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The Conversation

How the surrealists used randomness as a catalyst for creative expression

  • Written by Mark Robert Rank, Professor of Social Welfare, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis
imageInstead of drawing a bath, surrealist Salvador Dalí decides to draw in a bath.Bettmann/Getty Images

A century ago, French writer and poet André Breton penned his “Manifesto of Surrealism,” which launched an art movement known for creating bizarre hybrids of words and images.

These juxtapositions, often generated through...

Read more: How the surrealists used randomness as a catalyst for creative expression

Pope Francis may have surprised many by inviting comedians to the Vatican, but the value of humor has deep roots in Catholic tradition

  • Written by Joanne M. Pierce, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
imagePope Francis meets with comedians at the Apostolic Palace on June 14, 2024, in Vatican City.Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Image

When Pope Francis addressed a group of top international comedians on June 14, 2024, he called them “artists” and stressed the value of their talents.

To many Catholics, this meeting came as a surprise....

Read more: Pope Francis may have surprised many by inviting comedians to the Vatican, but the value of humor...

What people say today about the first televised presidential debate, between Nixon and JFK, doesn’t match first reactions in 1960

  • Written by W. Joseph Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Communication, American University School of Communication
imageSen. John Kennedy, left, and Vice President Richard Nixon prepare for the first televised presidential debate on Sept. 26, 1960.AP

The run-up to the Joe Biden-Donald Trump debate at the end of June 2024 has brought reminders about the first-ever televised presidential debate – and how Vice President Richard Nixon’s sweaty, haggard...

Read more: What people say today about the first televised presidential debate, between Nixon and JFK,...

How does hail grow to the size of golf balls and even grapefruit? The science behind this destructive weather phenomenon

  • Written by Brian Tang, Associate Professor of Atmospheric Science, University at Albany, State University of New York
imageGetting hit by solid ice the size of a baseball would hurt.Gregory Dubus/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Hail the size of grapefruit shattered car windows in Johnson City, Texas. In June, 2024, a storm chaser found a hailstone almost as big as a pineapple. Even larger hailstones have been documented in South Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska. Hail has damaged...

Read more: How does hail grow to the size of golf balls and even grapefruit? The science behind this...

For many Olympic medalists, silver stings more than bronze

  • Written by Andrea Luangrath, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Iowa
imageU.S. swimmer Michael Phelps receives his silver medal for the men's 200 butterfly at the 2012 London Olympics.Al Bello/Getty Images

At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, a distraught Alexandra Trusova won silver and promptly declared, “I will never skate again.” Swimmer Michael Phelps displayed a mix of frustration and disappointment at the...

Read more: For many Olympic medalists, silver stings more than bronze

Diplomacy, sanctions and soft power have failed to deter Iran’s anti-West agenda − could a new Iranian president change that?

  • Written by Nakissa Jahanbani, Adjunct Lecturer, Pennsylvania State University, Penn State

Iran’s presidential election on June 28 may provide Tehran an opportunity to press reset on foreign policy issues after years of increasing hawkishness. Indeed, a key campaign issue has been the extent to which the candidates may – or may not – pivot to more engagement with the West.

While the supreme leader – the...

Read more: Diplomacy, sanctions and soft power have failed to deter Iran’s anti-West agenda − could a new...

College may not be the ‘great equalizer’ − luck and hiring practices also play a role, a sociologist explains

  • Written by Jessi Streib, Associate Professor of Sociology, Duke University
imageCollege graduates are often in the dark when it comes to hiring practices and salaries.Chuck Savage / The Image Bank via Getty Images

The idea that a college degree levels the playing field for students of different socioeconomic classes has been bolstered in recent years. Research from 2011 and 2017, for example, found that earning a...

Read more: College may not be the ‘great equalizer’ − luck and hiring practices also play a role, a...

The world’s fourth mass coral bleaching is underway, but well-connected reefs may have a better chance to recover

  • Written by Annalisa Bracco, Professor of Ocean and Climate Dynamics, Georgia Institute of Technology
imageStaghorn coral spawns near North Key Largo, Fla.Liv Williamson/University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science via AP

The world’s coral reefs are like underwater cities, bustling with all kinds of fish and sea animals. Coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean, but they support an estimated 25% of all marine...

Read more: The world’s fourth mass coral bleaching is underway, but well-connected reefs may have a better...

More women in venture capital doesn’t mean more funding for female-led businesses, new research suggests − here’s why

  • Written by Lei (Jeremy) Xu, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Missouri-St. Louis

Venture capital plays an important role in helping new businesses get off the ground. The field also has a stubborn gender gap.

More than 4 in 5 partners at U.S.-based venture capital firms are men, surveys andresearch show. Perhaps relatedly, VC firms overwhelmingly direct their funds to man-led businesses: In 2023, only about 1 in 4 VC funds were...

Read more: More women in venture capital doesn’t mean more funding for female-led businesses, new research...

Service dogs can reduce the severity of PTSD for veterans – new research

  • Written by Sarah Leighton, PhD Candidate in Social Psychology, University of Arizona
imageService dogs are much more than pets. K9s For Warriors

Service dogs can alleviate some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder for veterans, according to a study our team published in June 2024 in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.

Over the past decade, our research group has been studying whether trained service dogs can help veterans with PT...

Read more: Service dogs can reduce the severity of PTSD for veterans – new research

More Articles ...

  1. As debate approaches, presidents are blamed for events over which they have little control
  2. Extreme heat waves aren’t ‘just summer’: How climate change is heating up the weather, and what we can do about it
  3. Journalism’s trust problem is about money, not politics
  4. Populism can degrade democracy but is on the rise − here’s what causes this political movement and how it can be weakened
  5. FDA authorized the sale of menthol-flavored e-cigarettes – a health policy expert explains how the benefits may outweigh the risks
  6. Journalism has become ground zero for the vocation crisis
  7. Lead water pipes created a health disaster in Flint, but replacing them with cheaper plastic − as some cities are doing − carries hidden costs
  8. When people are under economic stress, their pets suffer too – we found parts of Detroit that are animal welfare deserts
  9. Kidneys from Black donors are more likely to be thrown away − a bioethicist explains why
  10. Genetic testing cannot reveal the gender of your baby − two genetic counselors explain the complexities of sex and gender
  11. US charitable giving dipped to $557B in 2023, but outlook is getting brighter
  12. Escalating Israel-Hezbollah clashes threaten to spark regional war and force US into conflict with Iran
  13. ‘I love this work, but it’s killing me’: The unique toll of being a spiritual leader today
  14. Rocks on Rapa Nui tell the story of a small, resilient population − countering the notion of a doomed overpopulated island
  15. Making art is a uniquely human act, and one that provides a wellspring of health benefits
  16. Boost your immune system with this centuries-old health hack: Vaccines
  17. Paying reparations for slavery is possible – based on a study of federal compensation to farmers, fishermen, coal miners, radiation victims and 70 other groups
  18. Philly has highest STI rates in the country – improving sex ed in schools and access to at-home testing could lower rates
  19. Southern Baptists may have rejected a constitutional amendment opposing female pastors, but that does not mean they are changing their views on women’s leadership in church
  20. Elder fraud has reached epidemic proportions – a geriatrician explains what older Americans need to know
  21. Is Earth really getting too hot for people to survive? A scientist explains extreme heat and the role of climate change
  22. What Frederick Douglass learned from an Irish antislavery activist: ‘Agitate, agitate, agitate’
  23. Central banks face threats to their independence − and that isn’t good news for sound economic stewardship (or battling inflation)
  24. Calls to US poison centers spiked after ‘magic mushrooms’ were decriminalized
  25. From glowing corals to vomiting shrimp, animals have used bioluminescence to communicate for millions of years – here’s what scientists still don’t know about it
  26. Supreme Court unanimously concludes that anti-abortion groups have no standing to challenge access to mifepristone – but the drug likely faces more court challenges
  27. Supreme Court sides with Starbucks in labor case that could hinder government’s ability to intervene in some unionization disputes
  28. An homage to the dad joke, one of the great traditions of fatherhood
  29. The US is losing wetlands at an accelerating rate − here’s how the private sector can help protect these valuable resources
  30. Supreme Court justices secretly recorded – the legal issues and what they mean for the rest of us
  31. Space weather forecasting needs an upgrade to protect future Artemis astronauts
  32. Ukraine’s draft woes leave the West facing pressure to make up for the troop shortfall
  33. People ambivalent about political issues support violence more than those with clear opinions
  34. Civil rights leader James Lawson, who learned from Gandhi, used nonviolent resistance and the ‘power of love’ to challenge injustice
  35. Philadelphia’s 200-year-old disability records show welfare reform movement’s early shift toward rationing care and punishing poor people
  36. Cities with empty commercial space and housing shortages are converting office buildings into apartments – here’s what they’re learning
  37. Spikes, seat dividers, even ‘Baby Shark’ − camping bans like the one under review at SCOTUS are part of broader strategies that push out homeless people
  38. Inflation is cooling, but not fast enough for the Fed: Policymakers now expect only one rate cut in 2024
  39. Microrobots made of algae carry chemo directly to lung tumors, improving cancer treatment
  40. Columbia Law Review article critical of Israel sparks battle between student editors and their board − highlighting fragility of academic freedom
  41. American womanhood is not what it used to be − understanding the backlash to Dobbs v. Jackson
  42. There’s a strange history of white journalists trying to better understand the Black experience by ‘becoming’ Black
  43. ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ may be many Americans’ image of Judaism – but American Jews’ heritage is stunningly diverse
  44. Politics is still both local and personal – but only for independents, not for Democrats or Republicans
  45. Wastewater surveillance reveals pathogens in Detroit’s population, helping monitor and predict disease outbreaks since 2017
  46. Paris 2024 Olympics to debut high-level breakdancing – and physics in action
  47. Food has a climate problem: Nitrous oxide emissions are accelerating with growing demand for fertilizer and meat – but there are solutions
  48. African elephants address one another with name-like calls − similar to humans
  49. 8 fun questions about The Conversation
  50. How reciting the Pledge of Allegiance became a sacred, patriotic ritual