'Liberal blackmail': Professor Slavoj Zizek, International Director for the Birkbeck Institute of the Humanities, argues for 'refusing the false choice' between Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron for ABC
April 2017
The birth of the New Left: Birkbeck historian Mike Berlin comments on the Partisan Coffee House's place in the 1960s counter-culture movement in the Guardian
19th century slums: Professor Jerry White examines the reality of Victorian London's homes from hell in History Extra
General election: Professor Claire Callender comments on the need for a 'socially just Brexit deal' in the Guardian
Too much excellence?: Research by Professor Martin Paul Eve showing that overuse of the word excellence has eroded its meaning, has been covered in the Chronicle of Higher Educationand Nature News
The ‘Halo Effect’: Professor Eric Kaufmann comments on the phenomenonwhich sees more votes for far-right politicians close to diverse areas - but not actually within them - in the New York Times
UK news plurality: A letter expressing concern over the proposed Fox-Sky News merger, signed by Dr Justin Schlossberg, is published in the Guardian
Women's strikes: Professor Joni Lovenduski comments on the Icelandic women's strike of 1975 in an article in Vice News
Parkinson's Disease app: A new app, developed by Professor George Roussos, which can track progression of Parkinson's Disease symptoms over time is covered in New Scientist magazine
Wells and Woking: Professor Roger Luckhurst comments on HG Wells life and work for a BBC Radio 4 programme, 'A new red world'
Gender equality: Professor Joanna Bourke looks back at the history of women's rights on the BBC World Service
Commonwealth Games: Dr Geoff Walters is interviewed on BBC Merseyside about whether Liverpool could host the Commonwealth Games in 2022
Abortion law reform: A letter about reforming abortion law to take pre-viability abortion out of the criminal law, published by Daniel Monk, is published in the Guardian
Learning styles: A letter about the lack of evidence for learning styles and their use in educational techniques, signed by Professor Michael Thomas, is published in the Guardian
BA and industrial relations: A letter about BAs industrial relations with its cabin staff, signed by Professor John Kelly, is published in the Guardian
Empire of things: Professor Frank Trentmann's Empire of Things is reviewed in Financial Review
Market Research: Research Live reports on Dr Dan Nunan's study into the decline of the term market research, and its replacement with terms such as data science, business intelligence, insight
White racial self interest: A new report by Professor Eric Kaufmann, claiming that white racial self interest is not the same as racisim receives coverage in The Times [no link], the Financial Times [no link] and El Pais[in Spanish]
February 2017
Burnout among oncologists: Dr Caroline Kamau and PhD student Asta Medisauskaite's paper on alarming levels of burnout and stress in oncologists is covered by the Guardian
How voters decide: Professor Rosie Campbell presents Radio 4's Analysis, looking at how voters make decisions on who to vote for
Trump and the Alt-Right: Professor Eric Kaufmann is interviewed on Sky News about Trump and the Alt-Right movement
General strike against Trump: Professor John Kelly writes for the Washington Post about the success and regularity of previous general strikes
Trump and Russia: Professor Robert Singh is interviewed by Share Radio about Trump and his links to Russia
Cold War lessons: Professor Daniel Pick and Dr Sara Marks write for the Chatham House magazine - The World Today - about how Cold War era ideas of brainwashing and mind control can offer lessons for thinking about radicalisation and de-radicalisation today
Empty prisons: Data from Birkbeck's ICPR is quoted in widespread news coverage about the Netherlands' surplus of prison cells (Seattle Times, International New York Times, El Periodico de Mexico and others)
Welcoming Britain?: Professor David Feldman writes about Britain's mixed historial record on welcoming refugees in History Extra
Autism detection: a new project involving researchers from Birkbeck's Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development and reported in Health Medicine Network aims to introduce new low-cost ways of detecting autism in Indian children
Sociability in babies: research from Birkbeck's Babylab shows that infants of adults who feel uncomfortable in social situations are more likely to experience social discomfort themselves and is reported in Your Autism magazine [no link]
Bedlam: Birkbeck alumna Anna Jamieson writes about the history of the Bedlam mental hospital and its place in the public imagination in History Today
The cult next door:Dr Alexandra Stein reviews BBC2's 'The cult next door' in The Psychologist [no link]
Bannon and antisemitism: Dr Dave Rich analyses White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon's attitude to Jews in Haaretz
January 2017
Prevent: Professor Bill Bowring was interviewed on LBC radio about the Prevent strategy (no link)
Computer algorithms in recruitment:Dr Chris Dewberry comments on the reliability of computer algorithms in selecting suitable job candidates in Raconteur's special report on Talent Management
Toddlers and iPads: The TABLET project is mentioned in an article about children's use of tablet computers and smartphones (no link)
Bank of England interest rates: Professor Anne Sibert has advised the Bank of England to increase interest rates and warns that Brexit is still a risk, reports The Times (no link)
REF questions: Professor Martin Eve comments on the REF and how credit will be shared between institutions that have contributed to a piece of research, in Research Fortnight (no link)
Alumni programmes: Birkbeck's alumni programme is highlighted in University Business (no link)
Helen Reece: Daniel Monk writes Dr Helen Reece's obituary for the Guardian. Helen worked in the Law School at Birkbeck fro 1998 to 2009
Annette Karmiloff-Smith: The Psychologist publishes Professor Annette Karmiloff-Smith's obituary. Annette worked in Birkbeck's Department of Psychological Sciences from 2006 to 2016 (no link)
Babies and language: Dr Teodora Gliga discusses early brain development and language learning on BBC World News (link not available)
Experimental literature: Dr Mark Blacklock discusses experimental novels with Eimar McBride and Matthew Sweet on BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking
Consumption and the environment: Prof Frank Trentmann writes for the Guardian about why decluttering our cupboards won't save the planet
Lammy and night schools: In a letter in the Evening Standard , Prof David Latchman praised David Lammy MP for raising the issue of the importance of evening learning
Heligoland: Prof Jan Ruger's new book Hegiloland. Britain, Germany and the Struggle for the North Sea is reviewed in The Sunday Times (no link)
Design recognition: Birkbeck's new visual identity is covered in Design Week
Work-Life balance:a new study by Dr McDowall on the need for employers to help staff balance their personal and professional lives has received coverage in several outlets
Jah Wobble: Birkbeck alumnus Jah Wobble (John Wardle) describes studying at Birkbeck as "the best thing [he] ever did" in an interview with Skiddle
HE bill: Jonathan Woodhead writes about why part-time HE should be a priority in the government's HE bill for WonkHE
Freud for our times: Prof Daniel Pick presents a BBC Radio 4 programme about psychoanalysis today
Artistic direction: Birkbeck alumnus Jez Pike has become the artistic director of the Maddermarket Theatre and received widespread coverage in regional media
December 2016
New antisemitism definition:Prof David Feldman writes for The Guardian about whether the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitsm will help Jewish people
Values and Brexit: Prof Eric Kaufmann's research into the influence of culture and personality on Brexit voting intentions is covered in Vice
Touchscreens and toddlers: Dr Celeste Cheung writes for the LSE Parenting for a digital future blog about the effects of touchscreen use on toddler development
Prisons and crime: Prof Mike Hough writes to The Times in response to a letter by Michael Howard to argue that long prison sentences are not the most effective way to lower crime rates (behind paywall)
New Year's Honours: Prof Claire Callender's OBE and Prof Antony Beevor's Knighthood are included in coverage of this year's New Year's Honours
Arms exports and Brexit: Prof Ron Smith writes for The Conversation about the future of arms exports after Brexit
Mount Paektu: Research into the volcano Mount Paektu by a team of North Korean, UK and US scientists, including Birkbeck's Dr James Hammond, is described by Portail SFR (in French)
Opportunity and integration: Dr Ben Gidley responds to the Casey Review into Opportunity and Integration in Britain for The Sociological Review
Brexit and autism research: Prof Mark Johnson talks to Spectrum about his concerns over how Brexit will affect funding opportunities and international collaborations in autism research
Creative writing: The Bookseller covers the exciting news that Birkbeck's Creative Writing anthology - Mechanics' Institute Review, will now accept submissions from writers across the UK
A copy and paste nation: Namibian Chevening scholar Twama Nambili writes about the pit falls of copying foreign business policies and offers advice to those doing business in Namibia in the Namibia Economist
White avoidance: Prof Eric Kaufmann responded to the publication of the Casey Review for Policy Exchange's blog and his argument has been covered by the Huffington Post
Christina Julios featured as a specialist contributor in the Peninsula Television production, 'The Day I Should Have Died',
Career interview: Dr Dermot Hudson was interviewed by the Free Think Tank about his career and current research
Professional rugby and part-time study: Rugby player and Birkbeck Law student Rory Brand talks to SW Londoner about his ambitions
Zizek on Castro: International Director of the Birkbeck Institue of the Humanities Slavoj Zizek writes about Castro and the Cuban Revolution for El Mundo (in Spanish)
White nationalism: Prof Eric Kaufmann's comments on white nationalism are quoted in Town and Country magazine
Teresa May and feminism: Prof Rosie Campbell comments on the differences between Thatcher and May in their attitude to women in Marie Claire [no link]
Sociability in babies: A new study from Birkbeck's Babylab, which may help us understand more about the development of autism-related traits was reported in Nursing Standard
Nurturing the sceptial mind: MA Contemporary History and Politics student Gaby Suarez comments on the benefits of studying history at postgraduate level in the Independent
Platimum wedding: Birkbeck alumnus Alan Boatman celebrated 70 years of marriage with his wife Iris
How an academic approach to art led to a dream job: Birkbeck alumna Inga Fraser writes for the Guardian about how her MA History of Art helped her land her dream job at Tate Britain
RAF gunner swaps uniform for gown and mortar board: A profile of former soldier and now Birkbeck graduate Paul Croney in the South London Press
Misogyny in the US election: Jessica Smith discusses the role that misogyny played in the results of the US Presidential election on BBC Radio Berkshire (from 1 hour, 20 minutes)
Big question: Prof Robert Singh was one of a panel of contributers to Prospect magazine, answering the questions 'Is Trump's election good news for Britain?'
Babies and screentime: Dr Tim Smith is quoted by Day Nurseries on the importance of guidelines for how much and in what ways children should use tablets or smartphones
The Interward World: Prof Joanna Bourke reviews Philip Ziegler's Between the Wars: 1919-1939 in BBC History magazine
Birkbeck's astronaut: Birkbeck alumna Helen Sharman's story is told by The News Today (Bangladesh)
Grandmothers and autism: Dr Angelica Ronald comments in a story about the valuable contribution grandmothers can make to research into autism in The Atlantic
Trump and white identity politics:Prof Eric Kaufmann is quoted on the reasons people voted for Trump by Buzzfeed
Sociability in babies: the Evening Standard covered a new study from the Birkbeck Babylab, which showed that infants at low risk of autism whose parents are uncomfortable in social situations show the same brain responses to other people as infants who later go on to develop autism
Trump: Prof Eric Kaufmann explains why concerns over the economy can not explain Trump's election as US President in the LSE Politics and Policy blog and the New Statesmanand the research is also covered by the Independent. His research is also mentioned in a New York Timesstory seeking to understand Trump's electoral victory and by Germany's Deutsche Welle
Chakrabarti peerage: Prof David Feldman's comments on the impact of timing of Chakrabarti's peerage to the credibility of her investigation into antisemitism in the Labour party, of which Prof Feldman was vice-chair are quoted in the Jewish News
Mature students: The Jewish Chronichle covers the story of 85-year-old Birkbeck History of Art graduate Trevor Grossmark
Shake, rattle and roll: The Psychologist magazine reviews a new theatre show, created in collaboration with scientists from Birkbeck's Babylab
A crisis of White identity: Prof Eric Kaufmann's research into changes in the distribution of different ethnic groups in the UK has been covered in the Guardian, the Daily Mail and The Hindu. His research into what people would be prepared to pay for reduced migration was mentioned in Progress online, and he has commented on White people's attitudes to immigration in The New York Times
More heat than light: Dr Frederick Cowells unpacks the implications of the Hight Court's ruling that the Government cannot trigger Article 50 without parliamentary approval in Left Foot Forward
Both useful and beautiful:Prof Martin Paul Eve reviews Ricky Rylance's Literature and the Public Good for Research Fortnightly
Those left behind: ProfessorJoanna Bourke reviews a book (Army Wives: The Real Lives of the Women Behind the Men in Uniform) that tells a story of the wives of men in military service, from the Crimea onwards in BBC History Magazine
The ugly truth about Brexit and Trump: Prof Eric Kaufmann's research on the impact of values on people's voting intentions is discussed in this article in The Australian
Plague DNA revealed: Professor of London History Vanessa Harding comments on the significance of the identification of Great Plague DNA, extracted from skeletons uncovered during the building of Cross Rail, in Current Archaeology magazine
The mind's eye: Professor Colin MacCabe, Chairman of the Derek Jarman Lab at Birkbeck, writes about the writer and cultural critic John Berger in Prospect magazine
Billy Bragg's brain scan: the singer songwriter visited the Birkbeck-UCL Centre for Neuroimaging where scientists, including Birkbeck alumna Dr Saloni Krishnan designed an experiment to look at the effect of music on the brain (the Guardian)
Europe's prisoner suicide problem: Catherine Heard from the Institute for Criminal Policy Research commented on suicide among prisoners for Germany's Deutsche Welle (DW)
Presidential behaviour?:Prof Robert Singh talks to BBC Radio London about the US Presidential debate (from 2 hours, 3 minutes, 27 seconds)
Language Learning after Brexit:Prof Jean-Marc Dewaele talks to BBC Radio Humberside about the advantages of learning foreign languages as a child (from 1 hour 46 mins 25 seconds)
Hard Brexit? Only if it's free: Prof Eric Kaufmann writes about what Brexit voters are prepared to sacrifice for a 'hard' Brexit on the LSE Brexit blog
Being Swedish:Prof Eric Kaufman comments on Vancouver Sun article about Sweden and Denmark’s efforts to understand their national identities, and how Canada could take similar steps
Hard right, soft power: Dr David Brydan, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology, writes in The Conversation about the historic use of soft power in right wing political campaigning
The Great Plague: Prof Vanessa Harding comments on historical backdrop of London’s Great Plague in 1665, following recent Crossrail excavation of burial site containing evidence of the bacteria, Yersinia pestis (BBC, Mail Online, CNN, Financial Express, and others)
“Use a pseudonym”:Toby Litt contributes to Guardian books article offering top writing tips to aspiring authors
Helping child refugees: Birkbeck alumnus and current chair of London Government Association’s asylum, refugee and migration task group, is profiled in the Guardian
Where is Spencer Moon now?: Former Eastenders soap opera actor and BirkbeckLaw alumnus, Christian Parker, is profiled in OK! magazine
Motherhood and politics: Politics PhD student, Jessica Smith, writes commentary piece for the Guardian on motherhood and politics
Junior doctors: Dr Caroline Kamau (Organizational Psychology) conducts study into poor conditions for junior doctors working in the NHS and their harmful consequences for patients who need emergency surgery (British Medical Association, Pharmacy Choice)
Interstellar travel and moon data: Professor Ian Crawford (Earth and Planetary Sciences) is interviewed on Live Science about the feasibility of seven concepts of interstellar travel. In his new study, Prof Crawford also proposes a mission back to the moon could offer rich data about the galactic environment (Sci News)
Textual divergence: Following his study of the differences between the UK and US versions of David Mitchell’s bestselling novel Cloud Atlas, Professor Martin Eve (English and Humanities) writes Times Literary Supplement article on textual divergence
Storm damage: Research project carried out in collaboration with Birkbeck explores the recovery of beaches across the South West of England following severe storms of 2013/14 (Phys.org)