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As much as the trips I take, projects I complete and memories I make, my recollection of years passed is based around the culture I consumed. Which exhibitions blew my socks off? Which films had me sitting in a sticky cinema till the very last credits rolled? Which album was I singing (OK, screeching) in the shower?
I’m equally curious about the artistic touchstones that have defined not only the years of others, but the year in our collective cultural consciousness. To that end, we’ve asked our academic experts for their picks of best album, film and book of the year.
You’ll find some popular choices in there – Paul Thomas Anderson’s gripping tenth film One Battle After Another, Lily Allen’s gossip-mill fuelling breakup album West End Girl – but some unexpected gems too. There’s The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy by Lamp of Murmuur, for example, a metal album that plays with the genre’s emotional architecture. And the novel Pick a Colour by Canadian poet Souvankham Thammavongsa, which our reviewer dubs Mrs Dalloway for the service economy. Check out their picks, and let us know your own favourites in the comments.
If you’ve been indulging in high-fat desserts and post-dinner cheeseboards this week, new research that links full-fat cheese and cream to lower dementia risk might appear to offer you reassurance. But our expert is sceptical.
When Donald Trump was elected US president in 2016, sales of philosopher Hannah Arendt’s 1951 book The Origins of Totalitarianism surged. So what can this most influential of 20th-century thinkers teach us about far-right politics in the 21st century?
Also this week, we look at the evidence for whether you should you be worried about taking statins, the myths about having just one child, and the true number of human senses (it’s not just five).
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Anna Walker
Senior Arts + Culture Editor
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Naomi Joseph
Tessa Whitehouse, Queen Mary University of London; Inés Gregori Labarta, Lancaster University; James Miller, Kingston University; Jenni Ramone, Nottingham Trent University; Leigh Wilson, University of Westminster; Prathiksha Betala, Leeds Beckett University; Roberta Garrett, University of East London
A round up of the best novels of the year.
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Ruth Barton, Trinity College Dublin; Barry Langford, Royal Holloway, University of London; Edward White, Kingston University; Laura O'Flanagan, Dublin City University; Rachel Stuart, Brunel University of London
From exhilarating political thrillers and blues-soaked vampire tales to thoughtful meditations on trauma and the horrors of human psychology.
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Hussein Boon, University of Westminster; Andrew J. Green, King's College London; Chris Waugh, Manchester Metropolitan University; Douglas Schulz, University of Bradford; Ellis Jones, University of Leeds; Eva Dieteren, Kingston University; Glenn Fosbraey, University of Winchester; Julia Toppin, University of Westminster; Samuel Murray, University of Leeds; Stephen Ryan, University of Limerick
There are beautiful, melodic moments aplenty.
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Eef Hogervorst, Loughborough University
Research linking cheese and cream to lower dementia risk has made headlines, but the story is more nuanced than it might sound.
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Christopher J. Finlay, Durham University
One of the main lessons of Arendt’s Origins of Totalitarianism is that we must actively think in the now, and try to grasp new realities on their own terms.
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Dipa Kamdar, Kingston University
From cholesterol chemistry to muscle pain fears, this guide unpacks how statins work, who they help most, and why concerns persist despite strong evidence.
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Amy Brown, Swansea University
Only children do not have poorer social skills, and they are not more selfish or narcissistic.
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Barry Smith, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Even the traditional five senses don’t operate in silo.
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Subir Sarkar, University of Oxford
A mysterious anomaly challenges the most widely accepted vision of how the universe works.
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Marcelo R Santos, University of Glasgow
Research suggests this approach could boost household living standards by around 10%.
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Eamon McCrory, UCL; Ritika Chokhani, UCL
The environments in which young people can explore, fail safely, and develop social mastery has been radically narrowed.
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