ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on December 31, 2025.
The science of the casino: why the house always wins in the long run
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow in Urban Risk and Resilience, The University of Melbourne Leo Visions / Unsplash You’ve probably heard the phrase “the house always wins” when it comes to casino gambling. But what does it actually mean? After all, people do hit jackpots,
Like strongmen the world over, Donald Trump’s power grab required a crisis – and a scapegoat
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Bergman, International Affairs Editor, The Conversation Presidency of El Salvador/ HANDOUT/EPA, AP POOL, The Conversation Donald Trump has sounded the alarm, over and over again, that the United States is facing an “invasion” by dangerous gang members. He blames immigrants for the country’s economic problems and
All autocrats require an ‘architect’. Meet the man pulling the strings for Donald Trump
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Bergman, International Affairs Editor, The Conversation Every autocrat needs a clan of loyalists, strategists, masterminds – these are the figures behind the scenes pulling the strings. They’re unelected and unaccountable, yet they wield a huge amount of power. This is the role Stephen Miller has played
No small beer: how the famous drink affects law (and law affects beer)
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Law affects beer, and beer affects law. The connection between the two is stronger than you might think, as we have illustrated in the recently published book Beer Law. So as you pour a nice cold
How baseball helped shape Japanese migrants’ experiences during the White Australia policy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ray Nickson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Newcastle Law School, University of Newcastle The only known photo of the Nippon Baseball Club. First published in The Sun newspaper, September 1, 1918. In 1919, Japanese migrants in Sydney gifted a silver cup to the New South Wales Baseball Association.
Why do we get snippets of songs stuck in our heads? And are earworms more common with OCD?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Byron, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Wollongong Westend61/Getty Images You’re reading a report and trying to concentrate. The room is silent. But despite your best efforts to focus, a little snatch of melody – an “earworm” – keeps circling inside your head. Research suggests most people
In a world of digital money, what’s the right etiquette to split the bill with friends?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rhys Ashby, Lecturer in Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology Vitaly Gariev/Unsplash We’ve all been there – splitting a bill at dinner, covering a mate’s coffee, or sending a quick transfer for concert tickets. It’s part of modern social life. As money becomes increasingly digital and instantaneous, we
How to party like an ancient Greek
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia Harry Gouvas/Archaeological Museum of Nikopolis/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA Parties in ancient Greece were wild, with evidence of copious alcohol and sex. That’s the popular idea that endures today. But there were different types of parties
Literature from Islamic societies embraced homoerotic love until the 19th century. What happened?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Morteza Hajizadeh, Hajizadeh, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau An image of The Book of Kings shows a couple embracing with servants around them. Library of Congress, CC BY-SA For centuries, literature from Islamic regions, especially Iran, celebrated male homoerotic love as a symbol of beauty, mysticism
