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History meets true crime in one of Italy’s most infamous political cold cases. A century ago, as Benito Mussolini’s fascist government tightened its grip on the country, socialist opposition leader Giacomo Matteotti left his house in central Rome to make the short walk along the River Tiber to parliament. He planned to put the finishing touches to a speech that was rumoured to be “incendiary”, until a Lancia car screeched to a halt, five fascist gang members jumped out, and Matteotti was never seen alive again.
His disappearance sparked public and political uproar – and ultimately, the end of Italian democracy for two decades. Questions about what really happened to Matteotti – including whether Mussolini himself gave the order – have swirled in Italy ever since. Yet remarkably, the only complete copy of the Matteotti investigation documents in existence (totalling more than 4,000 pages) was secretly handed over to the London School of Economics in 1925 – and that’s where the documents have lain ever since.
Today, these documents will be presented to the general public for the first time. Two of the academics leading the project tell the story of Matteotti’s murder, his revelations “from the dead” about Mussolini – and how the key crime documents came to be stored in the LSE library.
Are men and women more psychologically alike in societies that are more gender equal? Not necessarily, according to a recent review of international evidence. In fact in some ways the opposite appears to be true. One of its authors explains the significance of this “gender-equality paradox”.
We also bring you an expert guide to atogepant, the drug that can help prevent migraines and which could soon be available on the NHS.
And if you’ve got little people in your lives who love asking questions, do subscribe to The Conversation’s Curious Kids, our new podcast in collaboration with Fun Kids radio, where kids get answers direct from experts. In our first episode, we find out if whales sneeze – from a scientist who studies whale snot. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
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Mike Herd
Investigations Editor, Insights
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The body of socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti is discovered on the outskirts of Rome on August 16 1924, two months after his disappearance.
Archivio GBB/Alamy
Andrea Pisauro, University of Plymouth; Gianluca Fantoni, Nottingham Trent University
One hundred years after the Italian opposition leader’s murder, documents long locked away at the London School of Economics could shed new light on Mussolini’s involvement in his death
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Master1305/Shutterstock
Agneta Herlitz, Karolinska Institutet
In psychology it’s known as the gender-equality paradox.
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Around ten million people in the UK experience migraines.
Tunatura/ Shutterstock
Anna Andreou, King's College London
In one trial, atogepant was shown to reduce the number of migraine days a person had each month by 30%.
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World
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Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham
The promised weapons will give Ukraine some breathing space on the battlefield, but victory against Russia is far from assured.
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Natasha Lindstaedt, University of Essex
Georgians have taken to the streets to protest a Putin-style ‘foreign agents’ law.
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Politics + Society
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Lawrence McKay, University of Southampton; Davide Vampa, The University of Edinburgh
Whether true or not, the UK’s political parties have failed to quash the perception that they prioritise cities.
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Arts + Culture
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Kadian Pow, Birmingham City University
A young white southern belle asks a woman not to cheat with her man while an older Black southern queen warns a woman against cheating with her husband.
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Samuel Murray, University of Liverpool
In the album, Swift claims that she can use heartbreak as a stimulus for creativity, rather than allow it to dictate her everyday life.
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Sören Henrich, Manchester Metropolitan University
Dungeons and Dragons may soon be used be psychotherapists.
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Business + Economy
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John Tribe, University of Liverpool; Emilie Ghio, The University of Edinburgh
The law can help struggling firms turn their business around, but stigma around the legal terms may be deterring companies from acting in time.
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Conor O'Kane, Bournemouth University
Despite being an unashamedly Marxist critique of the economic consensus, Vulture Capitalism has been making bestseller lists.
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Environment
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Antaya March, University of Portsmouth; Cressida Bowyer, University of Portsmouth; Steve Fletcher, University of Portsmouth
The treaty focuses on ending plastic pollution, not eliminating the use of plastics. But some countries are more ambitious than others.
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Tom Rippeth, Bangor University; Ben Lincoln, Bangor University
Warmer water holds less oxygen, while warmer fish need more oxygen.
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Health
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Michael Head, University of Southampton
Dozens of people in Argentina are critically ill with ‘atypical’ pneumonia. But this is unlikely to be another pandemic looming.
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Science + Technology
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John Bridges, University of Leicester
There’s anxiety among space scientists following Nasa’s decision to rethink sample return mission from Mars.
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Podcasts
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Eloise Stevens, The Conversation
Wildlife scientist and whale snot expert Vanessa Pirotta joins us on the first episode of The Conversation’s Curious Kids podcast.
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