Happy New Year, and, if you signed up during the holidays to receive this newsletter, welcome to The Conversation. Twice a week, Caroline Southey (in Johannesburg) and I (in London) deliver this digest of key articles and podcasts from across an international network that produces live news analysis and research-based content by academics. To read the journalism as it is published, you may also wish to keep an eye on The Conversation’s Global homepage.

Do let us know what you think about the work we do. The Conversation exists to provide trustworthy analysis and explanation of events and developments shaping our world. So, we’re eager to ensure it reaches you in a way that’s accessible, and useful.

In coming days, as our bureaux of professional editors from Boston to Jakarta return to publishing a full range of work, we’ll highlight journalism that we feel is important, and internationally relevant. Just as they did in 2021, expert authors will share their research-based thoughts here on subjects such as the climate crisis and COVID. Indeed our global spread of researchers allowed us to be ahead of other media with critical coverage of the omicron variant as it emerged.

We’ll be looking at geopolitical events as they unfold, from Eastern Europe to the South China Sea, and providing insights from the global academic community on everything from scientific breakthroughs, to the arts and the international economy.

These emails also include regular links to our podcasts, including the network-wide The Conversation Weekly. So, stay tuned, there’s lots to come in 2022. And for now, check out some of the work below that we’ve published in recent days and weeks.

Thank you, and stay safe.