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Thought Leadership

First English sighting of ‘ball lightning’: a 12th century monk’s chronicle reveals all

Professor Brian Tanner, Emeritus Professor in our Department of Physics, and Professor Giles Gasper, in our Department of History, discover what appears to be the earliest known account of a rare weather phenomenon called ball lightning in England.
A drawing depicting a ball lightning event

Renewable energy: US tax credits for wind and solar mostly benefit big banks

Dr Sarah Knuth, from our Department of Geography, examines the US government’s main monetary incentive for renewable energy and finds that it isn’t working how it should be.
Close up of a solar panel

How can we stay safe from Covid-19?

In response to the UK Government's easing of Covid-19 restrictions, Professor Claire Horwell, Professor of Geohealth in our Department of Earth Sciences and Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, explores how best to stay safe.
Two people on a bus, wearing face masks

Women in sport: misogyny among male fans is rife but progressive masculinities are on the rise

Dr Stacey Pope, from our Department of Sport and Exercise, considers men's attitudes towards women's football, and sport in general, as a new study reveals backlash against increased visibility.
Fans with their hands in the air cheering in a sports stadium

Ministers know which masks provide the best Covid protection – why not tell the UK public?

Professor Claire Horwell, Professor of Geohealth in our Department of Earth Sciences and Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, argues that now that we better understand how the virus spreads, increasing the use of FFP2 and FFP3 masks should be a priority.
N95 face mask

The Lost Daughter: portraying the darker sides of motherhood on the page and the screen

Dr Katrin Wehling-Giorgi, from our School of Modern Languages and Cultures, explores aspects of motherhood portrayed in a recent adaptation of Elena Ferrante's The Lost Daughter.
Elafonissos Island, Lakonia, Greece

Five takeaways from the UK government’s proposal to replace the Human Rights Act

Professor Helen Fenwick, from Durham Law School, calls attention to elements of the Human Rights Act that the UK government may change now that they have opened a consultation on a new bill of rights to replace it.
Stock photo of an Immigration Enforcement van driving through central London in the United Kingdom

US prep schools held student exchanges with elite Nazi academies

Dr Helen Roche, Associate Professor in Modern European Cultural History in our Department of History, looks back on exchange programmes which took place between leading American and Germans schools in the 1930s.
Nazi Germany’s elite schools used British public schools as ‘model’

Why Shell pulled out of the Cambo oilfield

Professor Gavin Bridge and Dr Tiago Alves-Teixeira, from our Department of Geography, and Dr Gisa Weszkalnys, Associate Professor of Anthropology at London School of Economics and Political Science, consider why Shell walked away from Cambo, a proposed oilfield off the Shetland Islands.
Shallow Focus Photo of Shell Gas Station

Is Facebook's 'metaverse' a version of Robert Nozick's experience machine?

Dr Peter West, from our Department of Philosophy, considers the risks of Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse.
Code Projected Over Woman

Creating safer night-time economies

Kimberley Hill, Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Northampton, and Graham Towl, Professor of Forensic Psychology here at Durham University, argue that we must work together to change the culture.
glass of strong alcohol with ice

Young Nazis: how I uncovered the close ties between British private schools and Hitler’s Germany

Dr Helen Roche, Associate Professor in Modern European Cultural History in our Department of History, looks back on how Nazi Germany’s elite schools used British public schools as 'models' during the 1930s, cultivating connections with them through a series of student and staff exchanges.
Nazi Germany’s elite schools used British public schools as ‘model’