, by Marie-Colombe Afota, IÉSEG School of Management; Ariane Ollier-Malaterre and Yanick Provost Savard, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM); and Emmanuelle Léon, ESCP Business SchoolWork-life balance in a pandemic: a public health issue we cannot ignore, by Dave Cook, UCL; Anna Rudnicka, UCL, and Joseph Newbold, Northumbria University, NewcastleWhat Canada’s top CEOs think about remote work, by Jean-Nicolas Reyt, McGill UniversityYour genetics influence how resilient you are to cold temperatures – new research, by Victoria Wyckelsma, Karolinska Institutet and Peter John Houweling, Murdoch Children's Research Institute‘They lost our receipts three times’: how getting an insurance payout can be a full-time job, by Chloe Lucas, University of TasmaniaWhy do people try to drive through floodwater or leave it too late to flee? Psychology offers some answers, by Garry Stevens, Western Sydney University; Mel Taylor, Macquarie University, and Spyros Schismenos, Western Sydney University

In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast we drill down into the impact coronavirus lockdowns had on global carbon emissions – and ask what this means for the fight against climate change as governments turn their focus on the recovery. And we hear how the pandemic exacerbated the hardships faced by migrant workers in Canada. Corinne Le Quéré, Professor of Climate Change Science at the University of East Anglia, tells globla carbon emissions dropped 7% in 2020 – by 2.6 billion tonnes. While this was the biggest drop ever, everything is relative. She puts the figures into perspective for us about what was happening before the pandemic, and what needs to happen now for the world to reach its targets under the Paris Agreement. Click here to explore a graphic she's made with her team, exploring this history of emissions around the world. And we also talk to Steve Westlake, a PhD researcher at Cardiff University, about his research into what influences our behaviour when it comes to reducing carbon emissions -- and why he thinks individual actions still matter.We’re also joined in this episode by The Conversation’s Vinita Srivastava, host of Don’t Call Me Resilient, a new podcast about race. She introduces a conversation she had with Min Sook Lee, Assistant Professor in Documentary Film at OCAD University in Toronto, on the harsh conditions, isolation and precarious working conditions faced by migrant farm workers in Canada. And Wale Fatade from The Conversation in Lagos, Nigeria, gives us some recommended reading. The Conversation Weekly is hosted by Gemma Ware and Dan Merino. The show is co-produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Visit The Conversation for full credits. A transcript of this episode is available here. 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 Further readingWe’ve made progress to curb global emissions. But it’s a fraction of what’s needed, Pep Canadell, CSIRO; Corinne Le Quéré, University of East Anglia and colleagues.Climate change: yes, your individual action does make a difference, Steve Westlake, Cardiff UniversityCoronavirus lockdown will have ‘negligible’ impact on the climate – new study, Piers Forster, University of Leeds How we treat migrant workers who put food on our tables: Don’t Call Me Resilient Episode 4, by The ConversationMigrant worker segregation doesn’t work: COVID-19 lessons from Southeast Asia by Peter Vandergeest, York University, Canada; Melissa Marschke, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa, and Peter Duker, York University, CanadaMemory practices are not enough to remedy Nigeria-Biafra war injustices, by Benjamin Maiangwa, Durham University and Chigbo Arthur Anyaduba, University of WinnipegBeer, politics and identity – the chequered history behind Namibian brewing success, by Paul Nugent, University of Edinburgh