Category: The Conversation
The labor-busting law firms and consultants that keep Google, Amazon and other workplaces union-free
Rite Aid hired anti-union consultants to try to prevent workers from successfully organizing. Amy Niehouse/Flickr, CC BY-SA by John Logan, San Francisco State University August 24, 2020 American companies have been very successful at preventing their…
What makes Donald Trump and John Wayne heroes of the Christian Right?
by Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Calvin University August 27, 2020 The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work. The big idea White evangelical support for Donald Trump has long puzzled observers. To…
Why police unions are not part of the American labor movement
In a way, some police unions have created an alternative justice system that prevents police departments and municipalities from disciplining or discharging officers who have committed crimes against the people they are sworn to serve. Minneapolis…
Why Steve Bannon faces fraud charges: 4 questions answered
The former Trump aide and others allegedly misused funds donated to build a border wall. Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images by Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, University of Notre Dame Editor’s note: Federal prosecutors in New York have arrested former…
What’s in that wildfire smoke, and why is it so bad for your lungs?
The health impact of wildfire exposure depends in part on on the fire itself and how much smoke a person breathes in, how often and for how long. by Luke Montrose, Boise State University If I…
The US economy is reliant on consumer spending – can it survive a pandemic?
The U.S. spends the most money on advertising in the world. Marketing and advertising spending in 2020 is projected to reach nearly $390 billion. Photo by Deon Fosu for Unsplash by Halina Szejnwald Brown, Clark University…
After the civil rights era, white Americans failed to support systemic change to end racism. Will they now?
Will white people’s participation in Black Lives Matter protests yield real change? (Photo: Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images” by Candis Watts Smith, Pennsylvania State University The first wave of the Black Lives Matter movement, which crested…
As the coronavirus rages in prisons, ethical issues of crime and punishment become more compelling
A 1970 image of prisoners in cell blocks at Rikers Island Prison. Bettmann / Contributor/Bettmann via Getty Images by Austin Sarat, Amherst College Thursday, August 6 Across the United States, prisons and jails have become hot…
Yes, most workers can collect more in coronavirus unemployment than they earn – but that doesn’t mean Congress should cut the $600 supplement
The $600 federal jobless benefit expired on July 31. Joe Raedle/Getty Images by David Salkever, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Americans who lost their jobs because of the pandemic had been getting a US$600 bump on…
Wildfires can poison drinking water – here’s how communities can be better prepared
The Camp Fire inferno spread at a speed of one football field per second, chasing everyone – including water system operators – out of town. The 2018 Camp Fire north of Sacramento burned everything in its…
Militias’ warning of excessive federal power comes true – but where are they?
There are still militia members who support police, often called “back the blue” groups. Commentators have observed that silence from them and other Second Amendment supporters certainly seems to be hypocritical, at best, and possibly supportive…
How to hide from a drone – the subtle art of ‘ghosting’ in the age of surveillance
When DHS redirects large, fixed-wing drones from the U.S.-Mexico border to monitor protests, and when towns experiment with using drones to test people for fevers, it’s time to think about how many eyes are in the…
Urban planning as a tool of white supremacy – the other lesson from Minneapolis
Minneapolis, a city still split along racial lines. Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images by Julian Agyeman, Tufts University The legacy of structural racism in Minneapolis was laid bare to the world at the intersection…
4 lawsuits that challenge Trump’s federal agents in Portland test issues other cities will likely face
Federal officers using large amounts of tear gas against protesters in Portland, Oregon on July 21. John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images by Sarah J. Adams-Schoen, University of Oregon President Donald Trump has announced that the…
COVID-19 has ravaged American newsrooms – here’s why that matters
Read all about it: Virus kills off dying industry. Brian Mitchell/Getty Images by Damian Radcliffe, University of Oregon Many newsrooms across the U.S. will be quieter places when journalists return to their workplace after the coronavirus…
People are dying in US prisons, and not just from COVID-19
According to investigations by the Miami Herald, corrections officers gassed Randall Jordan-Aparo as he begged for help, likely killed Latandra Ellington for speaking out about sexual abuse and scalded Darren Rainey to death in the shower….
With fewer cars on US streets, now is the time to reinvent roadways and how we use them
New priorities in Boulder, Colo. Kevin Krizek, CC BY-ND Kevin J. Krizek, University of Colorado Boulder Sticking closer to home because of COVID-19 has shown many people what cities can be like with less traffic, noise,…
Research on voting by mail says it’s safe – from fraud and disease
by Edie Goldenberg, University of Michigan As millions of Americans prepare to vote in November – and in many cases, primaries and state and local elections through the summer as well – lots of people are…
With kids spending more waking hours on screens than ever, here’s what parents need to know
by James M. Lang, Assumption College Millions of working parents have spent months largely trapped in their homes with their children. Many are trying to get their jobs done remotely in the constant presence of their…
Judge orders Brazil to protect Indigenous people from ravages of COVID-19
Justice Luis Roberto Barroso gave the Brazilian government just three days to establish a crisis response team. The team must get check points installed on Indigenous lands – with military support if necessary – to prevent…
Brazil’s Bolsonaro has COVID-19 – and so do thousands of Indigenous people who live days from the nearest hospital
Land grabs, insufficient health care, deforestation and stigmatization all threatened Indigenous Brazilians before the pandemic. Genocides can be that way. They are a process, not sudden, isolated events. Satere-mawe Indigenous men in face masks paddle…
Trump gets no special protections because he’s president and must release financial records, Supreme Court rules
“[N]o citizen, not even the president, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority opinion. Follow the money. Investigators are…
Aerosols are a bigger coronavirus threat than WHO guidelines suggest – here’s what you need to know
by Byron Erath, Clarkson University; Andrea Ferro, Clarkson University, and Goodarz Ahmadi, Clarkson University Thursday, July 9 When someone coughs, talks or even breathes, they send tiny respiratory droplets into the surrounding air. The smallest…
How social media amplifies political activism and threatens election integrity
TikTok teens and the Trump campaign by Anjana Susarla, Michigan State University Thursday, July 2 The lower-than-expected attendance at President Trump’s rally in Tulsa on June 20 was attributed, at least in part, to an online…
