“We must have a drink before the end of the year!”

December is a perfect storm for anyone trying to cut back on drinking. Between end-of-year deadlines, work parties, family gatherings and school events, alcohol is suddenly everywhere.

It can make drinking feel not just normal, but expected.

But if you want to drink less (or not at all) this silly season, you don’t have to rely on willpower alone. Having a plan can help.

Some evidence suggests when goals are focused on how you’ll approach something – such as a not-drinking strategy – rather than what you’ll avoid (alcohol), it’s easier to follow through.

So here are some simple strategies, backed by evidence.

1. Make a plan

When making decisions, our brains tend to prioritise immediate goals over long-term ones. Scientists call this “present bias”. This means it’s harder to keep your long-term goal (cutting back on alcohol) in mind when confronted by the chance for immediate gratification (having a drink).

But if you plan when you will and won’t drink in advance, you reduce the need to make this decision in real time – when alcohol is in front of you and your willpower may be lower and you’re more driven by emotion.

Look ahead at your calendar and choose your drinking and non-drinking days deliberately. Committing to the plan ahead of time reduces the chances of opportunistic drinking when social pressure is high.

2. Track your drinks

Tracking when and how much you drink is one of the most effective and well-supported strategies for reducing alcohol use and staying motivated.

You may be surprised how much tracking alone can change your drinking, simply by being more mindful and helping you understand your patterns.

It doesn’t matter how you do it – in an app, a notebook or even on your phone calendar. Writing it down is better than trying to remember. And doing it consistently works best. Aim to record drinks in real time if you can.

There are lots of free, evidence based apps, such Drink Tracker, that can help you track your drinking and drink-free days.

3. Try zero alcohol drinks

For many people, the rise of alcohol-free beer, wine and spirits has made it much easier to enjoy the ritual of drinking at social events, without the intoxication.

But they’re not for everyone – particularly those who find the look, smell and taste of alcohol triggering. Know yourself, see what works, and don’t force it if it’s not helping reach your goals.

4. Slow the pace

If your aim is to cut back, try alternating each alcoholic drink with something non-alcoholic.

Water is best, but zero, low or non-alcoholic drinks can still reduce how much you drink overall – and as a bonus they can also help you stay hydrated, which may reduce the chance of a hangover.

Eating something healthy and filling before and during drinking is also a good idea. It prevents rapid spikes in blood alcohol levels, as well as slowing the absorption of alcohol into your system. This means your body has a better chance of metabolising the alcohol.

Eating well can also help calm the cravings for sugary, fried and salty foods that are often triggered by alcohol.

5. Beware of an all-or-nothing approach

Don’t fall into the “goal violation” trap (sometimes called the abstinence violation effect). That’s the when slipping up makes you abandon your plan altogether.

Maybe someone talks you into “just a splash” – or one drink somehow becomes five – and you tell yourself: “Oh well, I’ve blown it now.”

But a slip is just a slip – it doesn’t mean you have to give up on your goals. You can reset straight away, at the next drink or the next day.

6. Set up accountability

Letting a friend or partner know that you are trying to drink less helps you stay accountable and provides support – even better if they join you.

7. Have responses ready

People may notice you’re not drinking or are drinking less. They may offer you a drink. Try a simple “I’m good” or “I’m pacing myself tonight”. Work out what feels OK to you – you don’t need to give long explanations.

8. Be kind to yourself

When you’re making a big change, it won’t always go smoothly. What matters is how you respond if you slip up. Shame and guilt often lead to more drinking, while self-compassion supports longer-term behaviour change.

Instead of seeing a slip as failure, treat it as information: What made it hard to stick to your goals? What could help next time?

December doesn’t have to derail your goals

Change comes from consistent small steps, even during the busiest month of the year. Focus on developing a relationship with alcohol that you are in control of, not the other way around.

If you are trying to make changes to your drinking, talk to your GP or check out free evidence-based resources such as Hello Sunday Morning, SMART Recovery and the Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline.

Katinka van de Ven, Alcohol and other drug specialist, UNSW Sydney and Nicole Lee, Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

“I have a dislike for politicians as they’re not truthful people. It’s the nature of politics that you cannot be straight, you have to lie and cheat,” said the reggae singer Jimmy Cliff, who died on November 24 at the age of 81.

Cliff was born James Chambers on July 30 July 1944 in Somerton, Saint James Parish, Jamaica. Long before luminaries such as Bob Andy, the Wailers, Lee Perry and others had made an indelible mark on Jamaican popular music, Cliff had taken the genre to “foreign” – not just to the US or the UK but around the world. Suffice to say Cliff was reggae’s first international star.

His career started seriously with ska recordings for legendary Chinese-Jamaican producer Leslie Kong on his Beverly’s label. As well as being a musician, Cliff acted as an artist and repertoire representative, finding and developing new talent for Kong.

Cliff, at the request of singer Desmond Dekker, invited Bob Marley to record his first song Judge Not at Federal studios in 1962. In the same year, Cliff recorded Hurricane Hattie, a number about the tropical cyclone that devastated the Caribbean, significantly British Honduras, in 1961.

Some of Cliff’s subsequent early hits included Miss Jamaica and King of Kings, both of which showcased his lyrical dexterity on the frenetic tempo of ska.

Cliff had a knack of reflecting world events in his music at any given opportunity. By the end of 1960s, through his material he became one of the strongest advocates of the growing anti-war movement, typified by the 1968 recording Vietnam.

Vietnam, for me, was an incredibly courageous song to be recorded at the time. It is reminiscent of Wilfred Owens’s first world war poems “Futility” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” that reflect the ineffectuality of war.

In it, he sings:

Don’t be alarmed, she told me the telegram said
But mistress Brown your son is dead.
Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam
What I’m saying now somebody stop that war

The importance and power of protest against war loom at the epicentre of this song, making it resonate today.

Similarly, Cliff’s soul wrenching crossover hit Many Rivers to Cross, again recorded in 1968, is a cry for resilience. It became an anthem for Windrush arrivals who had left the Caribbean and sojourned to the mother country of Britain.

It represented Cliff, who moved to London in the mid-60s and frequently recounted how difficult it was for him. Today it is suitably applicable for those who have felt the sting of displacement, loneliness, heartbreak and loss anywhere.

Struggling Man from 1973 opens with:

Every man has a right to live.
Love is all that we have to give.
Together we struggle by your will to survive,
and together we fight just to stay alive.

This composition highlighted the political climate and general feeling of the 1970s nationally with the start of a series of recessions gripping the country. But it also reached globally with the emergence of the international oil crisis, which impacted the lives of masses.

Cliff was unquestionably a renaissance man who deftly moved with ease from being a singer to songwriter and then actor. Many recount his role as Rhyging, the anti-hero of Perry Henzell’s 1972 film The Harder They Come. Ivanhoe Martin (Jimmy Cliff), aka Rhyging, is a struggling singer who, despite hits, resorts to crime to get by. The film highlighted the corruption and exploitation in Jamaica’s music industry.

As well as acting in the film, Cliff provided the heart of the film’s soundtrack with the title track, The Harder They Come. Three of his earlier songs also feature. His turn in the Jamaican crime film is seen as one of the most powerful cinematic performances in Jamaican cinema.

In the 80s, Cliff returned to his reggae roots recording Rub-A-Dub Partner in 1981. He also contributed to the emergence of reggae dancehall culture in 1988 when he recorded Pressure on Botha with the uncompromising Jamaican deejay Joey Wales. The song is a political track hitting out against the then state president of South Africa, P.W. Botha, who was a central figure in the Apartheid regime.

Cliff was without doubt the greatest exponent of Jamaican music, taking reggae to an international audience while placing the island firmly on the map. As an artist, his contribution was accomplished within each category of the genre, from ska through to dancehall.

It was not only reggae that benefited from the brilliance of Jimmy Cliff, as he worked with a number of artists from a broad range of musical backgrounds, including the Rolling Stones, Sting, Latoya Jackson, Kool and the Gang, Jimmi Hendrix, Elvis Costello and Annie Lennox, to name but a few. After recording 33 albums, 50 years of performing and winning a Grammy in 1986, Jimmy Cliff was inducted to the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame.

For a man who said he hated politics, it is exactly his uncompromising sense of right and his engagement with the world that will make his legacy everlasting.

Kenny Monrose, Researcher, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Can tattoos protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays, or do they make things worse? A new study I conducted with colleagues suggests there may be cause for concern. We found that people with tattoos had a 29% higher risk of developing melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer often linked to ultraviolet (UV) exposure.

However, tattoos did not appear to increase the risk of squamous cell carcinoma, another type of skin cancer related to UV damage. Although both cancers share a common cause, they arise from different cell types and differ in severity, with melanoma being far more dangerous.

Tattoos are a powerful form of self-expression and a cornerstone of modern identity. In Sweden, around one in three adults is tattooed, showing how body art has moved firmly into the mainstream. Yet despite their popularity, scientists still do not know whether tattoos have any impact on health, or how any potential effects might unfold over time.

Epidemiologists are now trying to answer these questions. The work is challenging because people who choose to get tattoos often differ from those who do not in ways that can influence health outcomes.

Another difficulty is that most health records do not note whether someone is tattooed, which means long-term patterns are hard to study. Without this basic information, it becomes difficult to know whether tattoos themselves play a role in health or whether differences are driven by other factors.

Melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma both develop slowly and are relatively uncommon, which makes long-term research challenging. Following large groups of tattooed and non-tattooed people for many years would be expensive and time-consuming. So our team used a different approach. We started with people who had already been diagnosed with cancer and looked backward to see who had tattoos. This type of research, known as a case-control study, is an efficient way to detect potential associations.

Sweden maintains high-quality national registers that record information on health and demographics. From the National Cancer Register, we identified everyone aged 20 to 60 who was diagnosed with melanoma in 2017 or squamous cell carcinoma between 2014 and 2017.

This included 2,880 melanoma cases and 2,821 squamous cell carcinoma cases. For each case, we selected three comparison people of the same age and sex from the Total Population Register, who had not been diagnosed with skin cancer.

We then sent questionnaires to all participants, asking about tattoos, including decorative tattoos, permanent makeup and medical tattoos, as well as their size, location, and age at first tattoo. This allowed us to establish whether someone had been tattooed before or after developing cancer.

A total of 5,695 people took part in the melanoma study (1,598 with melanoma) and 6,151 in the squamous cell carcinoma study (1,600 with that cancer).

People with tattoos were 29% more likely to develop melanoma compared with those without tattoos. The risk increase seemed to be highest in those who had tattoos for more than ten years, although the numbers were smaller in this group, so results should be interpreted cautiously.

For squamous cell carcinoma, tattoos made no difference. The results were consistent across analyses, suggesting no link between tattoos and this type of skin cancer.

We also found no evidence that larger tattoos increased risk. This was unexpected, since larger tattoos contain more ink and therefore more potentially harmful substances.

One possible explanation is that tattoo ink does not remain confined to the skin. The body’s immune system treats it as a foreign substance and transports some ink particles to the lymph nodes. These particles can stay there long-term. While we do not yet know whether this causes harm, it could potentially lead to chronic inflammation, which has been linked to cancer development.

Another explanation may be measurement error: people tend to overestimate tattoo size. Future studies using more precise measures may help clarify this.

Lifestyle and confounding factors

What makes this study unique is the range of lifestyle factors we could consider. We included data on sun exposure (both occupational and recreational), tanning bed use, smoking, education level, marital status and household income. We also factored in skin type, pigmentation, age and sex.

These details matter because they can influence both who gets tattoos and who develops cancer. For instance, people who spend a lot of time in the sun may be more likely to have tattoos and to develop melanoma. Accounting for these differences reduces bias and strengthens confidence in the results.

In research, this issue is known as confounding. If confounding factors are not properly controlled, they can distort findings and lead to misleading conclusions.

Recent US research suggested that large tattoos might even reduce the risk of melanoma, but that study did not control for key factors such as skin type or UV exposure. The results may therefore reflect behaviour rather than biology. For example, people with large tattoos may avoid sunbathing or tanning beds to protect their body art, which would naturally reduce UV damage.

So, do tattoos cause skin cancer? The simple answer is that we do not know yet. Our results suggest a possible link between tattoos and melanoma, but one study is never enough to prove causation.

More research is needed to explore potential biological mechanisms, such as chronic inflammation, and to examine how different types of ink or colours might interact with UV exposure. The composition of tattoo pigments varies widely, and many contain compounds that can break down into harmful by-products when exposed to sunlight or laser removal treatments.

If you have tattoos, there is no need for panic, but awareness matters. Continue to protect your skin from UV radiation just as you would otherwise: use sunscreen, avoid excessive tanning and check your skin regularly for new or changing moles.

Our findings highlight the need for long-term monitoring and better data collection on tattoos in health records. With tattoos now common worldwide, this is an important public health issue. Continued research into the biology of tattoos and their long-term effects will help ensure that people can make informed choices about their bodies, their art and their health.

Christel Nielsen, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Lund University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley‑Whittingstall and Tom Kerridge have backed a new campaign that is putting the spotlight on beans. The Bang In Some Beans campaign is a bid to double the UK’s intake of beans, legumes and pulses by 2028.

Such a campaign is long overdue. Despite beans on toast being a British favourite, beans, pulses and legumes remain under-consumed in the UK. According to data from the Food Foundation, two-thirds of the UK population eat less than one portion of beans a week.

Beans are one of the most affordable and nutritious foods out there. With food costs continuing to rise and poor nutrition contributing to a growing number of diseases, beans may offer a solution to both problems.

Encouraging greater bean consumption could also help close the UK’s fibre gap, as most of the UK population do not meet the recommended 30g of fibre per day. Beans are one of the simplest, most achievable ways to bridge that gap.

If you still aren’t convinced, here are just a few of the health benefits beans can provide:

1. They can help you manage your weight

Beans are a great source of protein, fibre and micronutrients such as iron, magnesium and potassium. Increasing bean intake could improve your health and reduce chronic disease risk.

Research also shows that people who consume higher amounts of beans have lower body weight, smaller waist circumference and lower blood pressure. These are all associated with reduced risk of multiple chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Not only are beans low in calories, their high fibre and protein content can help increase satiety (the feeling of fullness), which is a key factor in appetite regulation and long-term weight management.

2. They’re good for your heart

An abundance of research links eating beans to a healthy heart. Diets rich in beans can significantly lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, improve blood pressure and reduce inflammation.

The fibre in beans binds cholesterol in the gut so it can be excreted from the body. Their potassium and magnesium content supports vascular function, which is essential for a healthy heart. This is why, for those managing cardiovascular diseases or hyperlipidaemia, beans should be a cornerstone of a heart healthy diet.

3. They’re good for blood sugar levels

Beans have a low glycaemic index. This means they release energy slowly, which reduces blood sugar spikes. Their fibre and protein content also helps slow carbohydrate absorption, which promotes better blood sugar control. Both factors are important for preventing or managing type 2 diabetes.

Evidence from clinical trials shows incorporating beans into meals also benefits other aspects of blood sugar in people with, or at risk of, type 2 diabetes – such as improving fasting blood sugar and insulin levels.

A randomised controlled trial of over 100 people with type 2 diabetes found that those who consumed at least one cup of legumes daily for three months not only had better blood sugar control, they also had a significant decrease in body weight, waist circumference, cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

4. They can benefit gut health

Beans support gut health by providing both soluble and insoluble fibre. These act as prebiotics, feeding beneficial gut bacteria.

The fermentation of these fibres in the gut also produces short-chain fatty acids, prebiotics which have anti-inflammatory effects and support the colon. Regular consumption contributes to improved digestion and bowel regularity.

Boosting your bean consumption

You don’t need to make any sorts of dramatic dietary changes in order to incorporate more beans in your diet. Here are a few simple ways to eat more beans.

1. Start gradually.

Begin with small portions (about half a cup of cooked beans) a few times a week, increasing this as your digestive system adjusts and to avoid flatulance and bloating.

2. Mix up varieties.

Rotate between beans such as chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, black beans and cannellini beans. Diversity boosts nutrient variety and keeps meals interesting.

3. Add beans to familiar dishes.

Stir beans or other legumes into soups, stews, curries, salads or pasta sauces. Even a handful can make a meaningful difference.

4. Choose canned beans.

These are just as nutritious as dried or fresh beans – just ensure you rinse them well to reduce the sodium content. If you do use dried beans, ensure you soak them overnight and cook them thoroughly to neutralise anti-nutrients such as phytates (which can reduce absorption of other nutrients) and improve their digestibility.

Nutritionally speaking, chickpeas and lentils are good choices, as they’re high in fibre and protein. Black beans contain antioxidants – compounds which have been linked to lower risk of diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Ultimately, the best beans are the ones you can integrate into your diet and will eat regularly.

However, there are some groups of people who should be mindful when increasing their bean intake, as some of the compounds they contain can have a negative impact on health.

People with IBS, IBD or digestive sensitivities may struggle with bloating or gastric discomfort if they consume large amounts of beans. Beans should be introduced into the diet gradually based on how well your body tolerates them.

People with kidney disease may want to be careful due to the high potassium content in beans. In this case, it’s important to consult with a doctor before consuming diets rich in beans.

Those who suffer from low iron or zinc levels may also want to be careful with how they prepare beans. The anti-nutrient compounds in beans can disrupt the absorption of minerals, which is why it’s so important to soak beans and cook them well.

Beans are a nutritional powerhouse. High in fibre, protein and key micronutrients, they support heart, metabolic and gut health while being both affordable and environmentally friendly.

Raysa El Zein, Lecturer, Life Sciences, University of Westminster

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

A lot can happen in three decades. Since 1995, we’ve seen nine different UK prime ministers, the birth and death of the Minidisc, iPod and DVD. Manchester City sank to the third tier of English football then rose to become champions of Europe. One thing that hasn’t wavered, though, is the popularity of the Beatles.

On November 21, the Beatles’ Anthology 4 was released to an eager worldwide audience, 30 years after the first instalment in the series, Anthology 1, and 56 years after the band split.

Released in November 1995, Anthology 1 was initially met with bemusement by reviewers. Some dismissed its contents as “scrappy old demo tapes, TV recordings, and studio outtakes” which were “of scant interest to anyone but obsessives”. Perhaps there were simply a lot more “obsessives” than critics thought – the public bought the album in droves. Anthology 1 topped charts all over the world with the highest first week of sales ever recorded.

Anthologies 2 and 3 followed in March 1996 and October 1966, respectively. Although they didn’t quite reach the commercial heights of Anthology 1, they still sold in their millions. Their releases also coincided with the peak of Britpop, which came not so much to bury the Fab Four’s legacy as to raise it to new heights with figureheads Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis regularly espousing their idolatry for the band.

The Anthology trilogy may not have been the first outtakes and demos albums (that honour goes to The Who and their 1974 Odds and Sods collection), but they did break new ground in showing how a retrospective of band’s career can move beyond a compilation of previously released tracks.

The Anthologies told the story of the Beatles, tracking their development from amateur cover-artists to bona fide musical pioneers. It showed listeners how their favourite songs were constructed, morphing from, in the case of Strawberry Fields Forever, a home recording, through a series of experimental studio versions, to the finished product.

Most importantly, though, the albums offered intimate access to private spaces. It felt as if we were in Studio 2 with the band, listening to them chatting, playing around, trying things out, then, finally, creating some of the greatest songs ever committed to tape.

Anthology 4

As with all the previous instalments, Anthology 4 shows how the personalities of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were so key to their appeal. Their famous sense of humour and joie de vivre can be heard throughout. On Baby You’re A Rich Man (Takes 11 and 12), following Lennon’s request for bottles of Coke from roadie Mal Evans, McCartney jokingly asks for some cannabis resin before wryly remarking “that’s recorded evidence for the high court tomorrow”.

Harrison laughs at his inability to “do a Smokey [Robinson]” on While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Third Version – Take 27); and Lennon seems to be having the time of his life singing All You Need is Love (Rehearsal for BBC Broadcast). Their humility shines through, too.

On Julia (Two Rehearsals), for example, we hear Lennon speaking with producer George Martin about his struggles with playing and singing it. Here’s the most celebrated artists of all time unsure whether he’s good enough. The recording took place only a matter of months after the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, an album considered to have changed not only music, but pop culture at large. And when Starr bashfully asks whether anyone “has heard the Octopus one” before giving Octopus’s Garden (Rehearsal) an airing, we genuinely feel his anxiety.

Another extraordinary element of this collection (and the previous three) is the Beatles’ shift from just seeming like a group of lads larking about to a group of musicians creating masterpieces, then back again. It happens so quickly and so naturally that it’s almost disorientating.

More than any of the other Anthologies, the significance of Martin’s contribution is printed in bold, then underlined, twice, in red ink. If anyone ever deserved the accolade of “fifth Beatle” it was he, with his skills as an arranger and composer gloriously evident on I am The Walrus (Take 19 – Strings, Brass, Clarinet Overdub), Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 26), and Something (Take 39 – Strings Only Instrumental).

Sadly, it looks like the well of treasures may have finally run dry. The collection includes several tracks Beatles devotees will have already hoovered up via Abbey Road Super Deluxe, The Beatles (White Album) 50th Anniversary Edition, and Let It Be Super Deluxe. But, when it comes to the Beatles, enough is never enough. As well as the album, there is also an extended version of the 1990s docuseries Anthology airing on Disney+ on November 26th, and a 25th Anniversary edition of the book (also titled Anthology).

Anthology 4 already has something in common with its mid-90s ancestors courtesy of some less-than-charitable press, but whether it will mirror their success remains to be seen. What is for sure, though, is that the Beatles’ commercial juggernaut, well into its seventh decade now, shows no signs of slowing down.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

Glenn Fosbraey, Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Winchester

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

If you’re a young person in Australia, you probably know new social media rules are coming in December. If you and your friends are under 16, you might be locked out of the social media spaces you use every day.

Some people call these rules a social media ban for under 16s. Others say it’s not a “ban” – just a delay.

Right now we know the rules will definitely include TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Reddit, X, YouTube, Kick and Twitch. But that list could grow.

We don’t know exactly how the platforms will respond to the new rules, but there are things you can do right now to prepare, protect your digital memories, and stay connected.

Here’s a guide for the changes that are coming.

Download your data

TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and most other platforms offer a “download your data” option. It’s usually buried in the app settings, but it’s powerful.

A data download (sometimes called a “data checkout” or “export”) includes things like:

• photos and videos you’ve uploaded

• messages and comments

• friend lists and interactions

• the platform’s inferences about you (what it thinks you like, who you interact with most, and the sort of content it suggests for you).

Even if you can’t access your account later, these files let you keep a record of your online life: jokes, friendships, cringey early videos, glow-ups, fandom moments, all of it.

You can save it privately as a time capsule. Researchers are also building tools to help you view and make sense of it.

Downloading your archive is a smart move while your accounts are still live. Just make sure you store it somewhere secure. These files can contain incredibly detailed snapshots of your daily life, so you might want to keep them private.

Don’t assume platforms will save anything for you

Some platforms may introduce official ways to export your content when bans begin. Others may move faster and simply block under-age accounts with little warning.

As one example, Meta – the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads – has begun to flag accounts they think belong to under-16s. The company has also provided early indications that it will permit data downloads after the new rules comes into effect.

For others the situation is less clear.

Acting now, while you can still log in normally, is the safest way to keep your stuff.

4 ways to stay connected

Losing access to the platform you use every day to talk with friends can feel like losing part of your social world. That’s real, and it’s okay to feel annoyed, worried, or angry about it.

Here are four ways to prepare.

1. Swap phone numbers or handles on non-banned platforms now.

Don’t wait for the “you are not allowed to use this service” message.

2. Set up group chats somewhere stable.

Use iMessage, WhatsApp, Signal, Discord, or whatever works for your group and doesn’t rely on age-restricted sign-ups.

3. Keep community ties alive.

Many clubs, fandom spaces, gaming groups and local communities are on multiple sites or platforms (Discord servers, forums, group chats). Get plugged into those spaces.

4. Don’t presume you’ll be able to get around the ban.

Teens who get around the ban are not breaking the law. There is no penalty for teens, or parents who help them, if they do get around the ban and have access to social media under 16.

It’s up to platforms to make these new laws work. Not teens. Not parents.

Do prepare, though. Don’t assume you will be able to get around the ban.

Just using a VPN to pretend your computer is in another country, or a wearing rubber mask to look older in an age-estimating selfie, probably won’t be enough.

A note for adults: take big feelings seriously

Most people recognise the social connections, networks and community enabled by social media are valuable – especially to young people.

For some teens, social media may be their primary community and support group. It’s where their people are.

It will be difficult for some when that community disappears. For some it may be even worse.

The ideal role of trusted adults is to listen, validate and support teens during this time. No matter how older people feel, for young people this may be like losing a large part of their world. For many that will be really hard to cope with.

Services like Headspace and Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) are there to support young people, too.

How to keep your agency in a frustrating situation

A lot of people will find it frustrating that we’re excluding teens, rather than forcing platforms to be built safer and better for everyone. If you feel that way, too, you’re not alone.

But you aren’t powerless.

Saving your data, preparing alternative communication channels, and speaking out if you want to are all ways to:

• own your digital history

• stay connected on your own terms

• make sure youth voices inform how Australia thinks about online life going forward.

You’re allowed to feel annoyed. You’re also allowed to take steps that protect your future self.

If you lose access, you’re not gone – just changing channels

Social media bans for teens will create disruption. But they won’t be the end of your friendships, creativity, identity exploration, or culture.

It just means the map is shifting. You get to make deliberate choices about where you go next.

And whatever happens, the online world isn’t going to stop changing. You’re part of the generation that actually understands that, and that’s a strength, not a weakness.

Daniel Angus, Professor of Digital Communication, Director of QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology and Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Two teenagers are taking the federal government to the High Court. They argue the ban on social media accounts for under-16s is unconstitutional because it interferes with free political communication.

The ban is due to take effect on December 10.

Will the High Court challenge make any difference?

What does the law do?

Due to a 1998 US law, social media platforms’ terms of service already set a minimum age of access of 13 years.

Australia’s new law imposes an obligation on some social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent users under 16 from having an account with the platform. The law does not impose obligations on under-16s themselves or on their families. This means only social media platforms can be guilty of breaking the law.

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has announced the law applies to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, YouTube, Kick and Reddit.

The practical effect is that Australians aged under 16 will not be able to have accounts on those and similar social media platforms. But under-16s will still be able to access content on those platforms if they have a logged-out functionality.

The federal government says the law’s purpose is to “enhance the online safety and wellbeing of young people”.

The Office of Impact Analysis’ assessment of the law included a report from the Queensland Chief Health Officer stating “existing studies provide compelling indications of possible negative links between unrestrained social media usage and the cognitive, emotional, and social wellbeing of young people”.

The analysis also noted UK and US reports about the negative impacts of social media use on young people’s wellbeing.

Australia has lots of similar laws

Lots of laws restrict young people’s access to spaces and things that sometimes have political content, to protect their wellbeing.

Shops are banned from selling video games with certain classifications to teenagers, even though the games may have some political content. Cinemas are banned from selling tickets to movies with certain ratings to teenagers, even though the movies may have some political content. Liquor shops are banned from selling alcohol to under-18s, even though some alcohol-fuelled conversations turn political. And pubs are banned from allowing unaccompanied minors on their premises, even though there might be a bit of political banter at the bar.

So far, none of these laws has been found to be unconstitutional. However, more than one teenager has managed to circumvent these laws on occasion (as likely will also happen with the ban on social media accounts).

Who is bringing the High Court case?

The High Court case is being brought in the name of two 15-year-olds, Noah Jones and Macy Neyland.

They are backed by a group called the Digital Freedom Project, led by NSW upper house MP John Ruddick of the Libertarian Party. So far, the Digital Freedom Project has not revealed who is giving it money.

The case will argue that the law is unconstitutional because it impermissibly burdens the implied freedom of political communication.

What is the implied freedom of political communication?

The implied freedom of political communication arises from the Australian Constitution’s requirement that parliamentarians be “chosen” by the people. Without freedom to communicate about political matters, that choice would not really be a meaningful one.

The implied freedom of political communication is not an individual right. It is a limitation on parliament’s power to make laws. And it is not about free speech more generally. Political communication covers all matters of public and governmental affairs.

A law that burdens political communication will be invalid unless the law has a legitimate purpose and that purpose is pursued in a proportionate manner.

Does the social media account ban law burden freedom of political communication?

The plaintiffs need to persuade the High Court that the law will lead to a real reduction in political communication in Australia.

Former High Court Chief Justice Robert French said in a report considering a draft South Australian law similar to the new law:

The implied freedom of political communication would not seem to be engaged. The restriction is content neutral, is not directed at political speech and, in any event, is a reasonable and proportionate means for a legitimate purpose consistent with Australia’s representative democracy.

The Digital Freedom Project’s website says the law “places a heavy burden on political communication”. This seems exaggerated. Any reduction in political communication is slight: very few 13-, 14- or 15-year-olds use social media to create or engage with political content. Those who do are doing so only occasionally.

Is the law proportionate?

It is easier for governments to justify small burdens on political communication as proportionate to a legitimate purpose than it is to justify large burdens on political communication.

The Digital Freedom Project’s website accepts the law’s purpose of protecting young people’s wellbeing is legitimate. However, they say the law “fails proportionality because less restrictive and workable alternatives exist (parental consent pathways for 14- and 15-year-olds, platform duty of care and safe design settings, targeted moderation/takedown, age-appropriate feature gating rather than bans, digital literacy programs, and privacy preserving age assurance)”.

The Office of Impact Assessment has assessed some of those ideas as likely to be less effective than requiring social media platforms to not allow under-16s to have accounts. And some of those ideas look rather like asking the High Court to invent new legislative models, which it will not do.

What happens next?

The plaintiffs are asking the High Court to issue an urgent injunction preventing the government enforcing the law until the High Court has a chance to hear the case and make a final ruling. Injunctions like that are rare.

The law is due to come into effect on December 10. Unless the High Court grants an injunction, the law will take effect as planned, even if the constitutional challenge later succeeds.

The eSafety Commissioner’s website has a range of resources to help young people, their families and teachers get ready for the law coming into operation.

Luke Beck, Professor of Constitutional Law, Monash University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Every November, Black Friday arrives with big claims of massive savings and “one-day-only” deals. We are bombarded with offers that seem too good to pass up. But beneath all this lies something far more strategic.

Black Friday is not simply about a day (now more than a fortnight) of discounts. It’s also a psychological event, carefully designed to take advantage of how our brains make decisions.

Understanding some of the science behind this process can help us recognise when we are being pushed to spend more than we intended.

Quick, quick, spend up big

When we decide between options, such as whether to buy a new TV, our brains weigh up bits of evidence for and against each choice. We compare prices, features, reviews and what we can afford. Once we feel we have enough information, we decide.

Normally this process takes time. The more important the decision, the more evidence we like to gather.

But when we are put under pressure, that changes. The brain lowers the threshold for how much information it needs before deciding. In other words, time pressure makes us decide faster and with less evidence.

This can be useful when acting quickly matters. If a spider lands on your arm, you do not calmly evaluate the pros and cons before flicking it off.

But during Black Friday sales, that same quick-decision process can lead us to spend impulsively.

OMG, they’re almost sold out

As well as tapping into “urgency”, Black Friday sales tap into “scarcity”. We know the sale lasts only a short time and many people are shopping at once. This creates a strong feeling of competition: if we do not act quickly, we will miss out.

While we’re browsing for a TV, the website says there are “only 8 left in stock”, and “12 people have this item in their carts”. Suddenly, it feels like a race. Even if you were not planning to buy right away, you might feel more compelled to “add to cart” before it’s too late.

That sense of scarcity changes how our brain processes information. When we believe something is in limited supply, we assign it more value, telling us the item must be good simply because others have it in their basket too.

What was I thinking?

When we make decisions quickly, we rely on less evidence and are more likely to make mistakes, a long-known psychological phenomenon called the speed-accuracy trade-off.

Under time pressure, our brain tries to find shortcuts to help evaluate options, such as how many people are viewing an item. But this may be less-useful information than details such as warranty, product quality or long-term value.

Signalling something is scarce can also discourage us from looking for more information. If it seems like a product might sell out, taking the time to compare prices or read reviews feels risky. The product could disappear while we’re still thinking.

Our brains prefer predictable outcomes and try to avoid unnecessary risk, so instead of getting more information, we act quickly.

Fast decisions are not always a bad thing. Acting quickly can save time or prevent harm when we do not have complete information. This could include evacuating when the fire alarm goes off, even if you are not sure if there is an actual fire.

But during Black Friday, retailers create artificial urgency. Timers, “limited stock” alerts and “today only” banners are designed to mimic real scarcity, pushing our brains into decision-making overdrive.

Once that sense of urgency kicks in, rational thinking can take a back seat. We stop asking “Do I really need this?” and start thinking “What if I miss out?”

It’s the type of thinking that sees you buy a new TV that is only slightly better than the one you have.

Black Friday feels like a celebration of savings, but it is also a masterclass in behavioural and brain science. Every timer, pop-up and “only 3 left” alert is carefully crafted to grab your attention, and shorten your decision time.

Knowing how these tactics work can help you stay in control.

4 tips to stay in control:

1. Plan before the pressure hits – research what you really need and obtain more information before the sales season. This will help when the brain has to make decisions under time pressure.

2. Set a budget and keep it visible – decide how much you are willing to spend and remind yourself while shopping. This helps counteract the “scarcity effect”, reminding your brain that other limits also exist.

3. Pause before you purchase – when you feel the pressure, take a minute. A break lets your brain catch up with the excitement.

4. Ask yourself “Would I want this at full price?” This helps your brain focus on the actual value of the item.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying a good deal. But when you find yourself in the middle of all the excitement, it is worth remembering what is happening inside your brain, and who truly benefits.

Tijl Grootswagers, ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience, Western Sydney University and Daniel Feuerriegel, ARC DECRA Fellow and Head of the Prediction and Decision-Making Lab, The University of Melbourne

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

In 1791, the British naval vessel HMS Pandora sank on the Great Barrier Reef while pursuing the mutineers from the HMS Bounty. The mutineers, led by Christian Fletcher, staged an uprising against their captain Lieutenant William Bligh in 1789, forcing Bligh and his supporters out to sea in a launch.

This infamous act sent the fugitives fleeing across the Pacific, and set the stage for Pandora’s ill-fated pursuit.

When archaeologists first descended onto Pandora’s wreck in 1979, they weren’t just uncovering a ship. They were opening a time capsule of empire, exploration and human endurance. Thousands of artefacts were slowly excavated from the frigate over the next 20 years.

For decades, these recovered artefacts remained a sleeping archive of untapped scientific, cultural and environmental knowledge. But researchers are starting to study the collection again using fresh eyes and new tools.

The story of Pandora reveals a deeper truth about archaeology: discovery doesn’t end with the dive, it lingers in troves still sitting on museum shelves, waiting to be studied.

A moment sealed in time

The British Navy dispatched HMS Pandora in 1790 to hunt down the Bounty mutineers. A year later, the ship struck the Great Barrier Reef and sank, taking 35 men with it.

When the wreck was rediscovered in 1977, it became the focus of one of Australia’s most ambitious archaeological projects. Over nine field seasons between 1979 and 1999, Queensland Museum archaeologists recovered more than 6,500 artefacts.

These ranged from the ship’s copper fastenings and rigging blocks, to surgeon’s tools, creamware crockery, and Polynesian artefacts collected during encounters with Pacific Islander peoples.

Each object was meticulously recorded and conserved, creating one of the world’s most complete shipwreck assemblages from the 18th century. Despite its richness, however, much of the collection has never been studied in depth, beyond the initial photographing and describing.

The dormant years

Pandora was a triumph in the heyday of Australian maritime archaeology (the 1980-1990s). It put Queensland on the global map for shipwreck science, galvanised local communities, and even inspired the construction of a museum in Townsville – today known as the Queensland Museum Tropics – to house its finds.

By the time the final season on HMS Pandora wrapped up in 1999, the excitement that had fuelled two decades of fieldwork was fading. As funding dried up, attention turned towards consolidating the wealth of artefacts already recovered, and telling the ship’s story through the museum.

The museum currently displays 248 artefacts – about 4% of the total collection. By comparison, the British Museum estimates only about 1% of its eight million objects are exhibited at any one time.

Re-reading the past

Since the early 2000s, only a small fraction of the Pandora collection has been studied extensively. The thrill of excavation often outpaces the slower, less glamorous phase that follows: years of conservation, analysis, interpretation and publication.

Renewed research efforts are now reexamining the collection using up-to-date scientific and archaeological approaches.

One example is a 2023 study by myself and my colleague Alessandra Schultz, which involved carefully interpreting some of the smallest objects from the collection: the assemblage of intaglios and seals.

Intaglios are tiny engraved gems or glass pieces bearing motifs or classical images. They were once used as jewellery or personal seals, and served as sentimental keepsakes or tokens of moral protection. During long, dangerous naval voyages, they were carried for reassurance and good fortune.

Nine intaglios were recovered from Pandora. Many depict classical virtues, such as “hope” or “truth”. We studied them to better understand the mindset of Pandora’s crew as they set out to hunt down criminals.

The motifs themselves drew on the classical past: Atlas or Hercules symbolised endurance and burden; Hannibal evoked courage in adversity; Hope with an anchor embodied faith and safe return; Veritas stood for truth and integrity; and the figure of Hippocrates suggested wisdom and healing.

Collectively, they hint at how Pandora’s officers used classical imagery to express duty, morality and hope in times of uncertainty.

These personal European-made items were found alongside artefacts gathered from various encounters in the Pacific, suggesting the crew had a fascination with collecting “curiosities” (a popular pastime in 18th century Europe).

This overlap reveals a complicated picture of colonial exploration in which personal interests, cultural exchange and empire were deeply intertwined.

Scientific developments

We’ve made noticeable technological advances since the Pandora collection was first recovered. In particular, our ability to analyse the chemical composition of artefacts has vastly improved since the 1990s.

Using a technique called environmental scanning electron microscopy, we can take minute samples from shipwreck artefacts to understand exactly what they’re made of.

Applying this technique to seemingly boring artefacts, such as bolts and ceramic fragments, can give us valuable data to match to industrial advances throughout history, which would allow us to trace these objects’ origins. We hope to apply this technology to the broader Pandora collection.

This collection carries deeply human stories. It’s time we dived in once again to retrieve them.

Maddy McAllister, Senior Lecturer - Maritime Archaeology, James Cook University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Ordinary and universal, the act of writing changes the brain. From dashing off a heated text message to composing an op-ed, writing allows you to, at once, name your pain and create distance from it. Writing can shift your mental state from overwhelm and despair to grounded clarity — a shift that reflects resilience.

Psychology, the media and the wellness industry shape public perceptions of resilience: Social scientists study it, journalists celebrate it, and wellness brands sell it.

They all tell a similar story: Resilience is an individual quality that people can strengthen with effort. The American Psychological Association defines resilience as an ongoing process of personal growth through life’s challenges. News headlines routinely praise individuals who refuse to give up or find silver linings in times of hardship. The wellness industry promotes relentless self-improvement as the path to resilience.

In my work as a professor of writing studies, I research how people use writing to navigate trauma and practice resilience. I have witnessed thousands of students turn to the written word to work through emotions and find a sense of belonging. Their writing habits suggest that writing fosters resilience. Insights from psychology and neuroscience can help explain how.

Writing rewires the brain

In the 1980s, psychologist James Pennebaker developed a therapeutic technique called expressive writing to help patients process trauma and psychological challenges. With this technique, continuously journaling about something painful helps create mental distance from the experience and eases its cognitive load.

In other words, externalizing emotional distress through writing fosters safety. Expressive writing turns pain into a metaphorical book on a shelf, ready to be reopened with intention. It signals the brain, “You don’t need to carry this anymore.”

Translating emotions and thoughts into words on paper is a complex mental task. It involves retrieving memories and planning what to do with them, engaging brain areas associated with memory and decision-making. It also involves putting those memories into language, activating the brain’s visual and motor systems.

Writing things down supports memory consolidation — the brain’s conversion of short-term memories into long-term ones. The process of integration makes it possible for people to reframe painful experiences and manage their emotions. In essence, writing can help free the mind to be in the here and now.

Taking action through writing

The state of presence that writing can elicit is not just an abstract feeling; it reflects complex activity in the nervous system.

Brain imaging studies show that putting feelings into words helps regulate emotions. Labeling emotions — whether through expletives and emojis or carefully chosen words — has multiple benefits. It calms the amygdala, a cluster of neurons that detects threat and triggers the fear response: fight, flight, freeze or fawn. It also engages the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that supports goal-setting and problem-solving.

In other words, the simple act of naming your emotions can help you shift from reaction to response. Instead of identifying with your feelings and mistaking them for facts, writing can help you simply become aware of what’s arising and prepare for deliberate action.

Even mundane writing tasks like making a to-do list stimulate parts of the brain involved in reasoning and decision-making, helping you regain focus.

Making meaning through writing

Choosing to write is also choosing to make meaning. Studies suggest that having a sense of agency is both a prerequisite for, and an outcome of, writing.

Researchers have long documented how writing is a cognitive activity — one that people use to communicate, yes, but also to understand the human experience. As many in the field of writing studies recognize, writing is a form of thinking — a practice that people never stop learning. With that, writing has the potential to continually reshape the mind. Writing not only expresses but actively creates identity.

Writing also regulates your psychological state. And the words you write are themselves proof of regulation — the evidence of resilience.

Popular coverage of human resilience often presents it as extraordinary endurance. News coverage of natural disasters implies that the more severe the trauma, the greater the personal growth. Pop psychology often equates resilience with unwavering optimism. Such representations can obscure ordinary forms of adaptation. Strategies people already use to cope with everyday life — from rage-texting to drafting a resignation letter — signify transformation.

Building resilience through writing

These research-backed tips can help you develop a writing practice conducive to resilience:

1. Write by hand whenever possible. In contrast to typing or tapping on a device, handwriting requires greater cognitive coordination. It slows your thinking, allowing you to process information, form connections and make meaning.

2. Write daily. Start small and make it regular. Even jotting brief notes about your day — what happened, what you’re feeling, what you’re planning or intending — can help you get thoughts out of your head and ease rumination.

3. Write before reacting. When strong feelings surge, write them down first. Keep a notebook within reach and make it a habit to write it before you say it. Doing so can support reflective thinking, helping you act with purpose and clarity.

4. Write a letter you never send. Don’t just write down your feelings — address them to the person or situation that’s troubling you. Even writing a letter to yourself can provide a safe space for release without the pressure of someone else’s reaction.

5. Treat writing as a process. Any time you draft something and ask for feedback on it, you practice stepping back to consider alternative perspectives. Applying that feedback through revision can strengthen self-awareness and build confidence.

Resilience may be as ordinary as the journal entries people scribble, the emails they exchange, the task lists they create — even the essays students pound out for professors.

The act of writing is adaptation in progress.

Emily Ronay Johnston, Assistant Teaching Professor of Global Arts, Media and Writing Studies, University of California, Merced

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

In medieval England, peasants on some estates were entitled to a range of sick, annual and bereavement leave that could rival those of many workers in the UK today.

British workers are among the least likely in Europe to take sick leave, and lose an estimated 44 days’ worth productivity every year through working while sick. And although most workers are entitled to at least 28 days of annual leave, there is currently no statutory right for employees to take bereavement leave except after the loss of a child under the age of 18.

By comparison – as our new paper shows – peasants on the estate of Ramsey Abbey in Huntingdonshire, England, were entitled to up to a year and a day of leave from working on the lord’s lands if they were sick. Meanwhile widows were granted leave upon the death of their husbands and workers enjoyed plenty of religious feast days and festivals every year.

Not all peasants enjoyed the same level of benefits. Leave entitlements were negotiated between lords and their tenants. Practices, therefore, varied between manors across medieval England. Elsewhere, arrangements were less generous than on the Ramsey estate, and tenants were more generally entitled to a fortnight or month of sick leave.

At the other end of the spectrum, some peasants received no leave if they were ill, such as the tenants of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, who were instructed that if “he is ill nevertheless, he will do the labour services he owes”.

Customary tenants – known as villeins – were required to perform unpaid work on the lord’s lands in lieu of rent. These obligations were known as labour services or “works”. Depending on the size of a tenant’s landholding, they might be required to work for between a day and three days per week.

The above entitlements did not constitute paid leave in the modern sense but, because tenants were not required to work on the lord’s lands while they were sick, they were effectively excused from many of their rental obligations.

When were peasants sick?

A high number of absences were recorded during the harvest on the Ramsey estate. This may have been for a variety of reasons, including that peasants were overworked and succumbed to exhaustion during the busy harvest season.

With tiredness, workplace accidents that resulted in infirmity were also more likely. Lords may even have been more diligent in tracking absences during the crucial harvest period because replacement labour was so expensive. Finally, tenants themselves may have exaggerated their own illnesses in examples of sick-leave fraud.

Although tenants were entitled to a year and a day of sick leave on the Ramsey estate, most absences did not run for nearly so long in practice. Some sicknesses were very short, such as that of Richard Berenger who was ill for just two days after the harvest in 1343. He missed half a “work” on the lord’s lands.

In contrast, others suffered chronic and debilitating infirmities, such as Richard Colleson of Warboys in Cambridgeshire, who was absent for an entire year in 1347/48, missing 156 “works”.

Such sick leave could cost the lord if they were forced to find a replacement worker. For example, in the absence of the ploughman who was sick for 84 days in 1420/21, the accounts of Battle Abbey in Sussex record a payment of 14 shillings to a man hired in his stead.

Alongside sick leave, tenants were also entitled to a range of other absences. Widows were granted 30 days of leave from performing their labour services upon the death of their husbands. In an unusual example of compassionate leave one Agnes le Reve of Upwood in Huntingdonshire was excused from a single work on two occasions in the winter of 1342/43 because of two deaths in her household.

Peasants also enjoyed a wide range of feast days and religious festivals. In theory, medieval people were not supposed to work on such days, though in practice some were fined in the church courts for working, often on their own lands or earning additional wages on someone else’s lands.

The number of feast days observed varied widely, even between neighbouring manors. On the Ramsey estate, this ranged from just a handful of religious festivals a year to an upper number of around 30.

We should not eulogise the lives of medieval peasants. They were subject to many restrictions which were greatly resented and resulted in punishments such as leyrwite – a fine on villein women for fornication. Yet, given the harsh and repressive realities of life for many medieval peasants, it is all the more surprising that at least some of them were entitled to such a wide range of sick, annual and bereavement leave.

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Alex Brown, Associate Professor of Medieval History, Durham University and Grace Owen, Postdoctoral Research Associate (Late Medieval History), Durham University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

In 2023, a visit to a local state secondary school to discuss our project, The Museum of Climate Hope, led to an unexpected discussion. A few weeks earlier, an eminent climate scientist had presented a harrowing tale of climate apocalypse to the school’s sixth form. But the students told us the scientist’s presentation, intended as a wake-up call to apathetic teenagers, had backfired.

After that “doom and gloom” message, a teacher at the school told us some students who were already concerned about climate change were showing signs of eco-distress. This term has been coined by environmental psychologists to capture the negative emotional responses – worry, anxiety, despair – to environmental change.

In contrast, teachers observed that other students who were less engaged with the issue seemed to be coping by further distancing themselves from the issue.

Subsequently, we took a group of these students to the Oxford Botanic Garden and and the university’s History of Science Museum to help us identify objects to include in our own museum’s trail.

The Museum of Climate Hope was designed to foster constructive engagement with the climate crisis. It can be experienced in person – as a trail of objects spread through the University of Oxford’s gardens, libraries and museums – or digitally through our interactive multimedia platform.

Climate in the curriculum

For most students in England, opportunities to learn about climate change are rare. The Curriculum and Assessment Review, published in November 2025, included education on climate change and sustainability as one of five applied knowledge areas, based on feedback from young people, parents and carers. Yet it also noted there is “currently minimal explicit inclusion of climate education in the national curriculum”.

The review has reinforced calls from researchers for climate to be more fully integrated across school subjects, from geography to history. It also noted that enhancing climate education will involve changes not only in content but also pedagogy – the way we teach.

In collaboration with other sustainability education researchers and practitioners, we have proposed a “pedagogy of hope”. We hope this will support teachers as they implement the recommendations of the review “to equip learners to rise to the challenges of a sustainable future”.

Our museum incorporates pedagogies of hope into both structured and self-directed learning. The objects on our trail represent positive stories of resilience, innovation and transformation, rather than negative stories of loss and destruction.

For example, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History is known for having an extinct dodo in its collection. But the young people who helped curate our trail thought that swifts and beavers would be better symbols for exploring successful conservation and rewilding projects.

Another item on our trail is a bronze-age cauldron at the Ashmolean Museum. This large cooking vessel illustrates how resources were shared in those communities, while its signs of repair over many centuries indicate material value and craftsmanship, in contrast to today’s throwaway culture.

The cauldron was discovered in – and is believed to have been a gift to – the River Cherwell. So it also represents its users’ reciprocal relationship with the natural world.

Moving from museums to the classroom, we spent a term working with local primary school students to incorporate environmental themes into activities combining arts and science. Our sessions focused on understanding climate change as a local phenomenon that every child experiences directly. One example was the increased flooding of the nearby Cherwell river.

These students were introduced to another Museum of Climate Hope object in one of the Bodleian Libraries: the 400-year-old Sheldon tapestry map of Oxfordshire. They found their school and homes on the tapestry, and contrasted it with contemporary maps of the same area – helping them to explore local people’s changing relationships with rivers and landscapes. The students then created their own textile art of local nature that was important to them.

Their contributions were added to a participatory artwork representing the Thames watershed – the land area that includes the River Thames and its tributaries – as a 15-metre wearable robe. This Tamesis Unweaving robe combines elements of the Sheldon tapestry map with objects on the trail found in the Pitt Rivers Museum – a Hawaiian cloak made of feathers and an Evenki parka coat made of reindeer skin.

For some of these young people, the first step towards climate action was creatively connecting to the local environment, and depicting a sustainable future through art.

Back at the sixth form assembly in Oxford, we were invited to do a follow-up talk. We spoke about the power of cultural change – not simply technological innovation – in response to climate change, and the importance of constructive hope.

Most of the students humoured our invitation to close their eyes and travel in time to the year 2051, to visit a future museum. It’s an activity inspired by the 1851 Great Exhibition and 1951 Festival of Britain, as well as our research on speculative digital storytelling.

They were encouraged to think of objects that might be put on a pedestal or relegated to a museum as part of the transition to a more sustainable future. We also asked them to think of any people who might have their stories told in this future museum.

One student yelled out the name of someone else in the room – claiming they were the smartest person he knew, someone who could definitely solve any problem the future could throw at us. Laughter rippled through the assembly, tension was released, and we all felt a little more hopeful.

The climate crisis has a communications problem. How do we tell stories that move people – not just to fear the future, but to imagine and build a better one? This article is part of Climate Storytelling, a series exploring how arts and science can join forces to spark understanding, hope and action.

William Finnegan, Head of Programmes in Lifelong Learning in Social Sciences, University of Oxford; Anya Gleizer, DPhil candidate in Performance Art and Geography, University of Oxford, and Tina Fawcett, Associate Professor, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer has sold to an anonymous phone bidder for US$236.4 million (£180.88 million) at Sotheby’s New York. Only Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi has achieved a higher hammer price. For modern art, Klimt is the uncontested champion.

What’s more, this record was achieved despite a cooling global art market, and with Klimt lacking the universal household recognition of Da Vinci in much of the world.

The painting is valued so highly because it carries a deep personal and political history – and because the artist’s incredible skill once helped it serve as a life-saving disguise.

Standing over six-foot tall, the canvas depicts Elisabeth Lederer, daughter of Klimt’s most important patrons, August and Szerena Lederer. Painted between 1914 and 1916, it represents the artist’s late, ornamental style.

Elisabeth is swaddled in a billowing, diaphanous dress, nestled within a textured and ornamental pyramid, an implied Imperial dragon robe. The upper half of her torso is ensconced in an arc of stylised Chinese figures. The effect reminds me of a halo in an icon (religious images painted on wooden panels).

The setting is fantastical, abstracted, unreal, ornamental – above all, rich. Despite the jewel-like setting, Elisabeth’s face is painted with a striking, psychological realism. Her expression is detached, enigmatic, perhaps isolated. Her hands seem fretful.

It is hard not to project meaning with the benefit of hindsight, but she seems to gaze out from a world of immense Viennese wealth, a world unknowingly on the brink of annihilation.

The Lederers were a prominent Jewish family. After the 1938 Anschluss (the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany), they faced persecution. The family scattered. But Elisabeth remained, divorced and isolated, in Vienna.

Classified as a Volljüdin (“full Jew”) under the Nazi regime’s antisemitic rule, she faced a likely death. In desperation, she circulated a rumour that she was the illegitimate child of Klimt, the Austrian and Aryan painter of her earlier portrait.

To aid this endeavour, her mother Szerena, who had fled to Budapest, swore an affidavit that Elisabeth’s biological father was not her Jewish husband, August, but Klimt, a notorious philanderer. The claim was not without plausibility. Klimt had a long personal relationship with the Lederer household. Elisabeth’s portrait is itself a document of this interest and closeness.

The Nazis, eager to reclaim Klimt’s genius for the Reich, accepted the fabrication. If Elisabeth was not a “full Jew” but instead a Mischling (half-Jewish), then the painting itself could be reclassified as an Aryan work of art. With Elisabeth’s desperate sleight of hand, both she and the painting were saved.

Aided by her former brother-in-law, a high-ranking Nazi official, Elisabeth was legally reclassified as illegitimate and “half-Aryan”. This lie successfully shielded her from the death camps, uniting art history, gossip and survival in a single legal document.

This deception also ensured the painting’s physical survival. The Lederer Klimts fell into two camps. The Jewish portraits were degenerate art, and were set aside to be sold. But the rest were considered important heritage. While the Nazis moved the bulk of the looted Lederer collection to the castle Schloss Immendorf for safekeeping, Elisabeth’s portrait remained in Vienna due to its newly contested “Aryan” status, in limbo. In May 1945, SS troops set fire to the Schloss, incinerating over a dozen Klimt masterpieces, including a painting of Elisabeth’s grandmother. But in Vienna, the painting of Elisabeth, and another of her mother, Szerena, survived. This brutal and arbitrary destruction is what makes Elisabeth’s painting such a statistical anomaly.

As one of only two full-length Klimt portraits remaining in private hands, its scarcity is near absolute. For collectors, this auction was an inelastic opportunity. On Tuesday November 18, if you wanted to own a major Klimt portrait, it was this one, or none.

The work’s post-war provenance further amplifies its value. The painting was restituted to Elisabeth’s brother Erich in 1948. In 1985, it was purchased by the cosmetics billionaire Leonard A. Lauder.

Unlike many investment-grade masterpieces that are sequestered in free ports, unseen and treated as financial assets, Lauder lived intimately with the work for 40 years, reportedly eating lunch beside it daily.

He frequently loaned it anonymously to major institutions, ensuring its visibility to art history and scholarship, but without testing its value on the market for four decades. Lauder’s loving stewardship added a premium, presenting the work not just as a commodity, but as a cherished, well-documented piece of cultural heritage.

Ultimately, the US$236.4 million price tag reflects a value proposition that transcends simple supply and demand. The anonymous buyer has acquired an object of extreme aesthetic power, but also a tangible relic of resilience. It is a painting saved by a daughter’s lie, a mother’s perjury, the vanity and cupidity of an odious regime, emerging intact from the wreckage of the second world war.

In a market characterised by hype and speculation, this sale rewards deep historical density and incredible technical prowess. Elisabeth’s portrait, which is both monumental and deeply personal, opens a window to the tragic heart of the 20th century.

This legacy should not be financialised, but it is disturbing to speculate to what extent its dark past is reflected in the hammer price. Let’s hope the new owner treats the work as lovingly as her previous custodian. The painting deserves to be shared with the world.

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Benedict Carpenter van Barthold, Lecturer, School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.