Reading in the news - Wed 24 Jun

Heatwave:

• Professor Emily Black (Meteorology) spoke to New Scientist about the severity of the ongoing El Niño event. From our expert comment: WMO report expert comments
• Professor Ed Hawkins (Meteorology) spoke to BBC World Service (replayed by various US broadcasts) and was quoted by Met Office, Independent, Manchester Evening News, Aberdeen Live, UK Times and others on the record-breaking UK heatwave. Articles republished by BritBrief, Wired Gov and Head Topics.
• Professor Hawkins also co-authored an article for The Conversation comparing the heatwave of 1976 to today’s climate.
• Professor Richard Allan (Meteorology) was quoted by CNBC, CNN and Kamu Medya about the role of climate change in the current UK heatwave. Articles republished by Europe Says, PressBee, News Channel 3, News18, News Channel and others).
• Visiting Professor Liz Bentley (Meteorology) was quoted by AP and Independent (republished by SF Gate, The Free Press, Yahoo News, Inkl, The Hour, and others) about climate change and the record-breaking temperatures.
• Professor Liz Stephens (Meteorology) was quoted by Reuters (republished by US News, Red Hot, Internazionale, Straits Times, Macon Telegraph, AOL, Yahoo News and 100 other outlets) about the dangers of the heatwave.
• Dr Akshay Deoras (Meteorology) spoke to CNN and Sky News about the ongoing UK heatwave, with quotes included in BBC News, IOL, Daily Mail, African Insider, Evesham Journal, Cotswold Journal, Upday, MSN and over 200 outlets. From our expert comment: UK red heat weather warning
• Dr Stefán Smith (Built Environment) spoke to Times Radio about how UK infrastructure retains heat, with quotes featured in The Guardian (republished by AOL, Inkl, Ex Bulletin, Byteseu and Yahoo News).

Food and farming:

• Report Asia and Scroll.in featured a study by Professor Gunter Kuhnle (Food and Nutritional Sciences) into flavanol-rich foods. From our story: Not all five-a-days are equal for heart health
• Professor Kuhnle was quoted by Tech Times responding to a study on the healthiness of preservatives.
• Food Technology reported on a study by PhD student Holly Giles (Food and Nutritional Sciences) which is improving the taste of protein shakes. From our story: Your post-gym protein shake may get a taste upgrade

#PlanetPartners: working with global partners to protect the environment

• Quotes from Dr Alastair Culham (Ecology) about increasing pollen levels were featured by Health and Me and The Sunday Guardian (republished by BritBrief).

Business and society:

• Professor James Reade (Economics) spoke to BBC Radio Berkshire about his sports result model which predicts match outcomes. From our story: Argentina favourites for glory, says simulation
• BBC Radio Oxford interviewed Professor David Marshall (Politics and International Relations) about MP Andy Burnham.
• BritBrief highlighted a Reading study into detecting AI-written essays.

Other coverage:

• PresseText, IDR, Particle News, Kompas, Scientias and Head Topics reported on a study by Dr Jacob Gardner (Biological Sciences) into how prehistoric human bodies changed over time. From our story: Bigger bodies were a late addition for humans
• South African Reserve Bank featured a talk from their Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, at the Henley Business School 2026 Youth Summit.

Alumni:

• Tomato News interviewed Martin Stilwell, President of PTPA and Agricultural Botany graduate.