The Conversation

US Capitol protesters, egged on by Trump, are part of a long history of white supremacists hearing politicians' words as encouragement

Written by Shannon M. Smith, Associate Professor of History, College of Saint Benedict & Saint John's University

The Proud Boys outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

“President Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress incited a violent attack Wednesday against the government they lead,” The New York Times’ editorial board wrote on...

Pikas are adapting to climate change remarkably well, contrary to many predictions

Written by Andrew Smith, Professor Emeritus of Life Sciences, Arizona State University

Stocking the haypile.Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Climate change is harming many special places and iconic species around our planet, from Glacier National Park’s disappearing glaciers to California redwoods scorched by wildfires. But for the animal I study, the American pika (Ochotona princeps), there’s actually some...

Was it a coup? No, but siege on US Capitol was the election violence of a fragile democracy

Written by Clayton Besaw, Research Affiliate and Senior Analyst, University of Central Florida

Insurrection at the US Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021.Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Did the United States just have a coup attempt?

Supporters of President Donald Trump, following his encouragement, stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, disrupting the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory. Waving Trump banners, hundreds...

'Once you engage in political violence, it becomes easier to do it again' – an expert on political violence reflects on events at the Capitol

Written by Naomi Schalit, Senior Editor, Politics + Society, The Conversation US

Protesters forcing their way into the Capitol.Win McNamee/Getty Images News via Getty Images

Editor’s note: Ore Koren is a scholar of civil conflict and political violence. Before the November 2020 election, he wrote a story for The Conversation about the likelihood of election-related violence in the U.S. So we went back to him on Wednesday,...

Yellow Gadsden flag, prominent in Capitol takeover, carries a long and shifting history

Written by Paul Bruski, Associate Professor of Graphic Design, Iowa State University

Gadsden flags fly at a protest Wednesday at the Capitol.Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Flown by many protesters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, the Gadsden flag has a design that is simple and graphic: a coiled rattlesnake on a yellow field with the text “Don’t Tread On Me.” But that simple design hides some...

COVID-19 crisis in Los Angeles: Why activating 'crisis standards of care' is crucial for overwhelmed hospitals

Written by Maria Howard, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Gonzaga University

Hallways busy with COVID-19 patients have become temporary patient holding areas in overcrowded hospitals.Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

In Los Angeles County, ambulance crews are being told to conserve oxygen and to not take certain trauma and cardiac arrest patients they can’t resuscitate in the field. When ambulances do...

Legalizing marijuana, once a pipe dream on Capitol Hill, takes an important step forward

Written by Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, Professor of Health Policy & Management, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy & Senior Fellow, Leonard D Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, University of Southern California

Activists wave flags in front of the U.S. Capitol to demand that Congress pass cannabis reform legislation on Oct. 8, 2019.Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

In early December, the House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or the MORE Act.

The bill sought to decriminalize marijuana nationally by...

Trump tapped into white victimhood – leaving fertile ground for white supremacists

Written by Lee Bebout, Professor of English, Arizona State University

Attendees chant during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Despite failed lawsuits, recounts and formal confirmation that President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, President Donald Trump and his supporters continue to maintain that the election was rigged and...

In Mike Pence, US evangelicals had their '24-karat-gold' man in the White House

Written by Deborah Whitehead, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

Exit, stage religious right.AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Mike Pence has remained one of the only constants in the often chaotic Trump administration.

Variously described as “vanilla,” “steady” and loyal to the point of being “sycophantic,” he is, in the words of one profile, an “everyman’s man with Midwest...

What is a margin of error? This statistical tool can help you understand vaccine trials and political polling

Written by Ofer Harel, Professor of Statistics, University of Connecticut

All predictions, whether scientific or political, include uncertainty. CasarsaGuru/E+ via Getty Images

In the last year, statistics have been unusually important in the news. How accurate is the COVID-19 test you or others are using? How do researchers know the effectiveness of new therapeutics for COVID-19 patients? How can television networks pred...