One of the most common New Year’s resolutions people make is to lose weight by dieting. The idea is that restricting the pleasures of tasty foods will lead to greater fitness and a finer physique. But if these rewards are so valuable, why is it so hard for us to stick to our...

A major El Niño is under way now. It already has substantially influenced weather patterns around the globe, but could have even bigger impacts this winter. There have been only two...

Editor’s note: We asked a few of our regular writers to weigh in on what will (or should) be the key economic themes and issues of 2016 or offer their predictions. Topping the list are the worsening plight of the middle class, a wager on wages...

The Iowa caucuses mark the official start of the presidential nomination race.

This year the caucuses will be held on the night of February 1, 2016, when Iowa Republicans and Democrats will trek through the snow and cold to 1,681 party precincts located across the state. The polls currently...

Well Santa has come and gone, at least for the largest proportion of the world’s population. And, as we reach the end of the year, it is inevitably time to review recent trends and the prospects for 2016.

By many standards, 2015 has been a terrible year

The war in Syria and Iraq worsened as the...

As we approach 2016, we look back at the big stories of The Conversation’s education coverage over the past 12 months.

2015 was a year of much turmoil: higher education witnessed student activism not quite seen since the free speech movement of the 1960s.

The...

As we approach 2016, we look back at the big stories of The Conversation’s politics and society desk over the past 12 months.

ISIS, Syria and the migrant crisis

Perhaps the biggest international story this year was the rise of the Islamic State, or ISIS; the war in Syria; and the resulting crisis that lates...

As we approach 2016, we look back at the big – even world-changing – stories of The Conversation’s environment and energy coverage this year.

The biggest story of 2105 from the environment and energy desk is a...

As we approach 2016, we look back at the big stories of The Conversation’s economics and business coverage over the past 12 months.

The year began with fears of a “Grexit” and ended with the first increase in US interest rates in almost a decade....

With the New Year approaching, we highlight the top arts and culture stories from 2015.

Over the past year, there was no shortage of news events, artistic breakthroughs and cultural trends to write about. As always, we tried to provide an interesting twist to supplement existing coverage.

With...