The assassination of JFK: One of the US's biggest mysteries

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The assassination of JFK: One of the US's biggest mysteries     This November, it will be 60 years since the assassination of President John F Kennedy. A significant anniversary usually provides a chance to remember and reflect on past events – but, in the case of JFK's death, interest has never really faltered. Almost immediately after those gunshots rang out on a sunny autumn day in Dallas, speculation over Kennedy's death began, and it hasn't stopped since.More like this: - The greatest spy novel ever written - The hit song that has divided the US - A watershed moment for 'faith-based' filmmaking Continued here

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Logitech's Dual-Sided Light Looks Like the Perfect Combo for Twitch Streamers     Like a mullet, Logitech’s latest light built for streamers has two sides: business up front and party in the back. The Litra Beam LX is an upgraded version of Logitech G’s steamer light that has the standard key light for your streaming needs and a light in the back to personalize your streaming space. Lights are a crucial part of streaming setup, but it sometimes requires multiple lights to really get the vibe you’re going for. With the Litra Beam LX, you can simplify your streaming setup with a light that accomplishes two things at once. Continued here

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Mars and Our Search for Meaning: A Planetary Scientist's Love Letter to Life     “It is the search for infinity, the search for evidence that our capacious universe might hold life elsewhere, in a different place or at a different time or in a different form.” Continued here

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Managers Are Burned Out. Here's How to Help Them Recharge.     As a leader of leaders, you “create the weather” for your team. It’s your job to not only support your burned-out leaders, but also to keep burnout at bay going forward. In this article, the author offers six strategies to help recharge the burned-out managers on your team: 1) Recognize and acknowledge their burnout; 2) Create opportunities for personal connection both in person and virtually; 3) Re-assess, re-prioritize, and re-distribute their work; 4) Revise team agreements about how you all work together; 5) Touch base one-on-one with your leaders on a regular basis; and 6) Set the expectation with team members that they use all of their vacation time — it can be easy to put off or skip vacation when there’s so much to do. Continued here

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Make Culture Unconditional     Our special report on innovation systems will help leaders guide teams that rely on virtual collaboration, explores the potential of new developments, and provides insights on how to manage customer-led innovation.Our special report on innovation systems will help leaders guide teams that rely on virtual collaboration, explores the potential of new developments, and provides insights on how to manage customer-led innovation.Defining, creating, and strengthening a company culture can enhance alignment, connection, and even employee retention. To achieve those bold ambitions, organizations often create complex models, programs, and communication campaigns to share a newly defined culture with employees. This work is often referred to as a “journey” and can last years — but by the time the campaign has been rolled out, the culture has probably changed not just once but many times. The problem with this traditional approach to culture work, although well intentioned, is that the net cast is usually broad, the content is over-generalized, and execution on a team level is optional. Continued here

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The untold story of London's original fast food     In the 1740s, pleasure boaters would jauntily sail from central London down the River Thames to an islet once known as Twickenham Ait in Richmond, mooring at an inn that had built a reputation across the city for selling just one thing: eel pies.Eel Pie House was the grand tavern's name, and punting parties would drift along the shore and then congregate for merry picnics on the riverside. Inside, the inn's chefs would skin, debone and trim batches of Thames eels into three-inch chunks, before stewing them ready for pastry and the pie oven. Continued here

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When Britain was gripped by 'fairy mania'     Imagine a fairy. Is the picture that appears in your mind's eye a tiny, pretty, magical figure – a childish wisp with insect-like wings and a dress made of petals?  If so, it's likely you've been influenced by Cicely Mary Barker, the British illustrator who created the Flower Fairies. 2023 marks 100 years since the publication of her first book of poems and pictures, Flower Fairies of the Spring – an anniversary currently being celebrated in an exhibition at the Lady Lever Gallery in Merseyside, UK.   Continued here

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Worried about heat and fire this summer? Here's how to prepare     Roger Jones has provided technical advice on fire climate regimes to the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (Formerly the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning).The Northern Hemisphere summer brought catastrophic fires and floods to many countries. Down south, the winter was the hottest ever recorded in Australia, fuelled by record ocean temperatures. Continued here

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Well behind at halftime: here's how to get the UN Sustainable Development Goals back on track     This week world leaders are gathering at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York to review progress against the Sustainable Development Goals. We’re halfway between when the goals were set in 2015 and when they need to be met in 2030.As authors of a global UN report on the goals, we have a message to share. Currently, the world is not on track to achieve any of the 17 goals. Continued here

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What ancient Greek stories of humans transformed into plants can teach us about fragility and resilience     For me, gardening is the most joyful summer activity, when I can see my hard work rewarded with colorful blooms and lush greenery. Science explains this feeling by recognizing the deep bond between humans and plants. Being in a nurturing relationship with nature supports our physical and mental health. At the same time, as a scholar of Greek mythology, I also see the close relationship between humans and plants reflected in ancient stories. In fact, Greek literature and poetry often represent human life as plant life. Continued here

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What happens if you need to pee while you're asleep?     Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.What happens if you have to go to the bathroom in your sleep? – Calleigh H., age 11, Oklahoma Continued here

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Sickle cell disease can be deadly, and the persistent health inequities facing Black Americans worsen the problem     The pain from a heart attack is so bad that – if you can imagine – it can feel like an elephant sitting on you. Patients with sickle cell disease, a genetic condition affecting the red blood cells, report that this kind of pain begins before their first birthday and continues intermittently for a lifetime.Too often these people receive inadequate help managing their pain, a critical health disparity that persists 113 years after sickle cell disease was identified. Continued here

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Dopamine is a brain chemical famously linked to mood and pleasure - but researchers have found multiple types of dopamine neurons with different functions     Dopamine is one of the brain’s neurotransmitters – tiny molecules that act as messengers between neurons. It is known for its role in tracking your reaction to rewards such as food, sex, money or answering a question correctly. There are many kinds of dopamine neurons located in the uppermost region of the brainstem that manufacture and release dopamine throughout the brain. Whether neuron type affects the function of the dopamine it produces has been an open question.Dopamine is famous for the role it plays in reward processing, an idea that dates back at least 50 years. Dopamine neurons monitor the difference between the rewards you thought you would get from a behavior and what you actually got. Neuroscientists call this difference a reward prediction error. Continued here

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'Big Bang of Numbers' - The Conversation's book club explores how math alone could create the universe with author Manil Suri     The Conversation U.S. launched its new book club with a bang – talking to mathematician Manil Suri about his nonfiction work “The Big Bang of Numbers: How to Build the Universe Using Only Math.” Suri, a previous author in The Conversation, has also written an award-winning fiction trilogy, in addition to being a professor of mathematics and statistics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.Below is an edited excerpt from the book club discussion. You’re welcome to keep the conversation flowing by adding your own questions for Suri to the comments. Continued here

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Desert dust storms carry human-made toxic pollutants, and the health risk extends indoors     Humans have contended with dust storms for thousands of years, ever since early civilizations appeared in the Middle East and North Africa. But modern desert dust storms are different from their preindustrial counterparts.Around the world, deserts now increasingly border built structures, including urban dwellings, manufacturing, transportation hubs, sewage treatment and landfills. As a result, desert dust lifts a growing load of airborne pollutants and transports these substances over long distances. Continued here

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Keeping your cool in a warming world: 8 steps to help manage eco-anxiety     In a world facing environmental challenges unprecedented in human history, it’s no surprise that eco-anxiety – a pervasive worry about the current and future state of our planet – has become an increasingly prevalent mental health issue.As people witness the devastating impacts of climate change, deforestation and loss of biodiversity, it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed and disheartened. I happen to live in Phoenix, Arizona, a “heat apocalypse” city with dwindling water supplies, so I have some skin in the game. Continued here

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What are the liberal arts? A literature scholar explains     The term “liberal arts” is one of the most misunderstood terms in the public discourse on higher education today. A higher education expert once said that putting the words “liberal” and “arts” together was a “branding disaster” – one so toxic that it was undermining public support for higher education. To break down the meaning and origin of the term, The Conversation reached out to Blaine Greteman, a professor of English, who looks at how the term emerged in ancient times.Contrary to how it might sound, “liberal” in the phrase “liberal arts” has nothing to do with political liberalism. And the “arts” part is not really about the arts as most people understand them, such as painting, dancing and the like. Continued here

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Racial trauma has profound mental health consequence - a Black clinical psychologist explains and offers 5 ways to heal     Since European expansion into the Americas, white people have demonized Black people and portrayed them as undesirable, violent and hypersexual. Originally, the intent of this demonization was to legitimize the conquest and sale of African people.One consequence of this negative portrayal has been the documented psychological impact on Black people themselves. It includes self-hatred, internalized racism and an erosion of Black consciousness within the Black community. Continued here

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India and Vietnam are partnering with the US to counter China - even as Biden claims that's not his goal     Leland Lazarus is a Term-Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonresident Fellow of the Atlantic Council Global China Hub, and National Board Member of the Fulbright Association. This fall, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is slated to lead a bipartisan group of U.S. senators to China. The planned trip, like other recent visits to China by high-ranking U.S. officials, is aimed at improving the relationship between the U.S. and China. Continued here

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Genocide fears in Darfur are attracting little attention - have nations abandoned their responsibility to protect civilians?     Mass atrocities are once again plaguing the people of Darfur, Sudan, with talk of a genocide taking place.Twenty years after genocide began in the region, recent conflict and targeted violence have forced over 5 million people to flee their homes across Sudan in just five months. In Darfur, non-Arab unarmed civilians have been hunted down and massacred, according to eyewitnesses and survivors. Women and girls have been subjected to systematic rape, sexual violence and trafficking. Continued here

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Wild animals leave DNA on plants, making them easier to track - here's what scientists found in a Ugandan rainforest     The world is losing animals at an alarming rate due to habitat degradation, climate change and illegal human activities in the wildlife protected areas. In fact, it is estimated that, by 2100, more than half of Africa’s bird and mammal species could be lost. Efforts to conserve biodiversity depend on information about which animals are where. Tracking wildlife is instrumental. Existing tracking methods include camera trapping and line transects, which are specific areas and designed trails respectively, that can be revisited from time to time to monitor habitat conditions and species changes. These methods can be expensive, labour intensive, time consuming and difficult to use, and might not detect all the species that are present in an area. Dense rainforests present a particular problem for tracking, since the vegetation is often very thick and doesn’t let much light in. Continued here

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Nigeria's slick Netflix epic, Jagun Jagun, explores a rich past that also reflects the world today     Netflix’s recently released film Jagun Jagun (The Warrior) is set in pre-colonial Nigeria and follows the story of a feared warlord named Ogunjimi. While playing out in the past, it is steeped in contemporary universal cultural, political and socio-economic realities. The first 15 minutes of the movie establishes that the story is centred on a young man called Gbotija who decides to train as a fighter under the leadership of a powerful and revered warrior, Ogundiji, son of Ogunrogba. Ogundiji is a ruler unto himself. The first couple of scenes accentuate the ingredients required for a would-be warrior, such as courage, determination and focus to succeed. Continued here

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Kenya's new urban school meal plan is ambitious - it could offer lessons for scaling up     More than 250,000 children in public primary schools in Nairobi will receive regular subsidised school meals provided by the county government. The Dishi Na County programme is Kenya’s first in an urban setting. The national school meal programme set up in 2009 serves more than 1.5 million children in rural drought-affected counties. We asked Elisheba Kiru, who studies education and empowerment, and Aulo Gelli, whose focus is food policy and nutrition, to analyse the new meal programme. Households are wrestling with steep increases in living costs brought about by factors like inflation, climate change and the effects of the COVID pandemic. These pressures are felt most by vulnerable populations, particularly those living in dry regions and in informal urban settlements. Continued here

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Corruption in South Africa: would paying whistleblowers help?     University of Western Cape provides support as a hosting partner of The Conversation AFRICA.Whistleblowing is an important tool in fighting corruption. In South Africa, the commission of inquiry into state capture recommended that the government should provide financial rewards for whistleblowers who report corruption. Continued here

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France used 10% less electricity last winter - three valuable lessons in fighting climate change     Measures which help people use less energy at home, while travelling or at work could significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions according to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. When there is less demand for energy, that means less low-carbon electricity needs to be generated to replace fossil fuels and reach net zero.Making do with less energy was important last winter when Russia’s war in Ukraine caused energy prices to soar and restricted gas supplies. To avoid shortages, France implemented a “sobriety plan” with the aim of lowering total energy consumption by 10% within two years. Continued here

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Medical gaslighting: when conditions turn out not to be 'all in the mind'     Gaslight, a psychological thriller starring Ingrid Bergman, was a box-office hit when it was released in 1944, but its time in the limelight could have ended there. However, the ruse employed by its villain gave the work remarkable staying power.Set in 1880s London, the story plays out in the upper-middle-class, gas-lit home of Gregory and Paula Anton. Gregory is intent on making Paula think she is going insane so that he can have her committed to a mental institution and claim her inheritance. He attempts to convince her that the gas lighting in their house, which the audience can see is flickering, is not really flickering. What her senses tell her is a lie – a sign of her steady descent into madness. Continued here

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Shops and restaurants can help blur class lines but interactions may not be meaningful enough to boost social mobility     Titanic, James Cameron’s 1997 multi-Oscar-winning movie, focused on the tragic love story of itinerant artist Jack and upper-class socialite Rose. Among their other on-board adventures, they dined in the first-class section of the ship before joining revellers dancing in the third-class quarters. Their exploration of the ill-fated vessel represents a transgression – not just of public boundaries, but of class ones too. More recently, mobile phone location data is being used to track such interactions across class boundaries. Understanding class segregation matters because, as economists like Raj Chetty point out, interaction or “economic connectedness” between low and high-income groups is a key predictor of how likely people are to be able to move up the social ladder. Continued here

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Violence against workers increased during the pandemic - our research shows how it affected them     For weeks of lockdown in the UK and beyond, people took part in nightly applause for healthcare staff and carers. Many expressed gratitude for other frontline workers: waste management workers, bus drivers, retail employees and others performing services that were deemed “essential” to a functioning society.Despite this, many organisations reported an increase of violence and aggression against staff. Continued here

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'Something special, otherworldly': why so many people are making maritime pilgrimages     Associate Member of the History Faculty, University of Oxford, University of Oxford On an April day under a cloudy sky earlier this year, professional yachtsman Russ Fairman embarked on a 2,400-mile circumnavigation of the British Isles. Departing Southampton on a 34-foot yacht christened Mintaka, Fairman sailed anti-clockwise in what he described as “a prayer hug around Britain”. Continued here

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Tears, compromise, divorce - what it's like to leave the UK because of Brexit     Nicole and Hemmo have two children. Our team visited them at home just a few days before they moved to the Netherlands. Piles of boxes filled every room of the house, ready to be shipped over the coming days. Althought they had lived in the UK for several years, Brexit forced them to reassess where their family’s future lay.Leaving feels like a funeral, because you don’t realise what’s going to happen until too late, because you’re so busy with doing things beforehand, preparing for it and then once it has happened, you only realise weeks and weeks later what you lost, what you’re missing. Continued here

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Anxiety and stress really can be lowered through colouring - here's what our research has found     When we think of the best ways to reduce stress, we might picture activities such as exercise or meditation. But while these pursuits certainly work for some people, they aren’t the only techniques you can use to reduce stress.Mindfulness is the deliberate practice of paying close attention to what’s happening in the present moment, without making judgements about any thoughts, emotions or distractions that happen. Continued here

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A Haunting in Venice - the Poirot film franchise finds its footing in this spooky murder mystery     Hercule Poirot, the world’s greatest and most particular detective, returns in Kenneth Branagh’s third outing as director and star. A Haunting in Venice is set in 1947, ten years after Poirot solved the case in Death on the Nile (2022). It is, apparently, inspired by Agatha Christie’s 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party. Here, however, the English countryside is replaced with the labyrinthine waterways of Venice and the story, while maintaining some similarities, is wildly different. Continued here

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How reading 'dark academia' novels can help new students feel more at home at university     Amy Gentry, author of Bad Habits, is my cousin, but this work has developed outside of that relationship.Over the next few weeks, over a million new university students will be heading to campus. Many of them may be nervous about what lies ahead, which is understandable given that most of them will be in a new place, living away from home for the first time, and faced with the prospect of building an entirely new friendship group. Continued here

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Ukraine war: reports suggest that Russia has been deliberately targeting journalists - which is a war     At least 15 media workers have been killed in Ukraine since Russia began its full-scale war in February 2022. Along with targeting civilians, hospitals, schools, orphanages, residential buildings, communications centres and places of worship, the Russian state has been accused by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine of deliberately targeting journalists.In a conflict such as the war in Ukraine, many journalists risk their lives to report the truth and reveal war crimes committed by both sides. But when journalists themselves are targeted, these war crimes almost always go unpunished. Continued here

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Trump on trial: experts answer key legal and political questions about what could happen next     Donald Trump has notoriously become the only former US president to face a criminal indictment — much less four. Opinions on the prosecutions, predictably, break along partisan lines. But whether one subscribes to the Trump as victim or villain narratives, the high-stakes charges raise profound legal and political questions. Here’s what’s at stake. Continued here

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The secret world of rhododendrons: a plant more ancient than the Himalayas that inspired fables and stories around the world     If you have a rhododendron in your garden or pass one by on an afternoon walk perhaps you think of it as just a colourful and pretty shrub. You may have heard that they come from the Himalayas, and that they are invasive plants that destroy ecosystems. Neither of these is quite accurate. Rhododendrons have an ancient legacy older than the Himalayas and a history intertwined with poison, medicine and folklore. Continued here

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Bill C-22 will provide income security to Canadians with disabilities, but it needs to be done right     Canada’s first national disability benefit, Bill C-22, received royal assent on June 22, 2023. The bill was reintroduced in 2022 after initially being tabled two years prior.Bill C-22 remains short on details, but has two notable features. The first is that it will focus on poverty reduction and financial security for working-age persons with disabilities. The second is that it will be delivered through the tax system via changes to the Income Tax Act. Continued here

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In China, Albanese might find an economy as uncertain as Japan's 30 years ago     When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits China later this year he will encounter a nation whose future is about as uncertain as it was 50 years ago when Gough Whitlam became the first Australian prime minister to visit in late 1973.Then China was poor, in the process of reengaging the rest of the world after decades of isolation under Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong. Today it is, on one measure, the second-biggest economy in the world, one of the top five along with the United States, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. Continued here

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Global corporate power is 'out of control', but reports of democracy's death are greatly exaggerated     The past 40 years have seen massive expansion of the dominance of large corporations in the global economy. A wave of neoliberal reforms spread internationally from the 1980s with the promise that deregulated markets would unleash the animal spirits of private enterprise, bringing a new era of growth and prosperity. Corporations were touted as the heroes of the neoliberal dream, casting off the shackles of staid state bureaucracy as they leapt forward into a future where there was no alternative to unfettered global capitalism. Continued here

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How a 16th century Italian anatomist came up with the word 'placenta': it reminded him of a cake     In Italy in the 1500s, the anatomist Matteo Realdo Colombo coined this term to describe the large fleshy organ of pregnancy. Colombo chose placenta because it resembled another big, round object seen in daily life: a cake.In the premodern world, there existed a variety of words and concepts used to understand the placenta. Continued here