The Conversation

Amazon, SpaceX and other companies are arguing the government agency that has protected labor rights since 1935 is actually unconstitutional

Written by Kate Andrias, Professor of Law, Columbia University

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed in 1933 the law that led to the National Labor Relations Board's emergence.AP Photo

Amazon, SpaceX, Starbucks and Trader Joe’s have all responded to allegations that they have violated labor laws with the same bold argument. The National Labor Relations Board, they assert in several ongoing legal...

Schools can close summer learning gaps with these 4 strategies

Written by Rhea Almeida, Research Project Manager, NYU Metro Center, New York University

When it comes to summer learning, the benefits are well documented. Students who consistently attend well-planned, high-quality programs achieve higher scores on math and language arts testing. They also earn higher ratings from teachers on their social and emotional skills, research shows. Unfortunately, research also shows that students from...

I’ve been studying congressional emails to constituents for 15 years − and found these 4 trends after scanning 185,222 of them

Written by Lindsey Cormack, Associate Professor of Political Science, Stevens Institute of Technology

Messages stream out from members of Congress to constituents around the country.traffic_analyzer/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

Republicans in Congress use taxpayer-funded email messages to contact constituents more often, and perhaps more effectively, than their Democratic counterparts.

That’s what I’ve found over 15 years of...

What is dirt? There’s a whole wriggling world alive in the ground beneath our feet, as a soil scientist explains

Written by Brian Darby, Associate Professor of Biology, University of North Dakota

Dig into soil and you'll find rock dust but also thousands of living species.ChristinLola/iStock/Getty Images Plus

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.

What is dirt? – Belle and Ryatt, ages 7 and 5, Keystone, South Dakota

Whe...

Gary, Indiana’s lawsuit against gunmakers is shot down by a new law, after surviving 25 years of appeals

Written by Timothy D. Lytton, Regents' Professor & Professor of Law, Georgia State University

Indianapolis hosted the National Rifle Association's national convention in 2023.AP Photo/Darron Cummings

After 25 years of legal wrangling, a lawsuit described as “the most consequential legal case against the gun industry in this country” appears to have met its end – but the industry isn’t out of the legal woods just yet.

B...

Excessively high rents are a major burden for immigrants in US cities

Written by Madhuri Sharma, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Tennessee

Nashville is one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities and increasingly a destination for immigrants.Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Rents across the U.S. have climbed to staggering levels in recent years. Millions of renters spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, a situation that housing experts...

Israel’s ‘Iron Wall’: A brief history of the ideology guiding Benjamin Netanyahu

Written by Eran Kaplan, Rhoda and Richard Goldman Chair in Jewish Studies, San Francisco State University

A view of Khan Yunis in Gaza on Feb. 2, 2024, after weeks of continuous Israeli bombardment and bulldozing. Abdulqader Sabbah/Anadolu via Getty Images

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled that Israel’s military will soon launch an invasion of Rafah, the city in the southern Gaza Strip. More than 1 million Palestinians, now on the ve...

Fighting every wildfire ensures the big fires are more extreme, and may harm forests’ ability to adapt to climate change

Written by Mark Kreider, Ph.D. Candidate in Forest and Conservation Science, University of Montana

Extreme fires leave forests struggling to recover in a warming world. Mark Kreider

In the U.S., wildland firefighters are able to stop about 98% of all wildfires before the fires have burned even 100 acres. That may seem comforting, but decades of quickly suppressing fires has had unintended consequences.

Fires are a natural part of many landscapes...

How Moscow terror attack fits ISIS-K strategy to widen agenda, take fight to its perceived enemies

Written by Sara Harmouch, PhD Candidate, School of Public Affairs, American University

Russia is reeling from the worst terror strike on its soil in a generation following an attack on March 22, 2024, that killed at least 137 concertgoers in Moscow.

The attack has been claimed by the Islamic State group. And despite Russian authorities expressing doubt over the claim, U.S. officials told The Associated Press that they believed...

Climate change is shifting the zones where plants grow – here’s what that could mean for your garden

Written by Matt Kasson, Associate Professor of Mycology and Plant Pathology, West Virginia University

Climate change complicates plant choices and care. Early flowering and late freezes can kill flowers like these magnolia blossoms.Matt Kasson, CC BY-ND

With the arrival of spring in North America, many people are gravitating to the gardening and landscaping section of home improvement stores, where displays are overstocked with eye-catching seed...