The Weekend Conversation

Editor's note

This Monday marks 20 years since Tony Blair swept to power at the head of New Labour after a historic election victory. These days, much of the party seems desperate to forget those years, not least since the Iraq War. Steven Fielding takes a look back at the Blairite legacy. There’s also a case to be made for reconsidering the commonly held view that Blair’s 1997 rival John Major was a disappointing PM.

There has been much excitement at the news that 80s pop trio Bananarama are reforming. Why are so many bands from that era making come backs these days? It’s not just about the money.

Researchers in the Netherlands have come up with a wild idea to make airports work more efficiently – make the runway circular. An ex-pilot has taken a look at the design though, and has some bad news about its chances of taking off.

Have a nice weekend.

Laura Hood

Politics Editor, Assistant Editor

Top story

On the trail in 1997. PA Archive/PA Images

New Labour 20 years on: assessing the legacy of the Tony Blair years

Steven Fielding, University of Nottingham

Things could only get better. Or could they?

Politics + Society

20 years after his defeat, it's time to give John Major a break

Kevin Hickson, University of Liverpool; Ben Williams, University of Salford

The Conservative PM is often seen as a failure, but the odds were stacked against him from the start.
France's major parties want to block Marine Le Pen – but don’t expect a repeat of 2002

David Lees, University of Warwick

When Jean-Marie Le Pen made it to the second round in 2002, France was in a very different mood.
Donald Trump's 100 days of u-turns, bombs and cake

Todd Landman, University of Nottingham

Running the US, it turns out, is nothing like running a business.
80 years on from the Guernica bombing and Spain is still struggling to honour historical memory

Federico López-Terra, Swansea University

Spain has specific laws on protecting historical memory, and yet some would rather forget about them altogether.
How Venezuela's revolutionary dream descended into chaos

Ryan Brading, SOAS, University of London

Fed up with an increasingly authoritarian government, Venezuelans are taking to the streets – where they are met with violence.

Arts + Culture

From Bananarama to Boyzone, here's why so many bands are making a comeback

David Beer, University of York

We need to look beyond the music industry to understand the rise of the comeback.
Why the RAF destroyed a ship with 4,500 concentration camp prisoners on board

Daniel Long, Nottingham Trent University

The chaos that led to a disastrous attack in the final days of WWII.
Jimmy Wales is betting crowd-sourced news can restore our trust in the media — he might be right

Jane B. Singer, City, University of London

Wikipedia has earned our trust. Now its founder proposes an innovative assault on fake news with Wikitribune.
What medieval sources reveal about the true nature of the Vikings

Clare Downham, University of Liverpool

Much of what the English know about the Vikings comes from the court of King Alfred – who didn't like them much.

Science + Technology

This fantastic idea for a circular runway is sadly going nowhere

Lindsay Cole, Edinburgh Napier University

A round airport would let more flights take off in a smaller space, but the technology is nowhere near ready to make it work.
The science of laughter – and why it also has a dark side

Lynne A Barker, Sheffield Hallam University

Laughing at inappropriate moments could be an early sign of dementia, while injury to the front part of the brain could make you lose your sense of sarcasm.
Ancestors of Flores 'hobbits' may have been pioneers of first 'human' migration out of Africa

Alice Roberts, University of Birmingham

New research on Indonesian fossils reveals clues to an ancient expansion out of Africa.
Comfort eating is triggered by nurture, not nature

Moritz Herle, UCL; Alison Fildes, University of Leeds; Clare Llewellyn, UCL; Silje Steinsbekk, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

New research reveals why some people use food to soothe their emotions.
Bittersweet feeling as Cassini mission embarks on its 'grand finale' ahead of death plunge

Andrew Coates, UCL

One of the most successful space exploration missions of all time still has a lot left to uncover.

Environment + Energy

Community repair: a pop-up alternative to the throwaway society

Christine Cole, Nottingham Trent University; Alex Gnanapragasam, Nottingham Trent University

Time for a little more make do and mend.
The toxic air in Britain's cities demands urgent action – not legal delays

Aaron Eveleigh, UCL

But the most effective measures will be unpopular.
How to fix India's burning issue: turn unwanted straw into bio-energy pellets

Robert Berry, Aston University; Sudhakar Sagi, Aston University

Farmers are setting fire to their straw and spreading air pollution across northern India.

Health + Medicine

Do you really choose what you eat – or do your gut microbes decide for you?

Tim Spector, King's College London

A new study with fruit flies suggests that we may have less free will when it comes to choosing what we eat than we like to think.
Genetic surveillance and why it's critical in the fight against antimalarial drug resistance

Georgina Humphreys, University of Oxford; Magatte Ndiaye, Université Cheikh Anta Diop

Genetic analysis is getting cheaper and can provide real-time surveillance of drug resistance.

Business + Economy

Fact Check: Do six million people earn less than the living wage?

Tony Dobbins, Bangor University

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn claims they do. Two academics assessed the facts.
Why the pensions 'triple lock' has become a key general election issue

Jonquil Lowe, The Open University

The pensions 'triple lock' explained.
Frexit: how a Le Pen victory could unleash a tsunami of economic volatility

Panicos O. Demetriades, University of Leicester

The prospect of a Marine Le Pen victory has financial markets spooked. For good reason.

Education
Electro and techno could help to revolutionise school music lessons Pete Dale, Manchester Metropolitan University When the classroom is your dance floor. The Victorians taught children about consumerism – and we can learn from them too Jane Suzanne Carroll, Trinity College Dublin The Victorians had some interesting solutions to the problem of telling children where our stuff comes from.