The Conversation

Worried about housing shortages and soaring prices? Your community’s zoning laws could be part of the problem

Written by Jessica Trounstine, Professor of Political Science, Vanderbilt University

Many cities prohibit duplexes and high-rises. Although residents enjoy the extra space, it contributes to housing costs.Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Local governments often try to combat housing costs and create affordable housing by passing legislation that changes current zoning and land-use regulations. But...

Other states, like Arizona, could resurrect laws on abortion, LGBTQ+ issues and more that have been lying dormant for more than 100 years

Written by Dara E. Purvis, Professor of Law, Penn State

Pro-abortion rights demonstrators rally in Scottsdale, Ariz., on April 15, 2024.Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

When the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to get an abortion in June 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that the court “should reconsider” other rights it currently recognizes – like the...

‘The former guy’ versus ‘Sleepy Joe’ – why Biden and Trump are loath to utter each other’s name

Written by Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis

President Joe Biden referred to Donald Trump as 'my predecessor' 13 times during the 2024 State of the Union.Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images

During his 2024 State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden mentioned his presumptive challenger, Donald Trump, 15 times – but never once by name.

Instead, Biden referred to him as...

Supreme Court to consider whether local governments can make it a crime to sleep outside if no inside space is available

Written by Clare Pastore, Professor of the Practice of Law, University of Southern California

A homeless person near an elementary school in Fruitdale Park in Grants Pass, Ore.AP Photo/Jenny Kane

On April 22, 2024, the Supreme Court will hear a case that could radically change how cities respond to the growing problem of homelessness. It also could significantly worsen the nation’s racial justice gap.

City of Grants Pass v. Johnson be...

More climate-warming methane leaks into the atmosphere than ever gets reported – here’s how satellites can find the leaks and avoid wasting a valuable resource

Written by Riley Duren, Research Scientist, University of Arizona

Far more methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is being released from landfills and oil and gas operations around the world than governments realized, recent airborne and satellite surveys show. That’s a problem for the climate as well as human health. It’s also why the U.S. government has been tightening regulations on methane leaks and...

In the age of cancel culture, shaming can be healthy for online communities – a political scientist explains when and how

Written by Jennifer Forestal, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Loyola University Chicago

Public shaming can help uphold online community norms.bo feng/iStock via Getty Images

“Cancel culture” has a bad reputation. There is growing anxiety over this practice of publicly shaming people online for violating social norms ranging from inappropriate jokes to controversial business practices.

Online shaming can be a wildly...

Indian protesters pull from poetic tradition to resist Modi’s Hindu nationalism

Written by Krupa Shandilya, Associate Professor of Sexuality, Women's and Gender Studies, Amherst College

A Muslim protester shouts at security personnel on the streets of Shaheen Bagh, a neighborhood in Delhi, in 2020.Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images

India’s government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, implemented the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA, in March 2024.

Opponents of the law – which fast-tracks citizenship f...

Grizzly bear conservation is as much about human relationships as it is the animals

Written by Alexander L. Metcalf, Associate Professor of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, University of Montana

If the government takes grizzly bears off the Endangered Species List, some states will likely introduce a hunting season. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images

Montanans know spring has officially arrived when grizzly bears emerge from their dens. But unlike the bears, the contentious debate over their future never hibernates. New research...

Exploding stars send out powerful bursts of energy − I’m leading a citizen scientist project to classify and learn about these bright flashes

Written by Amy Lien, Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Tampa

Gamma-ray bursts, as shown in this illustration, come from powerful astronomical events. NASA, ESA and M. Kornmesser

When faraway stars explode, they send out flashes of energy called gamma-ray bursts that are bright enough that telescopes back on Earth can detect them. Studying these pulses, which can also come from mergers of some exotic...

Drugs that aren’t antibiotics can also kill bacteria − new method pinpoints how

Written by Mariana Noto Guillen, Ph.D. Candidate in Systems Biology, UMass Chan Medical School

Many nonantibiotic drugs such as certain antidepressants and antiparasitics have antibacterial effects.Tanja Ivanova/Moment via Getty Images

Human history was forever changed with the discovery of antibiotics in 1928. Infectious diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and sepsis were widespread and lethal until antibiotics made them treatable....