Analysis: Here is a summary of significant articles published on ForeignAffairs.co.nz on July 31, 2025.
MIL-Evening Report: Sporty spice: how romance fiction is adding a new dynamic to sports fandom
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kasey Symons, Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University Sports fans might love their teams, cheer or curse each game’s result and admire their favourite athletes, but we rarely associate sports with romance. However, that may be slowly changing thanks to the recent spike in the popularity […]
MIL-Evening Report: Just as NZ began collecting meaningful data on rainbow communities, census changes threaten their visibility
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lori Leigh, Research Fellow in Public Health, University of Otago Getty Images New Zealand’s 2023 census was the first to collect data on gender identity and sexual orientation, showing one in 20 adults identify as LGBTQIA+. But just as reports from this more inclusive census are being […]
MIL-Evening Report: Big tech says AI could boost Australia’s economy by $115 billion a year. Does the evidence stack up?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Uri Gal, Professor in Business Information Systems, University of Sydney Imaginima / Getty Images AI is on the agenda in Canberra. In August, the Productivity Commission will release an interim report on harnessing data and digital technology such as AI “to boost productivity growth, accelerate innovation and […]
MIL-Evening Report: Progress on Closing the Gap is stagnant or going backwards. Here are 3 things to help fix it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeleine Pugin, Research Fellow, School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University The Productivity Commission’s latest data on Closing the Gap progress represents an unsurprisingly grim overview of the socioeconomic inequalities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Closing the Gap is the plan federal and […]
MIL-Evening Report: More than 2 in 5 young Australians are lonely, our new report shows. This is what could help
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle H. Lim, Associate Professor, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney Oliver Rossi/Getty Images Loneliness is not a word often associated with young people. We tend to think of our youth as a time spent with family, friends and being engaged with school and work […]
MIL-Evening Report: How migrant business owners turn their identity into an asset, despite some bumps along the way
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shea X. Fan, Associate Professor, Human Resource Management, Deakin University Odua Images/Shutterstock Too often, it’s anti-immigration sentiment dominating headlines in Australia. But a quieter story is going untold. Migrants are not just fitting into Australian society, they’re actively reshaping it through entrepreneurship. Starting a business is difficult […]
MIL-Evening Report: The Man from Hong Kong at 50: how the first ever Australian–Hong Kong co-production became a cult classic
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Ferris, Senior Lecturer, Media Arts & Production, University of Technology Sydney LMPC via Getty Images A cinematic firecracker of a film exploded onto international screens 50 years ago this week, blending martial arts mayhem, Bond-esque set pieces, casual racism – and a distinctly Australian swagger. From […]
MIL-Evening Report: Rules for calculating climate risk in financial reporting by NZ businesses need revisiting – new research
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martien Lubberink, Associate Professor of Accounting and Capital, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Andrew MacDonald/Getty Images The recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision on climate action marked a significant step forward in formalising an idea many already accept: climate inaction is not merely […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: It’s not revolutionary, but Primark’s wheelchair-using mannequin is a potent symbol
Source: The Conversation – UK – By William E. Donald, Associate Professor of Sustainable Careers and Human Resource Management, University of Southampton Brett D Cove/Primark, CC BY-ND July is Disability Pride Month, a time to celebrate disabled people while continuing the push for equality, accessibility and visibility. Despite making up 16% of the global population, […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Car tires are polluting the environment and killing salmon. A global plastics treaty could help
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Timothy Rodgers, Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Engineering, University of British Columbia In the 1990s, scientists restoring streams around Seattle, Wash., noticed that returning coho salmon were dying after rainstorms. The effects were immediate: the fish swam in circles, gasping at the surface, then died in a few hours. […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: ‘Pay us what you owe us:’ What the WNBA’s collective bargaining talks reveal about negotiation psychology
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ryan Clutterbuck, Assistant Professor in Sport Management, Brock University WNBA all-star players, led by Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark and the Minnesota Lynx’s Naphessa Collier, recently made headlines by wearing “Pay Us What You Owe Us” T-shirts during the pregame warm-up. The T-shirts, which are now available for purchase, […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Israel’s attack on Syria: Protecting the Druze minority or a regional power play?
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Spyros A. Sofos, Assistant Professor in Global Humanities, Simon Fraser University A new round of violence recently erupted in southern Syria, where clashes between local Druze militias and Sunni fighters have left hundreds dead. In response, Israel launched airstrikes in and around the province of Sweida on July […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: 8 policies that would help fight poverty in South Africa’s economic hub Gauteng
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Adrino Mazenda, Senior Researcher, Associate Professor Economic Management Sciences, University of Pretoria Poverty goes beyond income. It often arises when health, education and opportunities fall short of meeting people’s needs. Individuals are classified as impoverished when they face deprivation in one-third or more of the indicators in a […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Modi’s visit to Ghana signals India’s broader Africa strategy. A researcher explains
Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Veda Vaidyanathan, Associate, Harvard University Asia Center, Harvard Kennedy School Ghana has historically been an anchor of Indian enterprise and diplomacy on the African continent. New Delhi and Accra formalised ties in 1957. At the time, their partnership was grounded in shared anti-colonial ideals and a common […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Ancient India, Living Traditions: an earnest effort to show how the art of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism is sacred and personal
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ram Prasad, Fellow of the British Academy and Distinguished Professor in the Department Politics, Philosophy and Religion, University of Leicester The British Museum’s Ancient India, Living Traditions exhibition brings together exhibits on the sacred art of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. It also encompasses the spread of the devotional […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Kemi Badenoch says she wants to be Britain’s Javier Milei – but is the Argentinian president a model to follow?
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sam Halvorsen, Reader in Human Geography, Queen Mary University of London When UK Conservative party head Kemi Badenoch recently declared that she aspires to be Britain’s Milei, she aligned herself with one of the world’s most radical and controversial leaders. Javier Milei, Argentina’s self-styled “anarcho-capitalist” president, has gained […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Hormone-free male contraceptive pill passes first safety test
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Susan Walker, Associate Professor in Contraception, Reproductive and Sexual Health, Anglia Ruskin University The male contraceptive pill just completed phase 1 trials. Pixel-Shot/ Shutterstock A potential new male contraceptive drug has just undergone its first tests in human volunteers. The results give the first indication that the drug, […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Many tongues, one people: the debate over linguistic diversity in India
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sudhansu Bala Das, Postdoctoral researcher in Linguistics, University of Galway India is a home to numerous ancient and linguistically rich languages across its many regions. In a single home, a young person may speak, for example, Odia (the language spoken in the eastern state of Odisha) with their […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: How the UK’s cold weather payments need to change to help prevent people freezing in winter
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Thomas Longden, Senior Researcher, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University DimaBerlin/Shutterstock The UK government recently expanded the warm home discount by removing restrictions that had previously excluded many people who can’t always afford to heat their homes. Now, the payment of £150 will be received by 2.7 […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Gradual v sudden collapse: what magnets teach us about climate tipping points
Source: The Conversation – UK – By John Dearing, Emeritus Professor of Physical Geography, University of Southampton Andrey VP / shutterstock Some of Earth’s largest climate systems may collapse not with a bang, but with a whimper. Surprisingly, experiments with magnets are helping us understand how. We now widely accept that greenhouse gases and the […]