The Conversation

Secession is here: States, cities and the wealthy are already withdrawing from America

Written by Michael J. Lee, Professor of Communication, College of Charleston

Acts of secession are happening across the U.S.Vector Illustration/Getty Images

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, wants a “national divorce.” In her view, another Civil War is inevitable unless red and blue states form separate countries.

She has plenty of company on the right, where a host of others – 52% of...

Voice deepfakes are calling – here's what they are and how to avoid getting scammed

Written by Matthew Wright, Professor of Computing Security, Rochester Institute of Technology

Cloning someone's voice is easier than ever.D-Keine/iStock via Getty Images

You have just returned home after a long day at work and are about to sit down for dinner when suddenly your phone starts buzzing. On the other end is a loved one, perhaps a parent, a child or a childhood friend, begging you to send them money immediately.

You ask them...

The state takeover of Houston public schools is about more than school improvement

Written by Domingo Morel, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Service, New York University

The state takeover is based largely on one school.Maskot / Getty Images

When the state of Texas took over Houston’s public school district on March 15, 2023, it made the district one of more than 100 school districts in the nation that have experienced similar state takeovers during the past 30 years.

The list includes New York City, Chicago,...

Estonia's e-governance revolution is hailed as a voting success – so why are some US states pulling in the opposite direction?

Written by Erik S. Herron, Professor of Political Science, West Virginia University

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas reacts to e-vote results on March 5, 2023.Raigo Pajula/AFP via Getty Images

Estonia, a small country in northern Europe, reached a digital milestone when the country headed to the polls on March 5, 2023.

For the first time, over 50% of voters cast their ballots online in a national parliamentary election.

As a pol...

3 reasons the Willow Arctic oil drilling project was approved – it's the latest battle in a long fight over Alaska's North Slope

Written by Scott L. Montgomery, Lecturer, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington

Several oil projects are active in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management, CC BY-SA

For more than six decades, Alaska’s North Slope has been a focus of intense controversy over oil development and wilderness protection, with no end in sight. Willow field, a 600-million-barrel, US$8 billion oil project...

Prosecuting Putin for abducting Ukrainian children will require a high bar of evidence – and won't guarantee the children can come back home

Written by Stefan Schmitt, Project Lead for International Technical Forensic Services, Florida International University

Thousands of teddy bears with candles on display at a protest in Brussels in February 2023 represented abducted Ukrainian children.Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga MAG/AFP via Getty Images

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 17, 2023, over war crimes in Ukraine, alleging he bears...

Is the Western drought finally ending? That depends on where you look

Written by Dan McEvoy, Associate Research Professor in Climatology, Desert Research Institute

California's snowpack was more than twice the average in much of the state in early March 2023.Mario Tama/Getty Images

After three years of extreme drought, the Western U.S. is finally getting a break. Mountain ranges are covered in deep snow, and water reservoirs in many areas are filling up following a series of atmospheric rivers that brought...

Why it's hard for the US to cut or even control Medicare spending

Written by Dennis W. Jansen, Professor of Economics and Director of the Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University

The number of Americans covered by Medicare is growing.OR Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s 2024 proposed budget includes plans to shore up the finances of Medicare, the federal health insurance program that covers Americans who are 65 and up and some younger people with disabilities.

His administration aims to...

Water in space – a 'Goldilocks' star reveals previously hidden step in how water gets to planets like Earth

Written by John Tobin, Scientist, National Radio Astronomy Observatory

The star system V883 Orionis contains a rare star surrounded by a disk of gas, ice and dust.A. Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF)/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), CC BY

Without water, life on Earth could not exist as it does today. Understanding the history of water in the universe is critical to understanding how planets like Earth come to be.

Astronomers typically...

US regulators avoided a banking crisis by swift action following SVB's collapse – but the cracks it exposed continue to weaken the global financial system's foundation

Written by D. Brian Blank, Assistant Professor of Finance, Mississippi State University

The cracks in the financial system are growing. John Sommer/E+ via Getty Images

U.S. regulators’ swift reaction to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and two other lenders partially restored calm to markets, but concerns remain over the stability of the global financial system.

The government on March 16, 2023, orchestrated a US$30 billion...