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The Conversation is a nonprofit, independent news organization dedicated to unlocking the knowledge of experts for the public good. We publish trustworthy and informative articles written by academic experts for the general public and edited by our team of journalists. At TheConversation.com (and through distribution of our articles to thousands of news outlets worldwide), you’ll find explanatory journalism on the events, discoveries and issues that matter today. Our articles share researchers’ expertise in policy, science, health, economics, education, history, ethics and most every subject studied in colleges and universities. Some articles offer practical advice grounded in research, while others simply provide authoritative answers to questions that sparked our curiosity. The Conversation U.S. is part of a global group of news organizations founded in Australia in 2011 by Andrew Jaspan, a former newspaper editor who wanted to encourage academics to engage with the public, and Jack Rejtman. Jaspan led the U.S. launch in October 2014. Our main newsroom is in Boston, with editors working remotely in cities across the country. There are also editions in Africa, Australia, Canada, France, Indonesia, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Certain states, including Arizona, have begun scrapping court costs and fees for people unable to pay – two experts on legal punishments explain why

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Alexes Harris, University of Washington, and Alex R. Piquero, University of Miami In today’s American criminal legal system, courts impose fines and fees as a means to punish people and hold them accountable for legal violations. Several U.S. states are eliminating criminal fines and fees for people who can’t afford them. Getty Images At times, …

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Why George Santos’ lies are even worse than the usual political lies – a moral philosopher explains

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Michael Blake, University of Washington On Nov. 16, 2023, the bipartisan House Committee on Ethics issued a scathing report on the behavior of Rep. George Santos, finding that Santos had engaged in “knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act.” That committee’s Republican chair later introduced a motion to expel Santos from Congress. …

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The challenges of being a religious scientist

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Christopher P. Scheitle, West Virginia University Given popular portrayals, you would be forgiven for assuming that the type of person who is a scientist is not the type of person who would be religious. Consider the popular television show “The Big Bang Theory,” which is about friends who nearly all have advanced degrees in physics, …

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Gettysburg tells the story of more than a battle − the military park shows what national ‘reconciliation’ looked like for decades after the Civil War

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Katrina Stack, University of Tennessee and Rebecca Sheehan, Oklahoma State University On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to dedicate a cemetery at the site of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Four months before, about 50,000 soldiers had lost their lives at the Battle of Gettysburg, later seen as …

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Fresh water is a hidden challenge − and opportunity − for global supply chains

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Dustin Cole, Auburn University Reports of lengthy shipping delays for vessels traveling through the Panama Canal this year have highlighted the critical but often overlooked role that fresh water plays across global supply chains. Drier than normal conditions in Panama, brought on by El Niño, have left the region drought-stricken and water levels in the …

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Young, female voters were the key to defeating populists in Poland’s election – providing a blueprint to reverse democracy’s decline

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Patrice McMahon, University of Nebraska-Lincoln The results of Poland’s parliamentary elections held on Oct. 15, 2023, have been lauded as a blow against populism – and they may also hold important lessons for reversing democracy’s decline. Donald Tusk looks set to lead the governing coalition, in large part thanks to female voters. Omar Marques/Getty Images …

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To better understand addiction, students in this course take a close look at liquor in literature

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Debra J. Rosenthal, John Carroll University Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching. Title of course: Alcohol in American Literature What prompted the idea for the course? I got the idea for the course when I was writing a chapter on the temperance movement in American literature …

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How the ‘laws of war’ apply to the conflict between Israel and Hamas

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Robert Goldman, American University The killing of Israeli civilians by Hamas and retaliatory airstrikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip by Israel raises numerous issues under international law. Warring parties are duty-bound to minimize civilian casualties. Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images Indeed, President Joe Biden made express reference to the “laws of war” in comments he made at …

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Why separating fact from fiction is critical in teaching US slavery

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Eric Gable, University of Mary Washington and Richard Handler, University of Virginia Of all the debate over teaching U.S. slavery, it is one sentence of Florida’s revised academic standards that has provoked particular ire: “Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” A Black actor in …

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Moms for Liberty: ‘Joyful warriors’ or anti-government conspiracists? The 2-year-old group could have a serious impact on the presidential race

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Shauna Shames, Rutgers University Signs in the hallway during the inaugural Moms For Liberty Summit on July 15, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. Octavio Jones/Getty Images Motherhood language and symbolism have been part of every U.S. social movement, from the American Revolution to Prohibition and the fight against drunk drivers. Half of Americans are women, most …

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IRS is using $60B funding boost to ramp up use of technology to collect taxes − not just hiring more enforcement agents

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Erica Neuman, University of Dayton The Internal Revenue Service is getting a funding boost thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. The IRS has relied on technology for decades, as this 1965 photo taken in its Philadelphia office shows. US News & World Report Collection/Marion S Trikosko/PhotoQuest …

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8 GOP candidates debate funding to Ukraine, Trump’s future and – covertly, with dog whistles – race

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by Jordan Tama, American University School of International Service; Brian Kalt, Michigan State University, and Calvin Schermerhorn, Arizona State University After weeks of speculation over who was going to participate, eight Republican candidates seeking their party’s presidential nomination appeared on stage together in Milwaukee on Aug. 23, 2023, for the first debate of the 2024 …

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How to make homes cooler without cranking up the air conditioning

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Jesus Lizana, University of Oxford; Nicole Miranda, University of Oxford; and Radhika Khosla, University of Oxford Temperatures around the world are soaring. Both California’s Death Valley and China’s Xinjiang region have seen temperatures climb above the 50℃ mark. A blistering heatwave is also sweeping across the Mediterranean, causing temperatures in parts of Italy, Spain, France, …

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Ever-larger cars and trucks are causing a safety crisis on US streets – here’s how communities can fight back

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Kevin J. Krizek, University of Colorado Boulder Retractable bollards can be used to signal priority areas on streets for smaller vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians. Eugene Nekrasov/Getty Images Plus Deadly traffic incidents have declined in most developed countries in recent years. But in the U.S. they’re becoming more common. Deaths in motor vehicle crashes rose more …

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Sinead O’Connor was once seen as a sacrilegious rebel, but her music and life were deeply infused with spiritual seeking

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Brenna Moore, Fordham University When news broke on July 26, 2023, that the gifted Irish singer Sinead O’Connor had died, stories of her most famous performance circulated amid the grief and shock. Irish singer Sinead O’Connor performs at Paradiso in Amsterdam in March 1988. Paul Bergen/Redferns via Getty Images Thirty-one years ago, after a haunting …

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How book-banning campaigns have changed the lives and education of librarians – they now need to learn how to plan for safety and legally protect themselves

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Nicole A. Cooke, University of South Carolina Despite misconceptions and stereotypes – ranging from what librarians Gretchen Keer and Andrew Carlos have described as the “middle-aged, bun-wearing, comfortably shod, shushing librarian” to the “sexy librarian … and the hipster or tattooed librarian” – library professionals are more than book jockeys, and they do more than …

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Using green banks to solve America’s affordable housing crisis – and climate change at the same time

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Tarun Gopalakrishnan, Tufts University; Bethany Tietjen, Tufts University, and Seth Owusu-Mante, Tufts University Green banks are starting to draw attention in the U.S., particularly since the federal government announced its first grant competitions under a national green bank program to bring clean technology and more affordable energy to low-income communities. Retrofitting apartment buildings for energy …

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FDA approves first daily over-the-counter birth control pill, Opill – a pharmacist and public health expert explains this new era in contraception

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The progestin-only pill Opill could be available in early 2024. Lucas Berenbrok, University of Pittsburgh and Marian Jarlenski, University of Pittsburgh On July 13, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a drugmaker’s application for the first daily over-the-counter birth control pill for people seeking to prevent pregnancy. Kwangmoozaa/iStock via Getty Images The pill, …

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‘If you want to die in jail, keep talking’ – two national security law experts discuss the special treatment for Trump and offer him some advice

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Thomas A. Durkin, Loyola University Chicago and Joseph Ferguson, Loyola University Chicago Former President Donald Trump on his airplane on June 10, 2023, two days after his federal indictment. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images Lawyer Thomas A. Durkin has spent much of his career working in national security law, representing clients in a …

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How AI could take over elections – and undermine democracy

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Archon Fung, Harvard Kennedy School and Lawrence Lessig, Harvard University Could organizations use artificial intelligence language models such as ChatGPT to induce voters to behave in specific ways? An AI-driven political campaign could be all things to all people. Eric Smalley, TCUS; Biodiversity Heritage Library/Flickr; Taymaz Valley/Flickr, CC BY-ND Sen. Josh Hawley asked OpenAI CEO …

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Oath Keepers founder sentenced to 18 years for seditious conspiracy in lead-up to Jan. 6 insurrection – 4 essential reads

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Jeff Inglis, The Conversation Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers, is just one member of a group that seeks to engage in violence against the U.S. government. Philip Pacheco/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on May 25, 2023, in the wake of …

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Craft breweries are fermenting change, addressing local ills while serving local ales

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Colleen C. Myles, Texas State University Some scholars say beer and wine – and fermentation in general – helped develop a civilization and shaped culture and landscapes over millennia. Portland, Maine’s Rising Tide Brewery supports ‘economic development, LGBTQ+ rights, BIPOC equality … and stewardship of Maine’s natural environment.’ John Ewing/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty …

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Disinfectants and cleaning products harboring toxic chemicals are widely used despite lack of screening for potential health hazards

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Courtney Carignan, Michigan State University Quaternary ammonium compounds can linger on surfaces and in indoor air and dust long after the disinfectant has dried. Guido Mieth/DigitalVision via Getty Image.The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Concerns about unnecessary use of a common class of antimicrobial chemicals used in disinfectants …

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Harry Belafonte leveraged stardom for social change, his powerful voice always singing a song for justice

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Aram Goudsouzian, University of Memphis Harry Belafonte died at the age of 96. AP Photo/Chris Pizzello In May 1963, as civil rights demonstrations rocked the city of Birmingham, Alabama, Harry Belafonte was at a cocktail party in Manhattan, scolding the then-attorney general of the United States. “You may think you’re doing enough,” he recalled telling …

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Tucker Carlson’s departure and Fox News’ expensive legal woes show the problem with faking ‘authenticity’

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Jacob L. Nelson, University of Utah For decades, Fox News thrived because the people behind it understood what their audience wanted and were more than willing to deliver: television news – or what Fox called news – from a populist perspective. Fox is consistently the most-watched cable news channel, far ahead of competitors like MSNBC …

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Will the Earth last forever?

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Shichun Huang, University of Tennessee ‘Earthrise,’ a photo of the Earth taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders, Dec. 4, 1968. NASA/Bill Anders via Wikipedia Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Will the Earth last forever? …

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Why is Tax Day on April 18 this year? And how did early spring become tax season, anyhow?

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Thomas Godwin, Purdue University A red-letter day? Hardly! iStock / Getty Images Plus Mid-April has arrived. And along with the spring sunshine, that means the often dreaded civic duty of finishing off one’s taxes. It’s an arduous time for many, characterized by navigating increasingly confusing rules to arrive at the best refund possible. For some, it …

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What are passkeys? A cybersecurity researcher explains how you can use your phone to make passwords a thing of the past

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Sayonnha Mandal, University of Nebraska Omaha Passwords could soon become passé. Effective passwords are cumbersome, all the more so when reinforced by two-factor authentication. But the need for authentication and secure access to websites is as great as ever. Enter passkeys. Passkeys are digital credentials stored on your phone or computer. They are analogous to …

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You can’t hide side hustles from the IRS anymore – here’s what taxpayers need to know about reporting online payments for gig work

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Erica Neuman, University of Dayton Dog-walking income is taxable. Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images Do you rent out your home a few weekends a year through Airbnb? Sell stuff on Etsy? Get paid for pet-sitting? If you, like many Americans, make at least US$600 a year with a side hustle of any kind, the way you pay taxes …

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Calls for a ‘green’ Ramadan revive Islam’s long tradition of sustainability and care for the planet

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For many Muslims breaking fast in mosques around the world this Ramadan, something will be missing: plastics. Noorzehra Zaidi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County The communal experience of iftars – the after-sunset meal that brings people of the faith together during the holy month starting on March 22, 2023 – often necessitates the use of …

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How Jimmy Carter integrated his evangelical Christian faith into his political work, despite mockery and misunderstanding

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Lori Amber Roessner, University of Tennessee “I am a farmer, an engineer, a businessman, a planner, a scientist, a governor, and a Christian,” Jimmy Carter said while introducing himself to national political reporters when he announced his campaign to be the 39th president of the United States in December 1974. As journalists and historians consider …

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Biden’s border crackdown explained – a refugee law expert looks at the legality and impact of new asylum rule

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Karen Musalo, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco Anticipating a potential surge of migrants at the southern border, the Biden administration on Feb. 21, 2023, announced a crackdown on those seeking asylum after unlawfully entering the U.S. The proposed rule change – which would see the rapid deportation of anyone who had …

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How dangerous was the Ohio chemical train derailment? An environmental engineer assesses the long-term risks

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Andrew J. Whelton, Purdue University Headaches and lingering chemical smells from a fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, have left residents worried about their air and water – and misinformation on social media hasn’t helped. State officials offered more details of the cleanup process and a timeline of the environmental disaster during a news …

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I treat people with gambling disorder – and I’m starting to see more and more young men who are betting on sports

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Tori Horn, University of Memphis As a therapist who treats people with gambling problems, I’ve noticed a shift over the past few years – not only in the profile of the typical clients I treat, but also in the way their gambling problems develop. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court made the landmark decision to …

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A brief history of the Black church’s diversity and its vital role in American political history

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Jason Oliver Evans, University of Virginia With religious affiliation on the decline, continuing racism and increasing income inequality, some scholars and activists are soul-searching about the Black church’s role in today’s United States. For instance, on April 20, 2010, an African American Studies professor at Princeton, Eddie S. Glaude, sparked an online debate by provocatively …

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Yoga: Modern research shows a variety of benefits to both body and mind from the ancient practice

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Herpreet Thind, UMass Lowell The popularity of yoga has grown tremendously in the past decade. More than 10% of U.S. adults have practiced yoga at some point in their lives. Yoga practitioners spend on average US$90 a month, and the yoga industry is worth more than $80 billion worldwide. Yoga mixes physical exercise with meditation …

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Kicking off the new year by cleansing your body with a detox diet? A dietitian unpacks the science behind these fads

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Taylor Grasso, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Detox diets are often touted as a way to cleanse the body after the excess food and drinks that come with the holidays. These diets promise quick results and can particularly entice people around the new year, when there tends to be a renewed focus on health …

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Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during ‘Monday Night Football’ could be commotiocordis or a more common condition – a heart doctor answers 4 questions

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Wendy Tzou, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Damar Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills, collapsed on the field during a Monday night football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2, 2023. Medical staff gave Hamlin CPR and shocked him with a defibrillator, restarting his heart’s normal rhythm. News outlets immediately began speculating …

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Christmas isn’t always holly jolly – even some of its best-loved songs are bittersweet

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David W. Stowe, Michigan State University In American culture, Christmas is supposed to be synonymous with joy. The familiar carols proclaim this message, with “Joy to the World” resounding in thousands of churches, while its secular counterpart exhorts listeners to have “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” ‘Joy to the World’ may be one of the most …

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Congress aims to close off presidential election mischief and fraud with simple and bipartisan solutions

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Derek T. Muller, University of Iowa Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., center, and Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, right, take cover as protesters disrupt the joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Presidential elections are complicated. All 50 states and the District of Columbia …

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More than 4 in 5 pregnancy-related deaths are preventable in the US, and mental health is the leading cause

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Rachel Diamond, Adler University Preventable failures in U.S. maternal health care result in far too many pregnancy-related deaths. Each year, approximately 700 parents die from pregnancy and childbirth complications. As such, the U.S. maternal mortality rate is more than double that of most other developed countries. The Department of Health and Human Services declared maternal …

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More than 4 in 5 pregnancy-related deaths are preventable in the US, and mental health is the leading cause

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Rachel Diamond, Adler University Preventable failures in U.S. maternal health care result in far too many pregnancy-related deaths. Each year, approximately 700 parents die from pregnancy and childbirth complications. As such, the U.S. maternal mortality rate is more than double that of most other developed countries. The Department of Health and Human Services declared maternal …

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Why is turkey the main dish on Thanksgiving?

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Troy Bickham, Texas A&M University Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Why did turkey become the national Thanksgiving go-to dish? Gianna, age 10, Phoenix, Arizona Have you ever wondered why Thanksgiving revolves around turkey and not …

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State courts are fielding sky-high numbers of lawsuits ahead of the midterms – including challenges to voting restrictions and to how elections are run

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Miriam Seifter, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Adam Sopko, University of Wisconsin-Madison The run-up to Election Day is often a contentious time. In recent years, it has also become a litigious time – parties increasingly turn to courts to resolve disputes about the rules for voting. This year, our research shows a significant uptick of those …

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NASA is crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid to test a plan that could one day save Earth from catastrophe

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Svetla Ben-Itzhak, Air University On Sept. 26, 2022, NASA plans to change an asteroid’s orbit. The large binary asteroid Didymos and its moonlet Dimorphos currently pose no threat to Earth. But by crashing a 1,340-pound (610-kilogram) probe into Didymos’ moon at a speed of approximately 14,000 mph (22,500 kph), NASA is going to complete the …

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These high school ‘classics’ have been taught for generations – could they be on their way out?

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Andrew Newman, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York) If you went to high school in the United States anytime since the 1960s, you were likely assigned some of the following books: Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” “Julius Caesar” and “Macbeth”; John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”; F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”; Harper …

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Will omicron-specific booster shots be more effective at combating COVID-19? 5 questions answered

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Prakash Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina and Mitzi Nagarkatti, University of South Carolina On Sept. 1, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the use of updated COVID-19 booster shots that are specifically tailored to combat the two most prevalent omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5. The decision comes just a day after the …

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NASA’s Artemis 1 mission to the Moon sets the stage for routine space exploration beyond Earth’s orbit – here’s what to expect and why it’s important

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Jack Burns, University of Colorado Boulder NASA’s Artemis 1 mission is poised to take a key step toward returning humans to the Moon after a half-century hiatus. The mission, scheduled to launch on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, is a shakedown cruise – sans crew – for NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion Crew Capsule. The …

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Dr. Oz should be worried – voters punish ‘carpetbaggers,’ and new research shows why

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Charles R. Hunt, Boise State University Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz has garnered a lot of media attention recently, thanks to the Fetterman campaign’s relentless trolling of his opponent, mainly for being a resident of neighboring New Jersey rather than the state he’s running to represent. Fetterman has …

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How hot is too hot for the human body? Our lab found heat + humidity gets dangerous faster than many people realize

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By W. Larry Kenney, Penn State; Daniel Vecellio, Penn State; Rachel Cottle, Penn State, and S. Tony Wolf, Penn State Heat waves are becoming supercharged as the climate changes – lasting longer, becoming more frequent and getting just plain hotter. One question a lot of people are asking is: “When will it get too hot …

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Anti-abortion pregnancy centers will likely outlast the age of Roe – here’s how they’re funded and the services they provide

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By Laura Antkowiak, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Experts predict increased economic hardship now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade in its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. Three-quarters of abortion patients in the United States have incomes that place them below or just barely above the federal poverty line …

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Juneteenth celebrates just one of the United States’ 20 emancipation days – and the history of how emancipated people were kept unfree needs to be remembered, too

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Kris Manjapra, Tufts University The actual day was June 19, 1865, and it was the Black dockworkers in Galveston, Texas, who first heard the word that freedom for the enslaved had come. There were speeches, sermons and shared meals, mostly held at Black churches, the safest places to have such celebrations. The perils of unjust …

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Russians with diverse media diet more likely to oppose Ukraine war

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By Ekaterina Romanova, University of Florida Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, public opinion polls have shown Russians overwhelmingly supporting the action, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has called a “special military operation.” The polls show support ranging from 58% to 80% – but my statistical analysis of polling data …

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Abortion right guaranteed by Roe will be replaced by state power if the Supreme Court adopts the leaked Alito opinion

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Morgan Marietta, UMass Lowell Draft opinions circulated among Supreme Court justices are meant to allow for deliberation and editing before a final version is released. They are not the last word, nor ready for public reaction. But on the evening of May 2, 2022, Politico published a bombshell: a leaked draft of an opinion, written …

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America’s cost of ‘defending freedom’ in Ukraine: Higher food and gas prices and an increased risk of recession

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Written by William Hauk – Associate Professor of Economics, University of South Carolina Americans may be tempted to view the war in Ukraine as an unfortunate, but far away, crisis. As an economist, I know the world is too connected for the U.S. to go unaffected. On Feb. 22, 2022, President Joe Biden warned Americans that a Russian …

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Rising costs of climate change threaten to make skiing a less diverse, even more exclusive sport

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Brian P. McCullough, Texas A&M University and Lance Warwick, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Watching skiers compete almost entirely on artificially made snow at the 2022 Winter Olympics, we found it hard not to think about climate change and what it will mean for the future of the winter sports industry – and who will …

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For bullied teens, online school offered a safe haven

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Written by Hannah L. Schacter – Assistant Professor of Psychology, Wayne State University Online school during the COVID-19 pandemic was hard on many teens, but new research I co-authored has found a potential silver lining: Students were bullied less during remote instruction than while attending classes in person. We learned this by surveying 388 ninth graders at U.S. high schools. …

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Sidney Poitier – Hollywood’s first Black leading man reflected the civil rights movement on screen

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Aram Goudsouzian, University of Memphis In the summer of 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. introduced the keynote speaker for the 10th-anniversary convention banquet of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Their guest, he said, was his “soul brother.” “He has carved for himself an imperishable niche in the annals of our nation’s history,” King told the …

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What’s the difference between sugar, other natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners? A food chemist explains sweet science

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Kristine Nolin, University of Richmond A quick walk down the drink aisle of any corner store reveals the incredible ingenuity of food scientists in search of sweet flavors. In some drinks you’ll find sugar. A diet soda might have an artificial or natural low-calorie sweetener. And found in nearly everything else is high fructose corn …

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What Kwanzaa means for Black Americans

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By Frank Dobson, Vanderbilt University On Dec. 26, millions throughout the world’s African community will start weeklong celebrations of Kwanzaa. There will be daily ceremonies with food, decorations and other cultural objects, such as the kinara, which holds seven candles. At many Kwanzaa ceremonies, there is also African drumming and dancing. It is a time …

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