{"id":63067,"date":"2020-01-24T16:02:47","date_gmt":"2020-01-24T21:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?page_id=63067"},"modified":"2026-06-22T15:56:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T19:56:00","slug":"recent-topics","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/the-conversation\/recent-topics\/","title":{"rendered":"The Conversation: Recent Topics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n The Conversation: Recent Topics\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

For more information, please contact Steven Reid at: steven.reid3@carleton.ca\\<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updated June 22, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada Day<\/u>: <\/strong>Looking for any stories tied to Canada Day for next week, including stories on politics, Canadian history, literature, Canadian summer rituals, immigration\/citizenship, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarter Life<\/a>: Series written for young people (20s-30s):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is travelling such a test for relationships? Looking for a story that looks into research on travel and relationships, and what best practices are for getting the most out of them with your partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pride beyond the parade: Seeking articles on interesting ways to mark pride month that go beyond the usual celebrations and highlight Pride\u2019s protest origins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for a story about foraging for our hobby series. What are the benefits of foraging, and how can people get started on this hobby safely?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking an expert in neuroscience to write a story about hobbies and cognitive decline. How can certain hobbies boost cognitive health and keep your brain sharp as you age?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking pitches related to new, recent or milestone Asian films and film themes from academics researching related areas in advance of the Fantasia Film festival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timeline: ASAP <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Globe and Mail reports Ottawa is going to direct the CRTC to scrap some demands of streamers, rolling back implementation of the Online Streaming Act. Seeking commentary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business + Economy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for a story about how companies, marketers, and reputation-management firms are adapting their tactics to manipulate results from AI search tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elon Musk has become the world’s first trillionaire off the back of the SpaceX IPO. Looking for a story about what being a trillionaire actually means in this case \u2014 is Musk actually the first trillionaire in any meaningful sense, since it’s just on paper?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Culture + Society:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are we still using problematic expressions such as \u201cI\u2019m slaving away\u201d, \u201cshe mastered that skill\u201d or \u201cthat contract was a cakewalk\u201d in workplaces? Looking for a scholar with expertise in linguistics, critical race studies or workplace equity to explore the colonial roots of common English terms and their impact on Black employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environment + Energy: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking articles related to this year\u2019s El Ni\u00f1o and its impacts on Canada\/North America<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health + Medicine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for an expert to write about respiratory health in hot weather: How hot weather and other seasonal issues can affect respiratory conditions and other chronic health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is endangered by heat waves? Factors affecting people\u2019s risks of health effects in hot weather, including non-modifiable factors like chronic conditions and age, and modifiable factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why hydration matters more in hot weather: How heat, activity and other factors affect how much water people need, and why it\u2019s crucial to stay hydrated in warm weather. Could also take the form of a story about what dehydration does to your body in warm weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science + Technology:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer stargazing: What is the Perseid meteor shower and when\/where can you see it? Are there any other night sky spectacles we should look out for this summer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From \u2018analogue\u2019 dopamine reset vacations in the wilderness, to the excitement of novel cultural, culinary experiences, how does summer vacation travel impact our brain chemistry? Looking for a neuroscience perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have the right mobile apps for the trail this summer? Seeking a researcher to write about the use of mobile apps while hiking \u2014 from GPS tagging and augmented reality terrain maps in Canada, to citizen safety apps for the Camino de Santiago. An explainer on how they work etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can butterflies help us with longevity research? What else do they teach us? Seeking a butterfly researcher who can comment on a new paper from the UK in Nature Communications and\/or offer something interesting from their own research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the New World screwworm and should we be worried in Canada? Seeking either an explainer on this parasite, or analysis of drone tech use in surveillance. Open to other angles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP
Arts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for books and film stories from arts and humanities scholars.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: Ongoing <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking research-based story pitches for September stories related to acknowledging and affirming parents who are navigating kindergarten milestones and transitions of their first child.  What can this mean for parents?  What might they need to hear?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science + Technology:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the best nature identification apps \u2014 for plants, bird song etc. \u2014 how do they work and how evidence-based and reliable are they? Looking for a researcher to write about this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: Ongoing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updated May 28, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time-sensitive requests tied to the news with quick turnarounds\/pitches required:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarter Life<\/a>: Series written for young people (20s-30s):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of birdwatching: Looking for an expert to write a story about what the mental health and cognitive benefits of bird watching are, and how people can get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking an expert in neuroscience to write a story about hobbies and cognitive decline. How can certain hobbies boost cognitive health and keep your brain sharp as you age?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canadian film and TV:  Seeking story pitches related to summer viewing suggestions related to new and noteworthy Canadian film and TV, including titles acknowledged at the Canadian Screen awards.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s movie and TV ecosystem and recent acclaimed productions:  Seeking an English-language story highlighting viewing suggestions related to new and noteworthy French-language cinema and television from Qu\u00e9bec, including recent award winners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business + Economy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for an explainer about prediction markets like Polymarket. What are they and how do they work? And how do they fall into the grey area of not quite being gambling, legally speaking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online prediction market traders are making millions betting on U.S. military operations on prediction markets like Polymarket. Looking for an expert to write about any high-profile cases of it and the ethics behind this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environment + Energy: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking articles explaining the diseases affecting oysters in PEI, and what is\/can be done to mitigate the impact on the local industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking articles on the environmental impacts of large events like the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health + Medicine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Infectious diseases: Interested in pitches on Ebola outbreak, including vaccine development, global risks and explainers that cover what Ebola is, how it spreads and context for Canadians. Also interested in stories about how Ebola outbreak may affect international events such as FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pandemic readiness: Looking for expert analysis of the WHO announcement<\/a> and Global Preparedness Monitoring Board report<\/a> about lack of preparedness for pandemics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science + Technology:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the impact on oceanside and marine life when rockets like SpaceX\u2019s Starship V3 splashdown and explode? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the emerging technologies and\/or ethics of de-extinction? For example, U.S.-based Colossal Biosciences just announced it has developed a 3D-printed \u201cegg,\u201d with hopes to resurrect an extinct South Island giant moa from New Zealand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI in your brain? Seeking analyses of technology that is being developed to add AI to brain\u2013computer interfaces (BCIs) for people with neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. ALS). What are the benefits, and the privacy\/ethics issues?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking research about summer camps and child learning over the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evergreen requests that aren’t time-sensitive so pitches are welcome any time:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for books and film stories from arts and humanities scholars.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: Ongoing <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business + Economy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for a story about what research actually says about writing resumes and cover letters. There\u2019s a lot of misinformation and \u201ccareer guru\u201d advice out there. What do we really know about how resumes and cover letters are evaluated, and what actually improves a candidate\u2019s chances of getting hired?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updated May 14, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time-sensitive requests tied to the news with quick turnarounds\/pitches required:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarter Life<\/a>: Series written for young people (20s-30s):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking an expert in neuroscience to write a story about hobbies and cognitive decline. How can certain hobbies boost cognitive health and keep your brain sharp as you age?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for stories related to Canadian TV, film and industries before the Canadian  Screen awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business + Economy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for a story about what research actually says about writing resumes and cover letters. There\u2019s a lot of misinformation and \u201ccareer guru\u201d advice out there. What do we really know about how resumes and cover letters are evaluated, and what actually improves a candidate\u2019s chances of getting hired?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environment + Energy: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking articles explaining the diseases affecting oysters in PEI, and what is\/can be done to mitigate the impact on the local industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking articles on the environmental impacts of large events like the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: Ongoing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health + Medicine:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polycystic ovary syndrome name change to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome: Looking for an explainer about the name change, why it was made and how it may affect patients, diagnosis and care<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politics:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Sleepy Don” \u2014 Seeking an analysis by a media\/politics scholar on why  mainstream media is not reporting on Donald Trump’s obvious health issues the way it did with Joe Biden. What’s different?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politics\/Health:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking a health expert to explain what could be ailing Donald Trump? Unsteady gait, falling asleep publicly, bruises on hands and an occasional angry-looking neck rash. What ailment\/diseases\/treatments exhibit these symptoms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science + Technology:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could contact lenses be the next smart glasses? A Dubai-based company is designing a prototype. What will this mean if we have augmented reality direct to our eyeballs? Seeking an analysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Is AI conscious? What is consciousness? Richard Dawkins thinks, \u201cthese intelligent beings are at least as competent as any evolved organism.\u201d Seeking a discussion of this, from any discipline drawing from scholarship on consciousness.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evergreen requests that aren’t time-sensitive so pitches are welcome any time:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for books and film stories from arts and humanities scholars.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: Ongoing <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politics:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead to the U.S. mid-term elections in November, including analysis of of recent redistributing efforts and court decisions What’s at stake for Donald Trump, Republicans and Democrats?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: Any time before September<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updated April 28, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarter Life<\/a>: Series written for young people (20s-30s):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking a story about hobbies and cognitive decline. How can certain hobbies boost cognitive health and keep your brain sharp as you age?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for a story about what research actually says about writing resumes and cover letters. There\u2019s a lot of misinformation and \u201ccareer guru\u201d advice out there. What do we really know about how resumes and cover letters are evaluated, and what actually improves a candidate\u2019s chances of getting hired?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business + Economy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced the government will create a sovereign wealth fund at the federal level. This is a first for Canada, and I\u2019m seeking an explainer on what this fund is, and how it is expected to work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Culture + Society:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am looking for linguist experts or language scholars to unpack the meanings, histories and cultural stakes behind the words we use every day like new memes, catchphrases, slang, jargon or idioms for our series Slanguage<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for a health sociologist or a disability studies scholar to write an evidence-based piece on the \u201cspoon theory,\u201d a framework that describes how people with chronic illness, disability or mental health conditions manage limited daily energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politics:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking an analysis on Mark Carney\u2019s \u201ccult of personality\u201d tied to byelection wins and defections. Why does everyone want to be part of his team? Is he essentially serving as a wartime prime minister?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science + Technology:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA\u2019s Curiosity rover found organic molecules on Mars, according to an article published in Nature today. Seeking a science-based perspective on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the \u2018corona\u2019 discharges that appear as tiny UV flashes at the tips of leaves? Scientists from Penn State have captured them for the first time in nature. Looking for an explainer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking articles on Anthropic, Mythos and cybersecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new space race? The U.S. is hustling against China to have humans land again on the moon. NASA is hoping Musk\u2019s SpaceX \/ Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin will make it happen. Seeking original perspectives on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking articles on the psychology of AI Lego \u2018slopaganda\u2019 \u2014 how does it work on our minds, how does it impact what we know as truth or sway public opinion? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: ASAP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evergreen requests that aren’t time-sensitive so pitches are welcome any time:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Girls or women and their dogs:  DC will launch Supergirl this summer, another superhero film profiling canine-hero companions.  Seeking to assign a summer story to a scholar in a related field to examine this theme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline:  July 3, 2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business + Economy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking pitches on both consumer interest stories and personal finance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: Ongoing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science + Technology:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fascinating species: Are you a biologist, ecologist or other researcher who studies an intriguing being \u2014 from fungi, to worms, to whales\u2026. Share your research with us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: Ongoing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA\u2019s Artemis II mission has inspired renewed interest in space. Seeking astronomers, astrobiologists or other space-related researchers \u2014 to share recent research findings, or explainers about big questions tasking their discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deadline: Ongoing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For more information, please contact Steven Reid at: steven.reid3@carleton.ca\\ Updated June 22, 2026 Canada Day: Looking for any stories tied to Canada Day for next week, including stories on politics, Canadian history, literature, Canadian summer rituals, immigration\/citizenship, etc.  Deadline: ASAP Quarter Life: Series written for young people (20s-30s): Why is travelling such a test for relationships? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":0,"parent":62773,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cu_dining_location_slug":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_page_type":[],"class_list":["post-63067","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63067"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101692,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63067\/revisions\/101692"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_page_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_page_type?post=63067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}