Category: The Conversation
How Black poets and writers gave a voice to ‘Affrilachia’
by Amy M. Alvarez, West Virginia University and Jameka Hartley, University of Alabama April 4, 2021 ‘Untitled’ from the series ‘Imaging/Imagining.’, Photo by Raymond Thompson, Jr . Appalachia, in the popular imagination, stubbornly remains poor…
These at-home exercises can help older people boost their immune system and overall health in the age of COVID-19
Staying active can be challenging, as many older adults are remaining at home most, if not all, of the time to avoid the novel coronavirus. As a result, the very changes in lifestyle that keep people…
This type of sexual harassment on campus often goes overlooked
Teaching assistants often remain silent when sexual harassment comes from the students they teach. Hill Street Studios / Getty Images. Sarah Ives, City College of San Francisco and Ann E. Bartos When the #MeToo movement gained…
Once a symbol of desegregation, Ruby Bridges’ school now reflects another battle engulfing public education
If that building’s walls could talk, they certainly would tell the well-known story of its desegregation. by Connie L. Schaffer, University of Nebraska Omaha; Martha Graham Viator, Rowan University, and Meg White, Stockton University On…
Has Donald Trump had his Joe McCarthy moment?
“We have to interrupt here, because the president made a number of false statements, including the notion that there has been fraudulent voting…” — Lester Holt NBC Nightly News The moment Lester Holt of NBC News cut…
COVID-19 causes some patients’ immune systems to attack their own bodies, which may contribute to severe illness
More than half of the 52 patients in the study tested positive for autoantibodies. In patients with the highest levels of c-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation) in the blood, more than two-thirds displayed evidence that…
An epidemiologist explains the new CDC guidance on 15 minutes of exposure and what it means for you
Despite the change, most public health professionals have been clear for months that there is nothing magic about six feet. In the same way, there is nothing magic about 15 minutes. These should be used as…
Lincoln Project’s anti-Trump ads show power of biting satire
If he’s laughing, it’s probably not at the Lincoln Project’s satire. by Chris Lamb, IUPUI Tuesday, October 20, 2020 The narrator in a recent Lincoln Project ad tells listeners, “In six months, COVID-19 has killed more…
How QAnon uses satanic rhetoric to set up a narrative of ‘good vs. evil’
A QAnon supporter waiting to see Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. Rick Loomis/Getty Images by Paul Thomas, Radford University Tuesday, October 20 In front of a TV audience on Oct. 15, President Donald Trump…
Colleges and the Thanksgiving COVID-19 risk: Fauci’s right – holiday plans may have to change
College students are making plans to head home for the holidays at the same time U.S. COVID-19 case numbers are rising. William Campbell/Getty Images by Walter Thomas Casey II, Texas A&M University-Texarkana; Marcia G. Ory,…
Plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor grew from the militia movement’s toxic mix of constitutional falsehoods and half-truths
by John E. Finn, Wesleyan University The U.S. militia movement has long been steeped in a peculiar – and unquestionably mistaken – interpretation of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and civil liberties. This is true…
Dominance or democracy? Authoritarian white masculinity as Trump and Pence’s political debate strategy
Although some commentators cheered Pence’s ostensible civility during the vice presidential debate, Pence persistently ignored the rules to which his campaign had assented, speaking past his time limit, refusing to answer many of moderator Susan Page’s…
Americans aren’t worried about white nationalism in the military – because they don’t know it’s there
There is a long history of links between white nationalist movements and the U.S. military. Bo Zaunders/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images by Jennifer Spindel, University of New Hampshire; Matt Motta, Oklahoma State University, and Robert Ralston,…
Being outdoors doesn’t mean you’re safe from COVID-19 – a White House event showed what not to do
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, hugging another guest; Kellyanne Conway (left); and Notre Dame University President Rev. John Jenkins (right) later tested positive for COVID-19. The Washington Post via Getty Images by Thomas A. Russo,…
A proposed mine threatens Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, the most popular wilderness in the US
This bucket-list destination for paddling, fishing and camping contains more than 1,200 miles of canoe routes among thousands of lakes and streams, drawing some 250,000 visitors yearly. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness draws thousands of…
Donald Trump has COVID-19. How might this affect his chances of re-election?
by Timothy J. Lynch, University of Melbourne With just a month left until the November 3 US presidential election, contracting the virus could have politically positive or negative consequences for President Donald Trump. These will, of…
Older people like President Trump are at more risk from COVID-19 because of how the immune system ages
Masking up is one way to cut down on risk of COVID-19 infection. Alex Brandon/Getty Images News via Getty Images by Brian Geiss, Colorado State University President Donald Trump’s announcement that he’s tested positive for COVID-19 is…
Sacred violence is not yet ancient history – beating it will take human action, not divine intervention
Pope Urban II giving marching orders ahead of the First Crusade. Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images by Michael A. Vargas, State University of New York at New Paltz Along with their swastikas borrowed from Nazi Germany,…
The Arctic hasn’t been this warm for 3 million years – and that foreshadows big changes for the rest of the planet
Ice floe drifting in Svalbard, Norway. Sven-Erik Arndt/Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images by Julie Brigham-Grette, University of Massachusetts Amherst and Steve Petsch, University of Massachusetts Amherst Every year, sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean…
Ruth Bader Ginsburg helped shape the modern era of women’s rights – even before she went on the Supreme Court
by Jonathan Entin, Case Western Reserve University Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, the Supreme Court announced. Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement that “Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature.”…
What a smoky bar can teach us about the ‘6-foot rule’ during the COVID-19 pandemic
How smoke moves inside a bar or outside in fresh air can help in visualizing how the coronavirus spreads. Shironosova/Getty Images Plus by Byron Erath, Clarkson University; Andrea Ferro, Clarkson University; Goodarz Ahmadi, Clarkson University, and Suresh…
Coping with Western wildfires: 5 essential reads
As wildfire smoke turns Western skies orange and red, millions of people face serious health risks from inhaling it, even many who are far from active fires. Wildfire smoke creates an orange glow over San Francisco,…
Jerry Falwell Jr. will leave behind a very different legacy from his influential father
by Richard Flory, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Jerry Falwell Jr., son and namesake of the founder of the evangelical Moral Majority movement, has resigned as president of…
Federal agents sent to Kenosha, but history shows militarized policing in cities can escalate violence and trigger conflict
Sending in the feds to quell unrest often increases conflict on the ground, as it did this summer in Portland, Ore. Nathan Howard/Getty Images by Angélica Durán-Martínez, University of Massachusetts Lowell August 31 The U.S. Justice…
