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Thought Leadership

How our brains instantly recognise music

The recent Wordle spinoff, Heardle, challenges players to identify popular songs from short music clips. Dr Kelly Jakubowski from Music explains the science behind why people love this new game.
A girl listening to music through her headphones.

A history tour of jubilees

Her Majesty The Queen is the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Historian Professor Philip Williamson takes a look at the changes around jubilees over the years.
Her Majesty The Queen of the United Kingdom waving

Why football needs a gender revolution

Dr Stacey Pope, Associate Professor in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, is exploring whether the visibility of the Euro's this summer will help boost gender equality in the game or give rise to a further backlash of anti-women attitudes and misogyny.
Football on pitch in arena

As mass extinctions loom, these philosophers could help us rediscover our place among other animals

Dr. Clare Mac Cumhaill from our Department of Philosophy and Dr. Rachael Wiseman from the University of Liverpool explore why it's only our imagination that stands in the way of us extending the moral concern that we have for humans to other kinds of animal.
A child at a petting zoo looking at two goats poking their heads between wooden fencing

Wayne Couzens: Sarah Everard’s killer is appealing his whole-life sentence – what does that mean?

Professor Nicole Westmarland, from our Department of Sociology, explains the recent appeals lodged with the UK's Court of Appeal and what the difference is between a whole-life sentence and a life sentence.
Blue sky and outline of Old Bailey Lady Justice banner

Ancient cave art: how new hi-tech archaeology is revealing the ghosts of human history

Professor Paul Pettitt, from our Department of Archaeology, and Professor Alistair Pike, from the University of Southampton, outline how various forms of digital analysis of rock surfaces can bring to light ancient cave art.
Paul Pettitt

Why many women with autism and ADHD aren’t diagnosed until adulthood – and what to do if you think you’re one of them

Dr Alokananda Rudra, from our Department of Psychology, addresses a number of reasons why autism and ADHD are both often missed or even misdiagnosed in girls and women and that the importance of a greater awareness of the symptoms and behaviour associated with autism and ADHD will be critical in changing how both are diagnosed.
Male hands holding clipboard assessing seated woman

Warmer summers threaten Antarctica’s giant ice shelves because of the lakes they create

PhD student, Jennifer Arthur, from our Department of Geography, outlines the department's recent research into the formation of surface meltwater lakes around the world’s largest ice sheet.
Aerial view of ice over a body of water

Ukraine invasion: Putin’s conflict is showcasing a new age for war reporting

Professor Tim Luckhurst, Principal of South College, believes that modern 21st-century war correspondents have an advantage over their predecessors as whether for radio, television, web or print, they can file instantly via satellite internet as their words and pictures are not subject to direct censorship.
Person Holding Canon Dslr Camera Close-up Photo

Can we ever fully separate our work and home lives? Philosophy suggests we should stop trying

Dr Peter West, from our Department of Philosophy, explores aspects of work-life balance portrayed in Apple TV's sci-fi series Severance and its connection with philosophical thinking about memory in order to understand personal identity.
Laptop phone coffee and hands

How fans fall in love with women’s football

Dr Stacey Pope, in our Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, and Associate Professor of Sociology, Rachel Allison, from Mississippi State University highlight the importance of respectful media coverage in leading people to become fans of women’s football.
Two players with a football

A history of Easter feasts and why the English breakfast might be medieval

Professor Giles Gasper, in our Department of History, looks back on the Christian festival and its traditions associated with food.
Hot cross buns on baking tray on top of table beside plate of butter