The Open University

Changing your mind and the relevance of ‘confirmation bias’

10 July 2024

An Open University academic is behind a short film on the BBC’s Morning Live programme that featured a fascinating experiment before the General Election on ‘changing your mind’. Dr Jim Turner, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the OU, is one of a team of OU academics who has inspired one of six short films […]

OU academics to feature on the BBC’s Morning Live programme

18 June 2024

Two Open University academics are to feature this week in the BBC’s Morning Live programme on Wednesday and Thursday 19 and 20 June to explore the psychology of climate change and distracted driving. Dr Trudi Macagnino and Professor Gemma Briggs are the OU consultants involved in two short informative films due to air during the […]

Five classic novels to read about Italy if you loved the BBC’s Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour of the country

12 June 2024

If you were thinking of jetting off to Italy this summer and laughed at the antics of this duo in the BBC programme Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour, Antonia Saunders, a research student at The Open University, has a book list you might want to explore. Since this pair traced the footsteps of romantic poet […]

A million digital ‘tourists’ descend on ancient Pompeii

10 June 2024

A digital team at The Open University are celebrating after learning their interactive online tour of Pompeii before Mount Vesuvius erupted has notched up more than a million online clicks. Designers within the OU’s Broadcast and Partnerships team were delighted when they learned of the interactive figures, just a month after the airing of the […]

The media’s key role in calling time on genocide – says academic expert on Rwanda

10 June 2024

With the recent 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, an Open University academic wants to drive home a reminder that genocide is planned and the media plays a vital role in helping stop it. Dr Georgina Holmes is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations and specialises in research on how the UK, […]

Actor and former OU student’s role in bringing to life the D-Day landings

7 June 2024

Actor and former Open University student Joshua Leese is reflecting on D-Day with a strong emotional appreciation of what the service personnel involved went through. Joshua, 31, who comes from Bedford, plays a central role in the BBC’s D-Day: The Unheard Tapes, a three-part Open University/BBC co-production documentary TV series to commemorate the 80th anniversary of […]

Five books to read if you loved the Agatha Christie whodunnits

9 May 2024

If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie Dr Anthony Howell, Senior Lecturer in English at The Open University, and the author of the free OpenLearn short course on the Queen of Crime has picked out five brilliant detective-fiction novels by other authors. Here’s his list. Almost fifty years after her death Agatha Christie’s books and […]

Gaza campus protests: why understanding 1960s student demonstrations and police reaction is relevant today

9 May 2024

For anybody interested in the history of the 1960s, the ongoing protests at US universities have a peculiar resonance. Dr Sinead McEneaney, Staff Tutor and Senior Lecturer in History at The Open University, tells us why. In the past weeks, riot police have entered several college campuses at the behest of administrators to break up […]

‘Financial nutrition’ podcasts set to help transform your money outlook

7 May 2024

Two Open University academics on a quest to urge people to indulge in daily ‘financial nutrition’ have released a podcast series to provide exactly that. Their ‘Financial Five-a-Day’ podcast is a series of interviews with financial experts, who have excelled in their field. They share their expert tips to help ignite a rethink in the […]

Cartoonists to get on board with conveying global challenges

29 April 2024

Political cartoonists have been depicting global problems for centuries making make us laugh out loud, provoke action or leave us reeling in shock. Now a group of academics from The Open University, Kings College London and a Philippines cartoon collective called Pitik Bulag, are staging a competition to demonstrate world issues through cartoons. The history […]

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