In the media

"All of these films are always concerned with the social and cultural life of boxing - how boxing became a reflection of the inner struggle and the inner life," said Dr Clive Chijioke Nwonka (UCL School of European Languages, Culture) on the cultural impact of boxing in film.

"Things like agriculture are really suffering because they really can’t afford to pay the salaries that they need to for people to bring in the harvest, and collect the eggs, and all that stuff," said Professor Mark Galeotti (UCL SSEES) on agriculture in Russia.

"This same government says we need more transparency around the social media algorithm but at the same time they are saying by the year 2027 they want AI tutors in all schools," said Dr Kaitlyn Regehr (UCL Information Studies) on conflicting government messages about social media

"Of course he is exploiting this moment, on one level he would be foolish not to," said Professor Mark Galeotti (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies) on President Putin using America's war with Iran as a chance to gain momentum in Ukraine.

Discussing The Cinematic Life of Boxing, a new film season he’s curating at BFI Southbank, Dr Clive Chijioke Nwonka (UCL School of European Languages, Culture) how the films highlight human experiences such as struggle and triumph, showing boxing as a sport and as a way of life.

“Trump would be gambling that the remaining Iranian leadership, faced with the loss of tens of billions in annual revenue, would capitulate,” said Dr Christian Emery (UCL SSEES), explaining why a ground invasion of Kharg Island would be risky.

The earliest genetic evidence for the existence of dogs, dating to about 15,800 years ago has been identified by Simon Parfitt and Professor Rhiannon Stevens (both UCL Institute of Archaeology) and Dr Selina Brace (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment).

“In some ways I think the Jane Austen spin-offs interest me more than the Jane Austen adaptations actually. The bottom line is – Jane Austen will survive it all,” said Professor John Mullan (UCL English) on adaptations and spin-offs of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice.

"There’s a political imperative to push forward sanctions. It’s a constant desire to announce sanctions, substituting action for evidence of impact," said Professor Mark Galeotti (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies) on UK's Russian sanctions.

Discussing book banning in the UK, Professor Alison Hicks (UCL Information Studies) notes that challenges are largely driven by individuals — parents, carers and increasingly headteachers — rather than organised groups like those seen in the US, such as Moms for Liberty.

"They learned how to operate in this globalised world and how to produce effectively...joining the EU was a big push for globalisation for Poland," said Dr Pawel Bukowski (UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies) on Poland's economic success since joining the EU.

"It will be difficult to convince Putin now that he was wrong about anything. He points to Tehran to his doubting allies and says, ‘We would have been in their place,’” said Vladimir Pastukhov (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies).

“When writers ever-so-slightly misquote other writers, it’s often a kind of showing off. What they’re really saying is: 'I know this by heart,” said Dr Dennis Duncan (UCL English Language & Literature) on misquotations in literature.

“Co-viewing is a really good idea. It gives you a shared reference point that you can return to in future discussions,” said Dr Kaitlyn Regehr (UCL Information Studies), highlighting how watching programmes with children can support future conversations and learning.

In recognition of University College London’s Bicentenary, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited UCL’s Bloomsbury campus to meet the students and staff involved in commemorating UCL’s landmark anniversary and to formally reopen UCL’s renovated Wilkins Building Cloisters.