The Conversation Documentaries

One Nation didn't emerge in a vacuum, then or now.The global surge in right-wing populism has propelled the party and thirty years on, it’s arguably stronger than ever.But is its popularity a protest or a fundamental realignment of Australian politics? And what happens to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, post Pauline?In the sixth and final episode of The Making of One Nation, we speak to Jill Sheppard, a political scientist and senior lecturer in the School of Politics and International Relations at the Australian National University.This episode was written and hosted by Ashlynne McGhee and produced and edited by Isabella Podwinski. Sound design by Michelle Macklem. Misha Ketchel is the editor of The Conversation Australia.If you are enjoying the series, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.

The media made Pauline Hanson and One Nation, but now the party holds all the power.It’s a perfect storm for democracy: a shrinking and cowering traditional media, the toxic algorithms of the unmoderated social media cess pit and the warped reality of generative AI.But why is the party that once led the charge in the new internet age seemingly so restrained in weaponising AI?In the fifth instalment of The Making of One Nation, we speak to Kurt Sengul, a political scientist at Macquarie University who has researched the nexus between the media and the rise of far-right populism.This episode was written and hosted by Ashlynne McGhee and produced and edited by Isabella Podwinski. Sound design by Michelle Macklem. Misha Ketchel is the editor of The Conversation Australia.If you are enjoying the series, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.Or, you can subscribe to one of our free newsletters.

It’s never held government, or even opposition, yet One Nation’s managed to exert an outsized influence on the public policy agenda.From borders to migration, multiculturalism to Indigenous affairs, the far-right party has mastered mainstreaming and captured the masses fleeing the Coalition.In the fourth instalment of The Making of One Nation, we speak to Josh Sunman, Associate Lecturer in Public Policy at Flinders University and Tim Bale, a Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London.This episode was written and hosted by Ashlynne McGhee and produced and edited by Isabella Podwinski. Sound design by Michelle Macklem. Misha Ketchel is the editor of The Conversation Australia.If you are enjoying the series, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.Or, you can subscribe to one of our free newsletters.

We’d all like deeply considered policy and informed debate to be at the heart of politics, but unfortunately controversies and scandals tend to steal the show.For most parties, scandals are disastrous: they lose seats, ministers and elections — but not One Nation.It's weathered defections and punch-ups (including a memorable smearing of blood on a Senate door), jail and chaos, and thirty years on it's surging.This is a party that doesn’t just survive the chaos, but cultivates it and capitalises on it.This episode was written and hosted by Ashlynne McGhee and produced and edited by Isabella Podwinski. Sound design by Michelle Macklem. Misha Ketchel is the editor of The Conversation Australia.If you are enjoying the series, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.Subscribe to The Conversation's free newsletters.

You might remember this line in Pauline Hanson's maiden speech: "I'm afraid we're in danger of being swamped by Asians."It wasn't the first racist comment she'd made in public and it certainly wasn't the last.Over the years, her enemies have changed and she now targets Muslims and elites, but it's the same tactic and it's infiltrated Australian politics.This episode was written and hosted by Ashlynne McGhee and produced and edited by Isabella Podwinski. Sound design by Michelle Macklem. Misha Ketchel is the editor of The Conversation Australia.If you are enjoying the series, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.Subscribe to The Conversation's free newsletters.

Listen to the full series by searching and following 'The Making of One Nation'(click here for Spotify or Apple.)Nearly thirty years on, Hanson's infamous maiden speech — warning that Australia was "being swamped by Asians" — still echoes through Australian political life.But who was Pauline Hanson before she became a phenomenon, and what did she actually represent?Was she a cause of a new kind of politics, or a symptom of one already forming?Correction: This episode refers to the LNP. In the late 1990s, the two parties were in a coalition but hadn't formally merged and weren't yet known as the LNP. Pauline Hanson was pre-selected by the Liberal Party."

Search for "The Making of One Nation" and follow now.From a fish and chip shop in regional Queensland to the heart of Australian politics: this is the unlikely story of the country’s most controversial minor party.For thirty years, One Nation and Pauline Hanson have been ridiculed, dismissed and shut out. Now, no one is laughing. This is the story of how a party built on fear and grievance thrived, died and rose again to upend Australian politics.We go beyond the headlines and stunts to document how One Nation works and what it means for our future.

In November, six Democratic lawmakers recorded a video directed at members of the US military and intelligence agencies. In it, they issued a blunt reminder:"The laws are clear: […] You must refuse illegal orders."The lawmakers were issuing the warning against the backdrop of US airstrikes on boats off the coast of Latin America the Trump administration claims are suspected drug runners. Many Democrats and legal experts, however, argue these strikes are illegal.Since returning to office, Trump has successfully expanded his power over his own party, the courts and the American people. Now, like many autocrats around the world, he’s trying to exert control over the military.Mentioned in this episode:The Making of an AutocratFollow the feed so you don't miss an episode.The Making of One Nation

The list of people Donald Trump has punished or threatened to punish since returning to office is long. It includes the likes of James Comey, Letitia James, John Bolton, as well as members of the opposition, such as Adam Schiff, Mark Kelly and Kamala Harris.In fact, he has gone so far as to call Democrats "the enemy from within", saying they are more dangerous than US adversaries like Russia and China.According to Lucan Way, a professor of democracy at the University of Toronto, when a leader attacks the opposition like this, it's a clear sign a country is slipping into authoritarianism.Mentioned in this episode:The Making of an AutocratFollow the feed so you don't miss an episode.The Making of One Nation

In democratic systems, the courts are a vital check on a leader’s power. They have the ability to overturn laws and, in Donald Trump’s case, the executive orders he has relied on to achieve his goals.Since taking office, Trump has targeted the judiciary with a vengeance. He has attacked what he has called "radical left judges" and is accused of ignoring or evading court orders.The Supreme Court has already handed the Trump administration some key wins in his second term. But several cases now before the court will be pivotal in determining how much power Trump is able to accrue – and what he'll be able to do with it.Mentioned in this episode:The Making of an AutocratFollow the feed so you don't miss an episode.The Making of One Nation

Donald Trump has sounded the alarm, over and over again, that the United States is facing an “invasion” by dangerous gang members. He blames immigrants for the country's economic problems and claims protesters are destroying US cities.Trump is not the first would-be autocrat to manufacture a crisis to seize extraordinary powers.So, is the United States really facing a national emergency? Or is this just a tactic on Trump’s part to amass more power?Mentioned in this episode:The Making of an AutocratFollow the feed so you don't miss an episode.The Making of One Nation

Every autocrat needs a clan of loyalists, strategists, masterminds – these are the figures behind the scenes pulling the strings.They’re unelected and unaccountable, yet they wield a huge amount of power.This is the role Stephen Miller has played for Donald Trump – he is the architect in chief for the second Trump administration. He has so much power, in fact, he’s reportedly referred to as the "prime minister"So who is Stephen Miller? And why are architects so important in helping a would-be autocrat amass power?Mentioned in this episode:The Making of an AutocratFollow the feed so you don't miss an episode.The Making of One Nation

We used to have a pretty clear idea of what an autocrat was. History is full of examples: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, along with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping today. The list goes on.So, where does Donald Trump fit in?In this six-part podcast series, The Making of an Autocrat, we ask six experts on authoritarianism and US politics to explain how exactly an autocrat is made – and whether Trump is on his way to becoming one.Mentioned in this episode:The Making of an AutocratFollow the feed so you don't miss an episode.The Making of One Nation

We used to have a pretty clear idea of what an autocrat was. History is full of examples: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, along with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping today. The list goes on.So, where does Donald Trump fit in?In this six-part podcast series, The Making of an Autocrat, we are asking six experts on authoritarianism and US politics to explain how exactly an autocrat is made – and whether Trump is on his way to becoming one.

Every day that he was locked up in a scam compound in Southeast Asia, George thought about how to get out. "We looked for means of escaping, but it was hard," he said. Scam Factories is a podcast series taking you inside Southeast Asia's brutal fraud compounds. It accompanies a series of multimedia articles on The Conversation.In our third and final episode, Great Escapes, we find out the different ways survivors manage to escape, what it takes for them to get home, and what is being done to clamp down on the industry. This podcast series first aired in February 2025 on The Conversation Weekly. In June 2025 it won Best Investigative Podcast at the Publisher Podcast Awards. The series was written and produced by Gemma Ware with production assistance from Katie Flood and Mend Mariwany. Sound design by Michelle Macklem. Leila Goldstein was our producer in Cambodia and Halima Athumani recorded for us in Uganda. Hui Lin helped us with Chinese translation. Editing help from Justin Bergman and Ashlynee McGhee. Getting out of Southeast Asia's scam factoriesFrom empty fields to locked cities: the rise of a billion-dollar criminal industry‘We could hear the screams until midnight’: life inside Southeast Asia’s brutal fraud compounds

A few weeks after Ben Yeo travelled to Cambodia for what he thought was a job in a casino, he found himself locked up in a padded room. “It’s a combination between a prison and a madhouse,” he remembers. He was being punished for refusing to conduct online scams.Scam Factories is a podcast and multimedia series taking you inside Southeast Asia's brutal fraud compounds. The Conversation collaborated for this series with three researchers: Ivan Franceschini, a lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Melbourne, Ling Li, a PhD candidate at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, and Mark Bo, an independent researcher. In the second episode, Inside the Operation, we explore the history of how scam compounds emerged in Southeast Asia and who is behind them. We hear about the violent treatment people receive inside through the testimonies of two survivors, Ben, and another man we're calling George to protect his real identity. This podcast series first aired in February 2025 on The Conversation Weekly. In June 2025 it won Best Investigative Podcast series at the Publisher Podcast Awards. The series was written and produced by Gemma Ware with production assistance from Katie Flood and Mend Mariwany. Sound design by Michelle Macklem. Leila Goldstein was our producer in Cambodia and Halima Athumani recorded for us in Uganda. Hui Lin helped us with Chinese translation. Editing help from Justin Bergman and Ashlynee McGhee. Rise of an industry: part 2 of Scam FactoriesLocked in: the inside story of Southeast Asia's fraud compounds

Scam factories is a special three-part series taking you inside Southeast Asia's brutal fraud compounds. Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to work in these scam factories. Many were trafficked there and forced into criminality by defrauding people around the world.The Conversation collaborated for this series with three researchers: Ivan Franceschini, a lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Melbourne, Ling Li, a PhD candidate at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, and Mark Bo, an independent researcher. In episode 1, our researchers travel to a village in Cambodia called Chrey Thom to see what these compounds look like. And we hear from two survivors about how they were recruited into compounds in Laos and Myanmar. This podcast series was first aired in February 2025 on The Conversation Weekly podcast. In June 2025 it won Best Investigative Podcast series at the Publisher Podcast Awards. The series was written and produced by Gemma Ware with production assistance from Katie Flood and Mend Mariwany. Sound design by Michelle Macklem. Leila Goldstein was our producer in Cambodia and Halima Athumani recorded for us in Uganda. Hui Lin helped us with Chinese translation. Editing help from Justin Bergman and Ashlynee McGhee. Locked in: the inside story of Southeast Asia's fraud compounds‘It seemed like a good job at first’: how people are trafficked, trapped and forced to scam in Southeast Asia – Scam Factories podcast, Ep 1

The neglect of working-class voters in the past few decades has had profound consequences for British political life. Disillusioned with the two main parties, many have turned to Nigel Farage’s Reform and others are simply not voting at all. With the next election likely to be a tight race in many key constituencies, something must be done to win these voters back.But as we find out in this fifth and final part of Know Your Place: what happened to class in British politics, the relationship between class and voting could be about to become even more complicated. So it’s difficult for any party to know how to put an electoral coalition together. Featuring, Geoffrey Evans, professor in the sociology of politics at the University of Oxford, John Curtice, senior research fellow at the National Centre for Social Research, Oliver Heath, professor of politics at Royal Holloway University of London, Paula Surridge, professor of political sociology at the University of Bristol, Rosie Campbell, director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King's College London and Vladimir Bortun, lecturer in politics at University of Oxford.The Conversation Documentaries, formerly The Anthill podcast, is home to in-depth audio series from The Conversation UK, a not-for-profit independent news organisation. Find out more and donate here. And consider signing up for Politics Weekly, an essential briefing on the big stories of the week from The Conversation UK's politics and society team.Further reading: The true class divide in British politics is not which party people choose, but whether they vote at allWhy the Tories may be wasting their time trying to compete with ReformClass identity: why fancy freebies are a bigger political problem for this Labour government than its Tory predecessors

After the 2024 election, the British parliament looks very different, with a large Labour majority for the first time in more than a decade. Several cabinet ministers come from working-class backgrounds, including the prime minister, deputy prime minister and foreign secretary. What impact will the upbringing of this new parliament have on the way Britain is governed?In the fourth part of Know Your Place: what happened to class in British politics, we examine the link between representation and political change and ask will Britain's new look parliament herald meaningful reform?Featuring Rosie Campbell, director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership and professor of politics at King's College London, Vladimir Bortun, lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford, former Labour MP David Hanson, now Baron Hanson of Flint and current Labour MP Jeevun Sandher.The Conversation Documentaries, formerly The Anthill podcast, is home to in-depth audio series from The Conversation UK, a not-for-profit independent news organisation. Find out more and donate here. And consider signing up for Politics Weekly, an essential briefing on the big stories of the week from The Conversation UK's politics and society team.Further reading: Can Kemi Badenoch claim to have ‘become working class’ while working in McDonald’s – and why would she want to?Beyond ‘my dad was a toolmaker’: interviews with former politicians reveal what it’s really like to be working class in parliament Class identity: why fancy freebies are a bigger political problem for this Labour government than its Tory predecessors

In the third part of Know Your Place: what happened to class in British politics, we explore how class is defined and measured, and how the UK’s changing class identity interacts with identity politics. Featuring Daniel Evans, lecturer in criminology, sociology and social policy at Swansea University, Gillian Prior, deputy chief executive of the National Centre for Social Research, John Curtice, senior research fellow at the National Centre for Social Research, Oliver Heath, professor of politics at Royal Holloway University of London, Paula Surridge, professor of political sociology at the University of Bristol and Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.Know your place is a series supported by the National Centre for Social Research. It's produced and mixed by Anouk Millet for The Conversation. Full credits available here.The Conversation Documentaries, formerly The Anthill podcast, is home to in-depth audio series from The Conversation UK, a not-for-profit independent news organisation. Find out more and donate here. And consider signing up for Politics Weekly, an essential briefing on the big stories of the week from The Conversation UK's politics and society team.Further reading: Can Kemi Badenoch claim to have ‘become working class’ while working in McDonald’s – and why would she want to?Deliveroo judgment shows how gig economy platforms and courts are eroding workers’ rightsAge, not class, is now the biggest divide in British politics, new research confirms

In the second episode of Know Your Place: what happened to class in British politics, host Laura Hood, senior politics editor at The Conversation, looks back at a century of class in British politics to understand why Tony Blair's decision to move Labour away from the working class was such a watershed moment. Featuring Mark Garnett, senior lecturer in politics at Lancaster University, Martin Farr, senior lecturer in contemporary British history at Newcastle University and Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. Plus interviews with former Labour MPs Reg Race and David Hanson, who is now a member of the House of Lords and minister of state for the Home Office.Know your place is a series supported by the National Centre for Social Research. It's produced and mixed by Anouk Millet for The Conversation. Full credits available here.The Conversation Documentaries, formerly The Anthill podcast, is home to in-depth audio series from The Conversation UK, a not-for-profit independent news organisation. Find out more and donate here. And consider signing up for our free daily newsletter.Further readingCan Kemi Badenoch claim to have ‘become working class’ while working in McDonald’s – and why would she want to?Age, not class, is now the biggest divide in British politics, new research confirmsThatcher helped people to buy their own homes – but the poorest paid the price

In the first episode of our new podcast series Know Your Place: what happened to class in British politics, host Laura Hood, senior politics editor at The Conversation, explores when the relationship between class and voting broke down and why. Featuring John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and senior research fellow at the National Centre for Social Research, Paula Surridge, professor of political sociology at the University of Bristol, Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London and Geoffrey Evans, professor in the sociology of politics at the University of Oxford. Know your place is a series supported by the National Centre for Social Research. It's produced and mixed by Anouk Millet for The Conversation. Full credits available here. The Conversation Documentaries, formerly The Anthill podcast, is home to in-depth audio series from The Conversation UK, a not-for-profit independent news organisation. Find out more and donate here. And consider signing up for our free daily newsletter. Further readingAge, not class, is now the biggest divide in British politics, new research confirmsBrexit identities: how Leave versus Remain replaced Conservative versus Labour affiliations of British votersUK election: Reform and Green members campaigned more online – but pounded the pavements less

The relationship between class and political preference in Britain used to be clear cut – Labour for the working class, the Conservatives for the middle class. But not any more. In a new five-part series, Know your place: what happened to class in British politics, Laura Hood, senior politics editor at The Conversation, explores what fractured the relationship between class and voting in the UK, and why no politicians can take the working class vote for granted. The first episode launches on October 7.Know your place is a series supported by the National Centre for Social Research. It's produced and mixed by Anouk Millet for The Conversation. The Conversation Documentaries, formerly The Anthill podcast, is home to in-depth audio series from The Conversation, a not-for-profit independent news organisation. Find out more and donate here.

We’re changing our name, from The Anthill, to The Conversation Documentaries! Over the last few years we’ve used The Anthill podcast to run in-depth series on a range of issues. And that’s exactly what we’ll keep on doing. But we’re changing our name to better reflect that what you’re listening to are documentaries from The Conversation. We’re a not-for-profit independent news website and our editors work with academics to help share their expertise and research with as many people as possible.In the next few weeks we’ll be launching a new limited series about British politics. So keep following The Conversation Documentaries, and watch this space for our latest trailer, coming soon.

The quest for a theory of everything – explaining all the forces and particles in the universe – is arguably the holy grail of physics. While each of our main theories of physics works extraordinarily well, they also clash with each other. But do we really need a theory of everything? And are we anywhere near achieving one?Featuring Vlatko Vedral, a professor of physics at the University of Oxford and Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, an assistant professor in physics and astronomy and core faculty in women's and gender studies at the University Of New Hampshire.This episode is presented by Miriam Frankel and produced by Hannah Fisher. Executive producers are Jo Adetunji and Gemma Ware. Social media and platform production by Alice Mason, sound design by Eloise Stevens and music by Neeta Sarl. A transcript is available here. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.Further reading: The standard model of particle physics may be broken – an expert explains

What’s the difference between a living collection of matter, such as a tortoise, and an inanimate lump of it, such as a rock? They are, after all, both just made up of non-living atoms. The truth is, we don’t really know yet. Life seems to just somehow emerge from non-living parts.Featuring Jim Al-Khalili, professor of physics at the University of Surrey, and Sara Imari Walker, professor of physics at Arizona State University.This episode is presented by Miriam Frankel and produced by Hannah Fisher. Executive producers are Jo Adetunji and Gemma Ware. Social media and platform production by Alice Mason, sound design by Eloise Stevens and music by Neeta Sarl. A transcript is available here. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.Further reading: Life: modern physics can’t explain it – but our new theory, which says time is fundamental, might

It is hard to shake the intuition that there's a real and objective physical world out there. If I see an umbrella on top of a shelf, I assume you do too. And if I don't look at the umbrella, I expect it to remain there as long as nobody steals it. But the theory of quantum mechanics, which governs the micro-world of atoms and particles, threatens this commonsense view.Featuring Chiara Marletto, Research Fellow of Physics, and Christopher Timpson, Professor of Philosophy of Physics, both at the University of Oxford, and Marcus Huber, Professor of Physics, TU Wien.This episode is presented by Miriam Frankel and produced by Hannah Fisher. Executive producers are Jo Adetunji and Gemma Ware. Social media and platform production by Alice Mason, sound design by Eloise Stevens and music by Neeta Sarl. A transcript is available here. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.Further reading: 'QBism': quantum mechanics is not an objective description of reality – it reveals a world of genuine free will

Interest in the multiverse theory, suggesting that our universe is just one of many, has spiked since the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once was released. The film follows Evelyn Wang on her journey to connect with versions of herself in parallel universes to stop the destruction of the multiverse. The multiverse idea has long been an inspiration for science fiction writers. But does it have any basis in science? And if so, is it a concept we could ever test experimentally? Featuring Andrew Pontzen, professor of Cosmology at University College London, Katie Mack, Hawking chair in cosmology and science communication at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and Sabine Hossenfelder, research fellow of physics at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies. This episode is presented by Miriam Frankel and produced by Hannah Fisher. Executive producers are Jo Adetunji and Gemma Ware. Social media and platform production by Alice Mason, sound design by Eloise Stevens and music by Neeta Sarl. A transcript is available here. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.Further reading: The multiverse: how we're tackling the challenges facing the theoryCurious Kids: how likely is it that there are parallel universes and other Earths?The multiverse: our universe is suspiciously unlikely to exist – unless it is one of many

Imagine a universe with extremely strong gravity. Stars would be able to form from very little material. They would be smaller than in our universe and live for a much shorter amount of time. But could life evolve there? It after all took human life billions of years to evolve on Earth under the pleasantly warm rays from the Sun. Now imagine a universe with extremely weak gravity. Its matter would struggle to clump together to form stars, planets and – ultimately – living beings. It seems we are pretty lucky to have gravity that is just right for life in our universe.Featuring Fred Adams, professor of physics, University of Michigan, and Paul Davies, professor of physics, Arizona State University.This episode was presented by Miriam Frankel and produced by Hannah Fisher. Executive producers are Jo Adetunji and Gemma Ware. Social media and platform production by Alice Mason, sound design by Eloise Stevens and music by Neeta Sarl. A transcript is available here. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.Further reading: The multiverse is suspiciously unlikely to exist unless it is one of many

Without a sense of time, leading us from cradle to grave, our lives would make little sense. But on the most fundamental level, physicists aren't sure whether the sort of time we experience exists at all. We talk to three experts and find out if time could potentially be moving backwards as well as forwards. Featuring Sean Carroll, Homewood professor of natural philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, Emily Adlam, postdoctoral associate of the philosophy of physics at Western University and Natalia Ares, Royal Society university research fellow at the University of Oxford.This episode was presented by Miriam Frankel and produced by Hannah Fisher. Executive producers are Jo Adetunji and Gemma Ware. Social media and platform production by Alice Mason, sound design by Eloise Stevens and music by Neeta Sarl. A transcript is available here. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.Further reading: Quantum mechanics: how the future might influence the pastFour misconceptions about quantum physics

There are many competing theories about what causes Alzheimer's disease. For more than 30 years, Ruth Itzhaki has been accumulating evidence that viruses are involved in its development in the brain. We investigate this evidence in the third and final episode of Uncharted Brain: Decoding Dementia, hosted by Paul Keaveny and Gemma Ware from The Conversation.Featuring interviews with Ruth Itzhaki, professor emeritus of molecular neurobiology at the University of Manchester in the UK, Dana Cairns, a postdoctoral research fellow at Tufts University in the US and Davangere P. Devanand, director of geriatric psychiatry and professor of psychiatry and neurology, Columbia University Medical Center in the US.Uncharted Brain is produced by Tiffany Cassidy with sound design by Eloise Stevens. The executive producer is Gemma Ware. Read full credits here. Further reading:My work investigating the links between viruses and Alzheimer’s disease was dismissed for years – but now the evidence is building

Dementia doesn’t just affect older people. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a form of dementia that athletes from a whole range of sports can develop. It’s now at the centre of a number of legal challenges involving sports from rugby to American football. In the second episode of Uncharted Brain: Decoding Dementia, hosts Gemma Ware and Paul Keaveny from The Conversation find out about the toll this type of dementia can take on family members, who are often unaware of what’s happening to their loved ones.This episode features interviews with Matthew Smith, a senior lecturer in sport and exercise psychology at the University of Winchester in the UK and Lisa McHale, director of family relations at the Concussion Legacy Foundation.Uncharted Brain is produced by Tiffany Cassidy with sound design by Eloise Stevens. The executive producer is Gemma Ware. Read full credits here. Further reading:Sport-induced traumatic brain injury: families reveal the ‘hell’ of living with the condition

Scientists have been doing an array of regular health checks on the same group of people since they were born in 1946 – the world's longest running cohort study. Now the brains of some of its participants are revealing new insights into the risk factors for Alzheimer's disease. We find out more in the first episode of Uncharted Brain: Decoding Dementia, a new series from The Anthill hosted by Paul Keaveny and Gemma Ware from The Conversation.This episode features Marcus Richards, professor of psychology in epidemiology, UCL, Jonathan Schott, professor of neurology at UCL and David Ward, one of the cohort study participants.Uncharted Brain is produced by Tiffany Cassidy with sound design by Eloise Stevens. The executive producer is Gemma Ware. Read full credits here. Further reading:We’ve been studying the same people for 76 years – this is what we’ve found out about Alzheimer’s disease

Uncharted Brain: decoding dementia is a new series from The Conversation exploring new research unlocking clues to the ongoing mystery of how dementia works in the brain.In this three-part series, hosted by journalists Paul Keaveny and Gemma Ware from The Conversation, we'll delve into some of the findings from the world's longest continuously running cohort study, hear about the trauma of families effected by dementia and explore one researcher's investigation into the role certain viruses could play in Alzheimer's disease.All episodes will be available via The Anthill on November 16.Uncharted Brain is produced by Tiffany Cassidy with sound design by Eloise Stevens. The executive producer is Gemma Ware.

A good negotiation is supposed to leave everyone feeling a little unsatisfied. So what happened at the world's biggest one – over the future of our planet? In part five, and our final episode of Climate fight: the world’s biggest negotiations, host Jack Marley reports from Glasgow where he spoke to academics who have been researching the UN climate negotiations for decades, and the people representing their countries in the talks. Featuring Abhinay Muthoo, professor of economics at the University of Warwick in the UK; François Gemenne, director of the Hugo Observatory at the University of Liège in Belgium, and Lisa Vanhala, professor of political science at UCL in the UK. And Hadeel Hisham Ikhmais, a climate negotiator from Palestine.The Climate Fight podcast series is produced by Tiffany Cassidy. Sound design is by Eloise Stevens and our series theme tune is by Neeta Sarl. The series editor is Gemma Ware. You can sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. A transcript of this episode will be available soon.Climate fight: the world’s biggest negotiation is a podcast series supported by UK Research and Innovation, the UK’s largest public funder of research and innovation.Further readingFive things you need to know about the Glasgow Climate Pact, by Simon Lewis, UCL and Mark Maslin, UCLThe world has made more progress on climate change than you might think – or might have predicted a decade ago, by Myles Allen, University of OxfordCOP26 deal: how rich countries failed to meet their obligations to the rest of the world, by Lisa Vanhala, UCLCoal: why China and India aren’t the climate villains of COP26, by Daniel Parsons and Martin Taylor, University of Hull

Locked out of conferences and company boardrooms, young people have tried to influence the international response to the climate crisis with strikes and protests. In part four of Climate Fight, the world's biggest negotiation, we explore what effect this youth activism has, and where the movement will go next.Featuring Harriet Thew, researcher in climate change governance at the University of Leeds, who speaks to youth climate activist Abel Harvie-Clark about his experiences. And Lynda Dunlop, a senior lecturer in science education at the University of York.The Climate Fight podcast series is produced by Tiffany Cassidy. Sound design is by Eloise Stevens and our series theme tune is by Neeta Sarl. The series editor is Gemma Ware. You can sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. A transcript of this episode is available here.Climate fight: the world’s biggest negotiation is a podcast series supported by UK Research and Innovation, the UK’s largest public funder of research and innovation.Further readingEnvironmental action: why some young people want an alternative to protests, by Lynda Dunlop, Lucy Atkinson and Maria Turkenburg-van Diepen, University of YorkYoung climate activists have far more power than they realise, by Anna Pigott, Swansea UniversityHow the youth climate movement is influencing the green recovery from COVID-19 , by Jens Marquardt, Stockholm UniversityClimate crisis: how states may be held responsible for impact on children, by Aoife Daly, University College Cork

In the shift away from fossil fuels, how do countries make sure not to widen inequalities in the process? In part three of our series Climate fight: the world’s biggest negotiations, we travel to the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven on England’s north-west coast that could soon host the UK’s first deep coal mine in more than three decades. We talk to local people for and against the mine, as well as experts in the concept of a just transition, to explore how regions like west Cumbria that have suffered from decades of deindustrialisation can thrive in the shift to a low-carbon economy. Featuring Rebecca Ford, senior lecturer in politics at the University of Strathclyde, Rebecca Willis, professor in Practice at the Lancaster Environment Centre at Lancaster University and Kieran Harrahill, PhD candidate in bioeconomy at University College Dublin.The Climate Fight podcast series is produced by Tiffany Cassidy. Sound design is by Eloise Stevens and our series theme tune is by Neeta Sarl. The series editor is Gemma Ware. You can sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. A transcript of this episode is available here. Climate fight: the world’s biggest negotiation is a podcast series supported by UK Research and Innovation, the UK’s largest public funder of research and innovation.Further readingCumbria coal mine could usher in a net-zero-compliant fossil fuel industry – or prove it was always a fantasy, by Myles Allen, University of OxfordEnding coal use blighted Scottish communities – a just transition to a green economy must support workers, by Ewan Gibbs, University of GlasgowHow to make climate action popular, by James Patterson, Utrecht University and Marie Claire Brisbois, University of Sussex

In part two of Climate Fight: the world’s biggest negotiation, we’re talking to experts about the grand goal of the negotiations: reaching net zero emissions by 2050. We explore what net zero means, and the technologies that will be needed to get the world there.Featuring Mercedes Maroto-Valer, assistant deputy principal for research & innovation and director of the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions at Heriot-Watt University, James Dyke, senior lecturer in global systems at the University of Exeter and Myles Allen, professor of geosystem science and director of Oxford Net Zero at the University of Oxford. Our producer Tiffany Cassidy also visits the Boundary Dam coal-fired power plant in Saskatchewan, Canada, to see carbon capture and storage technology in action.The Climate Fight podcast series is produced by Tiffany Cassidy. Sound design is by Eloise Stevens and our series theme tune is by Neeta Sarl. The series editor is Gemma Ware. You can sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. A transcript of this episode is available here.Climate fight: the world’s biggest negotiation is a podcast series supported by UK Research and Innovation, the UK’s largest public funder of research and innovation.Further readingA global carbon removal industry is coming – experts explain the problems it must overcome, by Johanna Forster and Naomi Vaughan, University of East AngliaClimate crisis: what can trees really do for us?, by Rob MacKenzie University of Birmingham and Rose Pritchard, University of ManchesterClimate scientists: concept of net zero is a dangerous trap , by James Dyke, University of Exeter; Robert Watson, University of East Anglia and Wolfgang Knorr, Lund UniversityNet zero: despite the greenwash, it’s vital for tackling climate change, by Richard Black, Imperial College London; Steve Smith and Thomas Hale, University of Oxford

In the first episode of our new series Climate fight: the world's biggest negotiation, we're talking about climate finance – money pledged by the world's richest countries to help the poorest parts of the world adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. Where is it being spent and is it really working?Featuring Jessica Omukuti, COP26 Fellow in Climate Finance at the University of York and a research fellow on inclusive net zero at the University of Oxford, Harpreet Kaur Paul, a PhD candidate in climate justice at the University of Warwick and Alina Averchenkova, distinguished policy fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change, London School of Economics and Political Science. Thanks to the reporting of Maryam Charles, we also hear from two residents of Zanzibar about why some climate finance can leave people feeling worse off. The Climate Fight podcast series is produced by Tiffany Cassidy with reporting from Maryam Charles in Zanzibar. Sound design is by Eloise Stevens and our series theme tune is by Neeta Sarl. The series editor is Gemma Ware. You can sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. A transcript of this episode is available here.Climate fight: the world’s biggest negotiation is a podcast series supported by UK Research and Innovation, the UK’s largest public funder of research and innovation.Further reading:Climate finance: rich countries aren’t meeting aid targets – could legal action force them? by Harpreet Kaur Paul, University of WarwickClimate adaptation finance is ineffective and must be more transparent, by Jessica Omukuti, University of YorkCOP26: what’s the point of this year’s UN climate summit in Glasgow? by Federica Genovese, University of Essex and Patrick Bayer, University of Strathclyde Climate change: convincing people to pay to tackle it is hard – treating it like a pension could help by David Comerford, University of Stirling

How will we actually tackle the climate crisis? And who gets to decide? As Glasgow gets ready to hold the COP26 climate summit in November, The Anthill Podcast is launching Climate fight: the world's biggest negotiation, a new podcast series taking you inside the fight for our planet's future.We'll speak to some of the academic experts influencing climate policy, and to some of the people around the world who will see their lives change as a result of it. We'll also be in Glasgow for the COP26 summit, talking to experts to unpack how the negotiations went. The first episode will go live on October 6. The Climate Fight podcast series is produced by Tiffany Cassidy. Sound design is by Eloise Stevens and our series theme tune by Neeta Sarl. The series editor is Gemma Ware. You can sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here.Climate fight: the world’s biggest negotiation is a podcast series supported by UK Research and Innovation, the UK’s largest public funder of research and innovation.

The 2008 financial crisis resulted in the worst global recession since the second world war. The collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008 caused a meltdown of the global financial system. Money markets froze and there was a major credit crunch as the ability to borrow money suddenly dried up. To stop contagion and make sure other major financial institutions didn’t collapse, governments stepped in to shore up the system by bailing out the banks. Anastasia Nesvetailova, professor of international political economy at City, University of London, explains what these bailouts involved and why they were so necessary. Aidan Regan, associate professor at University College Dublin, tells us how the crisis spread across the eurozone and why some countries rebounded a lot more quickly than others. We also discuss how the austerity policies that many governments adopted following the 2008 financial crisis hampered economic growth. And we explore how emerging markets such as Brazil and China were affected by the 2008 financial crisis. Carolina Alves, fellow in economics at the University of Cambridge, outlines how they were shielded from some elements of the crisis but also left vulnerable to the large reduction in finance that followed. You can read more research into the 2008 financial crisis and what lessons we can learn from it for today's coronavirus recovery alongside other articles in our Recovery series, which accompany this podcast.This episode was produced by Gemma Ware and Annabel Bligh, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. The Anthill is a podcast from The Conversation UK. We’re an independent news media outlet that exists purely to take reliable, informed voices direct to a wide audience. If you’re able to to support our work, please consider donating via our website. Thanks to everyone who has already done so.

In this fifth episode of Recovery, a series from The Anthill Podcast exploring key moments in history when parts of the world recovered from a major crisis or shock, we’re looking at what happened in the former Soviet Union during the transition from communism to capitalism in the 1990s.When the USSR was finally dissolved at the end of 1991 it was a massive shock to the system for millions of people. The transition from a state-controlled command economy to a market-driven capitalist one was a hugely complex structural change. What followed was what’s come to be known as “shock therapy” – post-communist states were suddenly subject to mass privatisation and market reforms. Price controls were lifted. State support – which had been such a fundamental part of everybody’s way of life in the former Soviet Union and eastern bloc – was withdrawn.Jo Crotty, professor of management and director of the Institute for Social Responsibility at Edge Hill University, was living in between Belarus and Russia in the early 1990s. She describes the hyperinflation and economic breakdown she witnessed during this period. Companies tried to keep people employed, but these were jobs in name only and there was a huge problem of hidden unemployment – which she says offers a warning as coronavirus furlough schemes end today.Some parts of the former Soviet Union and Eastern bloc countries recovered quicker than others. Lawrence King, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a research associate at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School, explains why, and what political upheaval the drastic economic reforms provoked. He also describes the devastating impact that waves of privatisation had on mortality rates in Russia in the 1990s.And Elisabeth Schimpfössl, lecturer in sociology and policy at Aston University, talks about a new group of oligarchs emerged in Russia during the transition in the 1990s, benefitting from the waves of privatisation and shift to a capitalist system. She describes the enduring legacy this period has had on wealth inequality in Russia.You can read more about the post-Soviet transition and its legacy alongside other articles in our Recovery series accompanying this podcast.This episode was produced by Gemma Ware and Annabel Bligh with sound design by Eloise Stevens.The Anthill is produced by The Conversation UK. We’re an independent news media outlet that exists purely to take reliable, informed voices direct to a wide audience. We’re a charity, with no wealthy owner nudging an editorial line in one direction or another. The only opinion we hold is that knowledge is crucially important, and must be made widely available to help as many people as possible understand the world and make informed decisions. If you can help us do what we do, please click here to donate. And if you’ve already supported what we do, thank you!

In this fourth episode of Recovery, a series from The Anthill Podcast exploring key moments in history when the world recovered from a major crisis or shock, we’re looking at what happened in the UK after the second world war.The second world war decimated landscapes, killed tens of millions of people and left many more unable to work, in need of long-term healthcare and help to rebuild their lives.In the UK, some had been calling for action to deal with poverty, squalid housing and better education since before the conflict, but the particular circumstances of the war seemed to provide the impetus needed to get things moving. The recovery project that followed the end of the war in 1945 transformed the nation into one that provided free healthcare for all, better education and massive housing regeneration.Pat Thane, visiting professor of history at Birkbeck College, takes us through the recommendations of a landmark government report written by William Beveridge that got the whole project moving. This set out a comprehensive cradle-to-grave welfare system designed to tackle the five giants of want, squalor, idleness, ignorance and disease.Bernard Harris, professor of social policy at the University of Strathclyde, reveals how this report turned into a series of changes to the law that ultimately constructed the welfare state. That included establishing the world-famous National Health Service. He explains how the shared trauma of the war helped people imagine a different future in which a greater number of people would be cared for by the government.Pippa Catterall, professor of history and policy at the University of Westminster, discusses the political context of the post-war period in the UK. After the suffering of the conflict, it was the left-wing Labour party that grasped how urgently the public wanted bold new thinking. The recovery promised by Labour Party leader Clement Attlee was based around a total restructuring of the state, and voters were prepared to take the plunge – not least because more of them had been exposed to hardship during the war.Finally, the panel explore what lessons this unique period in history can offer us today, as governments look to rebuild after the coronavirus pandemic. After years of retreat, states are stepping in on an unprecedented scale to offer rescue packages. Could we be witnessing the rebirth of the welfare state?You can read more about the aftermath of the second world war and the welfare state as well as other articles in our Recovery series to accompany this podcast.This episode was produced by Gemma Ware and Annabel Bligh, with sound design by Eloise Stevens.The Anthill is produced by The Conversation UK. We’re an independent news media outlet that exists purely to take reliable, informed voices direct to a wide audience. We’re a charity, with no wealthy owner nudging an editorial line in one direction or another. The only opinion we hold is that knowledge is crucially important, and must be made widely available to help as many people as possible understand the world and make informed decisions. We’re in the middle of a donations campaign so if you can help us do what we do, please click here. And if you’ve already supported what we do, a massive thank you!

In this third episode of Recovery, we’re looking at what happened after the combined shocks of the Spanish flu and world war one.It was called the Spanish flu because the first reports of the virus were in Spanish newspapers, due to wartime censorship restrictions elsewhere. The 1918-19 flu was the worst pandemic in human history. More than half the world’s population was infected. Estimates for the number of people who died range from between 20 and 50 million. And this off the back of a devastating world war in which 9.7 million military personnel and another 10 million civilians died.To find out about the recovery after these combined shocks of war and pandemic, we hear from three experts in this episode who study the period.Caitjan Gainty, lecturer in the history of science, technology and medicine at King’s College London, explains what measures were put in place to recover from the Spanish flu and how the pandemic lead to a rethink in the way cities and buildings were designed, and a focus on fresh air.Tim Hatton, professor of economics at the University of Essex, outlines how an economic boom followed the end of the war due to pent up demand, but it was followed by a severe economic slump and high unemployment. He explains what policies were introduced to help the recovery and why that recovery was patchy in the UK.And Chris Colvin, senior lecturer in economics at Queen’s University Belfast, tells us why it’s so hard to unpick the economic impact and recovery from the Spanish flu from the recovery from WW1. And he explains why in their desire to return to what they thought of as “normal”, some politicians decided to re-introduce the gold standard in the early 1920s, with mixed consequences.You can read more about the Spanish flu on The Converasation here as well as other articles in our Recovery series to accompany this podcast.This episode was produced by Gemma Ware and Annabel Bligh, with sound design by Eloise Stevens.The Anthill is produced by The Conversation UK. We’re an independent news media outlet that exists purely to take reliable, informed voices direct to a wide audience. We’re a charity, with no wealthy owner nudging an editorial line in one direction or another. The only opinion we hold is that knowledge is crucially important, and must be made widely available to help as many people as possible understand the world and make informed decisions. We’re in the middle of a donations campaign so if you can help us do what we do, please click here. And if you’ve already supported what we do, we want to say a massive thank you!

In this second episode of Recovery, a series from The Anthill Podcast exploring key moments in history when the world recovered from a major crisis or shock, we’re looking at what happened after the earthquake, tsunami and fires that devastated Lisbon in 1755 and shocked Europe.In 1755, the grand and prosperous city of Lisbon was devastated by a huge earthquake. The Portuguese capital we see today is a product of the reconstruction and recovery after this catastrophic event. But the impact of the earthquake went far beyond the city it destroyed. It affected politics, trade, philosophy and religion across Europe. It has been described as the first modern disaster.We talk to three academics whose expertise covers the impact and recovery from the Lisbon earthquake in the days, months and years that followed.Mark Sabine, associate professor in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American studies at the University of Nottingham, tells us about the relief efforts immediately after the quake and how the city was rebuilt. The decisive actions of one of the king’s ministers – Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the Marquis of Pombal – fundamentally changed Portuguese politics, religion and society.David McCallum, reader in French 18th century studies at the University of Sheffield, outlines the media sensation caused by the earthquake. News of the disaster followed the shockwaves across Europe. In its wake, Enlightenment philosophical beliefs like optimism, which claimed that the world is the best version of itself it could be, suddenly seemed untenable.Finally, we hear from Katie Cross, research fellow in the school of divinity, history and philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. She explains the questions about divine judgement the earthquake prompted in a profoundly Catholic population, and how it shaped ideas about religion and punishment in 18th century Europe.This episode was produced by Grace Allen, Gemma Ware and Annabel Bligh, with sound design by Eloise Stevens.The Anthill is produced by The Conversation UK. We’re an independent news media outlet that exists purely to take reliable, informed voices direct to a wide audience. We’re a charity, with no wealthy owner nudging an editorial line in one direction or another. The only opinion we hold is that knowledge is crucially important, and must be made widely available to help as many people as possible understand the world and make informed decisions. We’re in the middle of a donations campaign so if you can help us do what we do, please click here. And if you’ve already supported what we do, we want to say a massive thank you!

Welcome to Recovery, a new series from The Anthill podcast, exploring key moments in history when the world recovered from a major crisis or shock.In this first episode, we find out what happened after one of history’s worst epidemics, the Black Death. This was the name given to the bubonic plague that hit Europe in the late 1340s. Somewhere between a third and half of Europe's population died from the disease.Needless to say, this had a huge impact on those that survived – from living with PTSD to higher wages. Innovations and an outpouring of poetry followed the epidemic too, as people grappled with the changes that took place off the back of it. We speak to three academic experts who've researched different elements of the Black Death and the period of history that followed. Adrian Bell, chair in the history of finance at the University of Reading, tells us about the immediate aftermath of the disease in England. Workers could demand better pay because there were fewer of them to go around but the government tried to limit their new bargaining powers by introducing laws to limit pay and the amount that people could move around for work.Mark Bailey, professor of late medieval history at the University of East Anglia, explains how different countries in Europe responded to the Black Death. The recovery ultimately took centuries, in part because of repeated outbreaks of the plague, but it marked an important turning point on the road to modernity. And Eleanor Russell, a PhD researcher at the University of Cambridge, tells us how the Black Death spawned a new wealthy, entrepreneurial elite. They were able to capitalise on the new normal and wield increasing influence over government policy.

We all want the global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic to be swift and painless. But history tells us that isn’t always possible.When the world has suffered a massive shock to its system before – be that a pandemic, a war, an economic crisis – the rebuilding can take decades. There will be missteps along the way. More people will suffer.But past recoveries can also offer us lessons about what’s possible. About the choices people make, whether the choices of politicians and their advisers, or people just trying to find their feet in a new reality. And these moments of crisis have also provided opportunities to make a better world.In a new six-part series called Recovery, The Anthill Podcast will explore key moments of recovery from history. Hosted by Annabel Bligh, in each episode we’ll take one major crisis or shock and speak to a panel of leading academics who have researched its legacy.This will not be a series about coronavirus. It’s a series about rebuilding. About what works and what doesn’t, and how our world has been shaped by big moments of crisis and the way our ancestors have reacted to them. We’ll be drawing some parallels to what’s going on around us now, but mostly we’ll be telling the stories of past recoveries.Listen on The Conversation from June 3 or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.The Anthill is produced by Gemma Ware and Annabel Bligh. Sound design by Eloise Stevens.

A number of conspiracy theories have sprung up in relation to the coronavirus pandemic. The false idea that the virus is somehow linked to the rollout of 5G technology has led to a number of attacks on broadband infrastructure and engineers. We explore this and many others in the sixth and final part of our Expert guide to conspiracy theories.Media expert Marc Tuters talks us through the main coronavirus conspiracy theories that are doing the rounds and how they differ on various social media platforms. He tells us how they started to circulate back in January on the fringe message board website 4chan. We also discuss what social media platforms are doing to limit the spread of this misinformation – and how effective this can be.Psychologist Karen Douglas is also on hand to explain why the different coronavirus conspiracy theories gained so much traction, so quickly. She outlines the three main psychological reasons why people find solace in these alternative explanations for what’s going on. And what research tells us about how dangerous these conspiracy theories can be for public health and society.The Anthill podcast is produced by Annabel Bligh and Gemma Ware for The Conversation. Sound design is by Eloise Stevens, with original music from Neeta Sarl and audio from Epidemic Sound. Thanks to Clare Birchall, Michael Butter and Peter Knight for support in making this podcast and the COST action COMPACT for helping to fund it. Also thanks to City, University of London, for letting us use their studios.

Conspiracy theories might be entertaining but they can also be dangerous. Sadly, what often starts off as a bit of fun can turn sour quite quickly – even if it’s laughing about the idea that Rihanna or Katy Perry are part of the Illuminati. We find out how.This episode delves into some of the psychology behind what makes conspiracy theories dangerous. It also explores the relationship between conspiracy theories and the radicalisation of extremists. And we find out the best ways to talk to people who believe in conspiracy theories.Psychologist Steve Lewandowsky tells us there is a strong link between people who endorse conspiracy theories and reject climate science. What makes this dangerous is the way that conspiracy theories are used by climate change deniers to justify not acting to reduce carbon emissions.We also find out more about the links between conspiracy theories and extremism. Political scientist Eirikur Bergmann tells us how populist politicians use conspiracy theories to their advantage, particularly one called the Great Replacement theory. This is the idea that white people in the west are at threat of invasion and being replaced by non-white immigrants.We also learn how to engage with conspiracy theorists and how difficult it is to convince hardline believers that they are wrong. Psychologist Karen Douglas tells us that it's easier to inoculate people against believing in conspiracy theories in the first place.And anthropologist Ela Drazkiewicz shares insights from her research into attitudes toward HPV vaccination in Ireland. She explains how mistrust of the health authorities led to a dramatic 30% fall in vaccination uptake between 2014 and 2017. But she also offers hope, describing how the Irish health service managed to turn this around and restore trust in the vaccine.The Anthill podcast is produced by Annabel Bligh and Gemma Ware for The Conversation. Sound design is by Eloise Stevens, with original music from Neeta Sarl and audio from Epidemic Sound. Thanks to City, University of London, for letting us use their studios. Special thanks to Clare Birchall, Michael Butter and Peter Knight who helped bring this podcast into being, and to the COST Action COMPACT for funding it.

Part four of the Expert guide to conspiracy theories from The Anthill podcast explores whether the internet has been a game changer in helping conspiracy theories go viral. First, though, we find out how conspiracy theories spread before platforms like Facebook and YouTube came along and gave everyone the power to broadcast their thoughts to the world.It’s important to differentiate between the producers of conspiracy theories and the consumers, which philosopher Quassim Cassam talked about in part one of the series. The producers often push a political ideology. They are also very good at dressing up their theories in academic language. This can make it difficult for the non-expert to recognise a conspiracy theory as bogus and is important for their initial spread.But what makes these ideas really take hold is the people that buy into them – the consumers. Annika Rabo, an anthropologist from Stockholm University in Sweden, tells us how people enjoy spreading conspiracy theories because it can make them seem funny or clever. Most people don’t just spout a conspiracy theory as they hear it, they will often adapt it to their situation – and their audience.Michael Butter, American studies scholar at the University of Tübingen in Germany, gives us some insight into the history of how conspiracy theories spread in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some were preached from pulpits and incited riots. Then, advances in printing technology made it easier for conspiracy theories to spread. Publishers made money selling fanciful stories – some that were openly fictional, others that were fake exposés.We also delve into the world of conspiracy theories as entertainment. Clare Birchall, reader in contemporary culture at King’s College London, talks us through literature in the 1960s, 70s and 80s that engages with conspiracy theories in a playful way and uses them as a device to tell stories. We find out how The X-Files did something similar in the 1990s.The internet has changed the game for communication in terms of how quickly information travels and how it gives everyone a platform to broadcast their views. But Stef Aupers, professor of media culture at the University of Leuven in Belgium, explains that this doesn't necessarily mean conspiracy theories reach more people. In large part, this is because most people end up in echo chambers online. Nonetheless, these echo chambers help solidify people's views.Correction: this podcast refers to the 2019 mass shooting targeting Mexicans in El Paso, Texas, as happening in El Paso, New Mexico.The Anthill podcast is produced by Annabel Bligh and Gemma Ware for The Conversation. Sound design is by Eloise Stevens, with original music from Neeta Sarl and audio from Epidemic Sound. Thanks to City, University of London, for letting us use their studios. Special thanks to Clare Birchall, Michael Butter and Peter Knight who helped bring this podcast into being, and to the COST Action COMPACT for funding it.