Barack Obama: an enduring legacy for advocates of democracy in Africa?
Barack Obama's high standing in sub-Sahara Africa persisted despite grumbling that he never delivered American largess to the degree many initially expected.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Analysis and Comment
How South Africa can turn the rising tide against vigilantism
Vigilantism challenges the formal boundary between crime and punishment, between law and justice. But its largely been overlooked as a legal topic worthy of in-depth consideration.
Rising sea temperatures are shaping tropical storms in southern Africa
In southern Africa there's been a southward shift in the occurrence of tropical cyclones in the region. This is due to sea temperatures increasing as a result of global warming.
Why social grants matter in South Africa: they support 33% of the nation
The unfolding social grant payment crisis in South Africa threatens the livelihoods of a third of the country's population.
Why the discovery of a small continental fragment in the Indian Ocean matters
Researchers have found a small piece of a "lost continent" buried underneath the lava on Mauritius.
South Africa isn’t budgeting for its care economy. What can be done about it
Social welfare budgets have simply not been adequate to plug decades’ worth of under-resourcing, especially in black communities. It's a good place for government to start giving life to its slogans
Why fighting fire with fire in DRC’s Virunga Park isn’t helping conservation
The Virunga National Park is home to many people living off the land. Clashes between the army and those illegally extracting resources is causing huge problems for conservation.
“Design thinking” can prepare graduates for the real working world
We're living in a time of rapid transformation in terms of what's required for a country's workforce. Design thinking is one way to prepare graduates for these changing times.
Propaganda in Portugal’s colonies: lessons for the West today
Portugal used radio propaganda in its colonies in the 1960s against local liberation movements. Decades later there are still lessons to be learned for occupying armies from their failed strategies.
The odd meaning of ‘radical economic transformation’ in South Africa
In his recent state of the nation address South Africa's President Jacob Zuma spoke emphatically of "radical economic transformation" causing nationwide debate. What does it really mean?
How the relationship between Rwanda and Trump’s America could change
A Trump presidency brings into question America’s traditional approach to Africa, especially Rwanda. But a true shift in US foreign policy in Africa is not a priority for the Trump administration.
The options for Kenya as an impending election fuels fear of hate speech
Inflammatory speech has often found fertile ground in Kenya's election campaign period. As the country approaches another political cliff-hanger, law enforcement agencies have their work cut out.
Why it’s hard to control the Fall armyworm in southern Africa
Fall armyworms have a number of characteristics that make them particularly hard to control. They are strong fliers, can breed at a high rate and also develop quick resistance to pesticides.
Armyworms are wreaking havoc in southern Africa. Why it’s a big deal
A combination of armyworms native to Africa and those normally found in the Americas are ravaging crops in sub-Saharan Africa.
Of love letters and other gestures of romantic love
Perhaps we can think of the love letter and other gestures of romantic love as forms or techniques that mediate the violence of time, dispossession and exclusion.
Public health
How marketers target poor illiterate people with unhealthy food ads
Research shows poorer black South Africans are disproportionately exposed to food-related advertising that promotes the consumption of fatty, unhealthy foods.
Concussions from schoolboy rugby: why parents need coaching
How gum disease in pregnant women poses a risk to their newborns
Midwives and the right of women to give birth the way they want to
South Africa’s mental health watchdogs must be given voice and teeth
Bird flu in Uganda highlights gaps in Africa’s plans to manage pandemics
Politicians must account for the deaths of 94 psychiatric patients in South Africa
Patient deaths show South Africa’s care for the mentally ill is in disarray
Hodgkin’s lymphoma: an uncommon cancer that’s easily missed in Africa
South Africa’s sugar tax: a bold move, and the right thing to do
How Africa can win the fight against childhood cancer
How a gene test can solve side effects linked to ARV drugs in Africa
The Trump presidency
Trump’s vow to ‘destroy’ Johnson Amendment could wreak havoc on charitable world
President Trump recently repeated his pledge to eliminate the 63-year-old law, which bans charities from engaging in political activities, at the National Prayer Breakfast.
What Trump misses about regulations: They produce benefits as well as costs
President Trump has ordered federal agencies to cut two regulations for every new one they enact – ignoring the fact that many regulations produce large social benefits.
Trump’s travel ban is nothing to do with national security
In a crisis, governments often act just to be seen to be doing something. The difference with what Trump's doing is that there is no crisis.
Research and Expert Database
Editors’ Picks
A new American hero
Why America needs Marvel superhero Kamala Khan now more than ever
The Marvel superhero directly confronts a 'war on terror culture' that regards Muslim-Americans as threats.
Keep on running
New study reveals how high-mileage running makes muscles and tendons more efficient
A new study highlights beneficial physical adaptations.
Lost and found
Why you are constantly searching for your keys
It turns out that most of us waste a lot of time looking for lost objects in the wrong places.
Ranking systems
Why global education rankings don’t reveal the whole picture
... and why our analysis is a much fairer comparison.
Movies that matter
Hidden Figures takes us back to a time when computers were people, women, and black
Hidden Figures is certainly inspirational, but the racial politics of the space programme were hardly so easily settled.
Microdosing
LSD ‘microdosing’ is trending in Silicon Valley – but can it actually make you more creative?
Three experts reveal all.
The dating game
How to turn your emotional baggage into dating success
It is possible to stop recreating destructive patterns.
Love locked down
The lock of love: how leaving padlocks became a modern-day romantic ritual
This universal symbol of love has proven remarkably divisive.
Hans Rosling
Hans Rosling was an incredibly entertaining presenter of the facts – and he made a huge impact
The world has lost a fantastic statistician at a time when the communication of facts is crucial.
Cosmic oddities
Black holes are even stranger than you can imagine
The discovery of a new black hole adds to our understanding of these celestial objects that fascinate in both fact and fiction.
Protest poets
Five protest poets all demonstrators should read
When the pen is mightier than the sword.
Nature vs nurture
NASA sent a twin to space to study nature versus nurture – and we’re starting to get results
A twin experiment in space can help us prevent diseases on Earth.
Black pop
The story of Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, America’s first black pop star
In the 19th century, critics and audiences thought blacks were incapable of singing as well as their white, European counterparts. Greenfield forced them to reconcile their ears with their racism.
Pole reversal?
Does an anomaly in the Earth’s magnetic field portend a coming pole reversal?
Are we headed to a magnetic reversal and all the global disruption that would bring? Enter archaeomagnetism. A look at the archaeological record in southern Africa provides some clues.
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