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The Conversation

Have you watched Adolescence? It seems like everyone in my life has. The Netflix show, which follows a boy accused of the murder of a girl at his school, is being discussed intently by parents at the school gates, among my family and in our newsroom. And now Prime Minister Keir Starmer is keen for teenagers to watch it too, supporting the showing of the drama in schools.

Of course, inspiring more conversations about the dangers of the manosphere and online misogyny is a worthy aim. But ideally, teaching resources on this topic would be carefully designed as such. Expert in relationships and sex education Sophie King-Hill explains the problems with screening a drama focused on one, extreme case – including the risk of boys feeling alienated and blamed. We also have some tips on what the best ways to talk to children about the issues raised in the show might be.

For our latest Insights long read, we hear from an engineer who is using her research to help rebuild critical infrastructure in her home country of Ukraine. And footage has emerged of China’s new landing barges, designed to enable a large military force to land on a beach. We asked a naval expert to tell us what this might mean about possible plans China might have to invade Taiwan.

Grace Allen

Education and Young People Editor

Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller, Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller, in Netflix’s Adolescence. Cr. Courtesy of Ben Blackall/Netflix © 2024. Courtesy of Ben Blackall/Netflix © 2024

Adolescence in schools: TV show’s portrayal of one boyhood may do more harm than good when used as a teaching tool

Sophie King-Hill, University of Birmingham

The series shows an extreme example of one teenager drawn into the world of masculinity influencers.

People cross a destroyed bridge as they flee from the frontline town of Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine, in March 2022. EPA-EFE/ROMAN PILIPEY

Engineering hope: how I made it my mission to help rebuild Ukraine’s critical infrastructure

Nadiia Kopiika, University of Birmingham

Bridges are not just engineering projects, they are lifelines.

How the Shuqiao barges may be used to ferry troops ashore. X (formerly Twitter)

What these new landing barges can tell us about China’s plans to invade Taiwan

Matthew Heaslip, University of Portsmouth

China’s new amphibious barges raise questions about how they may be used – and when.

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