The Conversation

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

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

Daniel E Bergan, Michigan State University If you’re going to write to your legislator, do your homework on the issues. digitalskillet/ iStock / Getty Images Plus Suppose you have an issue you are really passionate about – taxes, gun control or some other important policy. You want to do more than vent on social media,

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

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,

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

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

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

Meteorologists began warning about severe weather with the potential for tornadoes several days before storms tore across the Southeast and the Central U.S. in late March 2023. At one point, more than 28 million people were under a tornado watch. But pinpointing exactly where a tornado will touch down – like the tornadoes that hit

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

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

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

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

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

By Garret Martin, American University School of International Service Boris Johnson, the now outgoing prime minister of the United Kingdom, had wanted to follow in the footsteps of his idol Winston Churchill and be remembered as a leader of consequence. He aspired to greatness and desired to stay in office longer than the 11 years

By Chris Lamb, IUPUI A woman sitting next to President Calvin Coolidge at a dinner party once told him she had made a bet that she could get him to say more than two words. “You lose,” replied Coolidge, who served as president from 1923 until 1929. During a White House recital, a nervous opera

Morgan Marietta, UMass Lowell With its decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol v. Bruen on June 23, 2022, the Supreme Court has announced that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right. The core argument of the decision is that gun rights are to be treated the same as other hallowed rights like

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

By D. Brian Blank, Mississippi State University The Federal Reserve on June 15, 2022, lifted interest rates by 0.75 percentage point, the third hike this year and the largest since 1994. The move is aimed at countering the fastest pace of inflation in over 40 years. Wall Street had been expecting a half-point increase, but

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