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If you were a bit underwhelmed about the recent Pentagon report into UFOs, you are not alone. For all the hype surrounding this official US government investigation into unidentified flying objects (now rebranded as UAPs, or unidentified aerial phenomena) you might have hoped to read evidence of what the recently deceased Donald Rumsfeld might have referred to as “known unknowns”. But sadly, all but one of the 144 instances of UAP sightings must remain in the “unknown unknowns” column for the time being.
In a finding that does at least balance the bitterness of this disappointment with a shade of levity, the one UAP which could be identified and moved into the known knowns column turns out to have been a “large deflating balloon”. The UFO craze that has obsessed Washington in recent years had more to do with wishful thinking.
In other news of fairy tales, we read of Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s reinvention of Cinderella, billed as a refreshingly “feminist” take on the old story. But, as film expert Alexander Sergeant points out, the story well predates the Brothers Grimm and other male interpreters. In fact there is evidence that it originated as a women’s fable in ninth-century China, making its way to Europe via the Silk Road.
Another popular tale – this one more modern, dating from 1930s Russia – is the story of the Soviet-era miner Alexei Stakhanov. Stakhanov famously extracted such a huge amount of coal in one night shift that he became the model for the ultimate worker. His story has given us the word “Stakhanovite”, which is used to praise someone with an enormous capacity for work. Unsurprisingly, many bosses have picked up on his example as a way of flogging
more work out of the rest of us.
This week we also considered an eco-friendly solution for the all-too common modern “blandscapes” that blight our built environment. We also welcomed the EU’s decision to protect “Rooibos” tea and
heard from one Rodin scholar who has learned to loathe The Thinker.
From our colleagues around the world we had expert analysis of the jailing of Jacob Zuma in South Africa, the row over the Olympic selection of transgender athlete Lauren Hubbard and, from the US, a discussion of critical race theory.
Try to make time to listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast, a discussion of the aforementioned UAP report. And, if you like what you hear, listen to narrated versions of some of our most popular
articles in partnership with News Over Audio. And to keep up with all the latest from the world of vaccines, make sure you read our weekly vaccine round-up.
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Jonathan Este
Associate Editor, International Affairs Editor
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Unidentified aerial phenomena remain a mystery.
US Department of Defense/US Navy
Kyle Cunliffe, University of Salford
The recent Pentagon report has more questions than answers when it comes to UFOs. Here's why that's not surprising.
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An engraving by Gustave Doré of the famous ball scene in Charles Perrault’s Cinderella.
Prisma Archivo/Alamy
Alexander Sergeant, University of Portsmouth
Cinderella has been taken further and further away from its origins that we forget it was originally a radical story about female desire, servitude and violence.
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Coal miner Alexei Stakhanov in 1935.
ITAR-TASS News Agency / Alamy Stock Photo
Bogdan Costea, Lancaster University; Peter Watt, Lancaster University
A record-breaking Soviet miner from 1935 embodied a system of values that is central to contemporary work cultures today.
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Arts + Culture
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Natasha Ruiz-Gómez, University of Essex
All muscles and sensuous flesh, its hyper and toxic masculinity puts this Rodin scholar off the artist's most famous artwork.
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Environment + Energy
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Stuart Connop, University of East London; Caroline Nash, University of East London
Generic urban landscape design is damaging for people and nature: an ecomimicry approach instead encourages nature to flourish even in cities.
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Health + Medicine
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Rob Reddick, The Conversation
South Africa now appears to have made a massive error in not rolling out AstraZeneca, while in the UK a study suggests a mix of vaccines may be the way forward.
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Politics + Society
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David Miguel Gray, University of Memphis
A scholar of race and racism explains what critical race theory is – and how many people get it wrong.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation
Plus, what's happening in Chad, three months after rebels killed the president, Idriss Déby.
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Richard Calland, University of Cape Town
South Africa has many problems. But, as Jacob Zuma has found out, the strength of its rule of law and the independence of its judiciary should not be underestimated.
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Holly Thorpe, University of Waikato; Jack Byrne, University of Waikato; Jaimie Veale, University of Waikato; Lynda Johnston, University of Waikato
The emotive and polarising language surrounding the Olympic weightlifter – and transgender rights in general – is crowding out the voices we need to hear most.
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Business + Economy
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Enrico Bonadio, City, University of London; Magali Contardi, Universidad de Alicante
Rooibos tea is the first African product to receive EU protected designation. What does this mean for the region where it's grown?
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Featured events
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University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 217 , Reading , Reading, RG6 6AH, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Reading
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University House, Winston Churchill Avenue, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2UP, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Portsmouth
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University House, Winston Churchill Avenue, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2UP, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Portsmouth
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University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Essex
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