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Most of us think we know something about Jane Austen. As I began research for Jane Austen’s Paper Trail – our new podcast marking 250 years since her birth – I certainly believed I did. But the more I learned, the more elusive the author became.
The mystery was deepened by the fact her sister Cassandra burned nearly all of the author’s letters after her death. Why? To protect her privacy, preserve her image, or mellow the sting of her sharp wit? That act, and the secrets it obscured, lie at the heart of Jane Austen’s Paper Trail.
For our first episode, we turned to Sense and Sensibility to ask: was Jane Austen a gossip? With the help of three experts, we discovered a world of secrets, flirtation – and real danger for the women of Austen’s time. You can read what they had to say here and listen to the podcast to get the full story.
Also today, a team of security researchers explain their finding that involving and empowering women in conflict resolution makes long-lasting peace more likely. And find out about the multiple health benefits of the Japanese Confucian practice of eating until only until you’re around 80% full.
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Anna Walker
Senior Arts + Culture Editor
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Mrs Jennings gossiping at the dinner table in Sense and Sensibility.
Lebrecht Music & Arts
Anna Walker, The Conversation; Jane Wright, The Conversation
In the first episode of Jane Austen’s Paper Trail, a new podcast marking 250 years since the author’s birth, we speak to Austen experts about her relationship with gossip.
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Delegates at the UN general assembly debate on women, peace and security, October 2025.
ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Live News
Giuditta Fontana, University of Birmingham; Argyro Kartsonaki, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg; Natascha Neudorfer, Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf; Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham
A comprehensive study of recent civil wars highlights the role women can play in sustainable peace processes.
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The principle of ‘hara hachi bu’ is to stop eating just before you get full.
Only_NewPhoto/ Shutterstock
Aisling Pigott, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Hara hachi bu is an eating practice followed by some of the world’s oldest people.
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Politics + Society
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Callum Smith, Aberystwyth University
Charismatic, controversial and endlessly quotable, Charles Fox built a political movement around himself.
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Arts + Culture
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Doug Specht, University of Westminster
Maps have always both granted power and threatened it, depending on who controls the data, the scale and the narrative.
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Charlotte Curran, University of Leeds
These breakup albums can help listeners to grieve previous relationships.
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Hui-Ying Kerr, Nottingham Trent University
The novel is filled with distinctive characters, shady dealings, women of moral ambiguity and heroes and villains alike.
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Business + Economy
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Matt Barlow, University of Glasgow
Argentina still faces entrenched economic challenges and many consumers are still struggling to get by despite falling inflation.
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Education
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Matt McLain, Liverpool John Moores University
Once a thriving part of the national curriculum, design and technology has suffered years of decline.
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Environment
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Miguel Lurgi, Swansea University
A study reveals that national parks and reserves often support more wildlife but not necessarily the ecological balance that sustains them.
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Tennessee Randall, Swansea University
Men are more likely than women to eat offal, new research suggests.
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Belinda Zakrzewska, University of Birmingham; Flavia Cardoso; Maria-Carolina Zanette, Neoma Business School
Western ideas of sustainability imposed on Indigenous cultures and food risk stifling what is unique and sustainable.
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Health
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Adam Taylor, Lancaster University
Burns, fractures and tissue damage are just a few of the common injuries the fireworks can cause.
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Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol
Keratin is the tough protein that forms hair, nails and hooves. It’s also responsible for something far stranger: human horns.
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Science + Technology
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Paul Jones, Aston University
Sometimes, distrust of machines can be a rational reaction.
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Claire Hart, University of Southampton; Reece Bush-Evans, Bournemouth University
Charm can open doors but ego slams them shut. An escape-room experiment shows how the wrong kind of confidence can quietly sink a team.
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Podcasts
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Anna Walker, The Conversation
Our new podcast series tries to discover the real Jane Austen by delving deeper into her life, times and novels.
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