|
Many of us (myself included) love a Scandinavian interior design trend. I embraced hygge, which was about fostering cosiness and comfort. But an older Nordic idea now in the spotlight is far more meaningful: döstädning or “death cleaning.”
Popularised in 2017 by Swedish artist Margareta Magnusson, who died this month aged 92, it’s not morbid minimalism but an act of care. Death cleaning involves sorting your belongings now to spare loved ones the burden later. In this piece, death and waste expert Lynn Åkesson explores why it matters and how the practice has evolved as we’ve all accumulated more stuff.
Elsewhere on the site we look at how closing the strait of Hormuz has been a key part of Iran’s defence strategy over the last 40 years and a new study sheds light on the evolutionary path from sea to land.
|
|
Naomi Joseph
Arts + Culture Editor
|
|
SeventyFour/Shutterstock
Lynn Akesson, Lund University
We live in an age where our houses are more full of stuff than ever. Death cleaning is an act of love that helps makes things for those you leave behind a lot easier
|
Ships in the strait of Hormuz, March 11. The strait, a vital waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil and gas usually transits daily, has been effectively closed down by Iran.
AP Photo/Altaf Qadri
Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, SOAS, University of London
Iran has used its ability to close the waterway many times over the past 40 years.
|
Mikael Damkier/Shutterstock
Jialin Wei, University of Bristol
Animals evolved to life on land in several separate waves.
|
World
|
-
Toby Matthiesen, University of Bristol
Politicians from all three Abrahamic religions are using scripture to back their positions.
|
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Simon Potter, University of Bristol
Brittin joins the broadcaster after almost two decades as a Google executive in Europe.
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
-
Daniel Cook, University of Dundee
Bugs abound in this terrifying story of scientific ambition.
-
Anthony Smith, University of Salford
Its arrival creates uncertainty over what viewers are getting, from whom, and at what cost – a confusion rooted in the shared history between HBO and Sky in the UK.
-
James McLean, University of Hull
More people are watching podcasts and more thought is going into visual elements of this audio format than ever.
-
Alison Baker, University of East London
For 75 years, the red-and-black–striped troublemaker Dennis the Menace has been delighting children with his unapologetic mischief.
|
|
Business + Economy
|
-
Adi Imsirovic, University of Oxford
The world could be facing an unprecedented energy shock if oil supplies remain choked.
|
|
Environment
|
-
Caroline Flanagan, Anglia Ruskin University; Henry Matthews, Anglia Ruskin University
UK farmers are struggling with rising prices, as the war in Iran and the closure of the strait of Hormuz starts to affect supply.
-
Declan Murray, University of Manchester
It’s cheaper and quicker to dump waste illegally. At one location, it’s used to support collapsing land – a practice called ‘literal landfilling’.
|
|
Health
|
-
Clarissa Giebel, University of Liverpool
It’s estimated there are more than 100 types of dementia.
-
Frances Hand, University of Oxford
Women report experiencing pressure to birth naturally. This is often overlooked, but can be just as harmful as pressure to have birth interventions.
-
Keith Godfrey, University of Southampton; Danielle Schoenaker, University of Southampton
Growing evidence shows that men’s health also plays a vitally important role in pregnancy and child development.
|
|
Podcasts
|
-
Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Scott Pace, the head of the National Space Council during the first Trump administration, talks to The Conversation Weekly podcast about the launch of Artemis II crewed mission round the Moon.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
2 March - 30 September 2026
•
|
|
3 March - 15 May 2026
•
Glasgow
|
|
11 March - 11 April 2026
•
|
|
20 - 27 March 2026
•
Wivenhoe Park, Colchester
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
