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In our chaotic, rapidly changing modern world, many of us have come to rely on science to provide a sense of order. So it may be disconcerting to learn that there is no single, definitive list of all life on Earth. And there never has been.
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we take you inside the world of taxonomy, where competing lists, rogue taxonomists and recent accusations of anarchy have revealed the messy struggle to classify the world around us.
I spoke with Signe Dean, a science and technology editor for The Conversation, and Stephen Garnett, professor of conservation at Charles Darwin University in Australia. We hope you enjoy the podcast and encourage friends and colleagues to listen too. You can, of course, also find here a selection of some of the week's best content from across the network.
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It’s not easy to create a list of all life on Earth.
Ingrid Prats via Shutterstock
Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Stephen Garnett takes us inside a scientific spat about how to govern the naming of new species. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.
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AP/Alex Brandon
Nicola Henry, RMIT University; Alice Witt, RMIT University
There’s nothing surprising about the fake explicit images going viral. It happens to women celebrities frequently – but anyone can be targeted.
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Students reported some curious mental effects when using AI to generate ideas.
SeventyFour via Getty Images
Sabrina Habib, University of South Carolina
A study in which students brainstormed all the uses of a paper clip shows that AI can both enhance and harm the creative process.
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Miriam Makeba was the first African to win a Grammy, but only when she partnered with a US star, Harry Belafonte.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Eric Charry, Wesleyan University
African artists with major US industry support have the advantage - now more than ever.
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Roy Maconachie, University of Bath
Cobalt is a critical component in the production of batteries, smartphones, jet engines and electric vehicles. Yet miners who risk their lives digging it up receive almost none of the profits.
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Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham; Tetyana Malyarenko, National University Odesa Law Academy
As a new Russian offensive gets under way, Ukraine can ill afford to be mired in scandal and disunity.
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Melina Jobbins, University of Zurich; Christian Klug, University of Zurich; Martin Rücklin, Leiden University
What paleontologists had believed to be spiny fins turned out to be elongated jaws. New examination of fossils that were 365 million years old revealed a fish with a remarkable lower jaw.
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Ashley Perl, University of Toronto
Norway has become the first nation on earth to allow deep-sea mineral exploration. But opening this industry could put Norway in murky legal waters.
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Anne Irfan, UCL; Jo Kelcey, Lebanese American University
Destroying the main relief agency in Gaza would be a catastrophe for its people, most of whom have been displaced by the conflict and are desperate for food, shelter and medical supplies.
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Sam Edwards, Loughborough University
The show explores the American role in the European air war with care and sensitivity.
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Michael Hornberger, University of East Anglia
Listening to music, though, doesn’t have the same benefits.
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