The Conversation

In Midwestern schools, LGBTQ teachers face discrimination, hate and their own fears

Written by Ferial Pearson, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, University of Nebraska Omaha

Teachers and their supporters demonstrate in St. Paul, Minn., in March 2022.Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The national debate about LGBTQ issues in schools has come to the Midwest. In the wake of the passage of Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay” law, more than a dozen other states –...

What is the Lag BaOmer pilgrimage?

Written by Joshua Shanes, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, College of Charleston

Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai at Mount Meron in northern Israel on April 29, 2021, as they celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer. Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images

The annual Lag BaOmer pilgrimage to Mount Meron in Israel – which in 2022 falls on Wednesday night, May 18 – until recently has...

How media reports of 'clashes' mislead Americans about Israeli-Palestinian violence

Written by Maha Nassar, Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of Arizona

When does a 'clash' become an 'assault'?AP Photo/Maya Levin

Israeli police attacked mourners carrying the coffin of slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 13, 2022, beating pallbearers with batons and kicking them when they fell to the ground.

Yet those who skimmed the headlines of initial reports from several U.S. media...

Just how accurate are rapid antigen tests? Two testing experts explain the latest data

Written by Nathaniel Hafer, Assistant Professor of Molecular Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School

Once in short supply, rapid antigen tests are now available throughout the U.S.Boy_Anupong/Moment via Getty Images

As of May 2022, the U.S. is experiencing another uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases. High rates of infection in Europe and Asia, along with the continued emergence of new sub-variants, such as omicron BA.4 and BA.5, raise concerns...

How corporate takeovers are fundamentally changing podcasting

Written by John Sullivan, Professor of Media and Communication, Muhlenberg College

One of the recent shifts in podcasting has been the introduction of paywalls and exclusive content.Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

At first glance, it may seem as though Big Tech can’t figure out how to make money off its foray into podcasting.

In early May 2022, Meta announced that it was abruptly ending Facebook’s podcast integration less a...

Online data could be used against people seeking abortions if Roe v. Wade falls

Written by Nora McDonald, Assistant Professor of Information Technology, University of Cincinnati

Apps for tracking reproductive health are convenient, but the data they collect could be used against you.Tarik Kizilkaya/iStock via Getty Images

When the draft of a Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked to the press, many of us who have been studying privacy for vulnerable individuals came to a troubling realization:...

Could people breathe the air on Mars?

Written by Phylindia Gant, Ph.D. Student in Geological Sciences, University of Florida

An artist's concept of an astronaut walking on Mars. But what would happen if the astronaut weren't wearing a space helmet?cokada/E+ via Getty Images

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.

Could people breathe on Mars? – Jack...

Russia's reported abduction of Ukrainian children echoes other genocidal policies, including US history of kidnapping Native American children

Written by Marcia Zug, Professor of Family Law, University of South Carolina

Ione Quigley of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe during a ceremony in Carlisle, Pa., on July 14, 2021, marking the return to tribal lands in South Dakota of disinterred remains of nine Native American children who died more than a century ago while attending a government-run school in Pennsylvania. AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Allegations have emerged recently that...

Abortion: the story of suffering and death behind Ireland's ban and subsequent legalization

Written by Gretchen E. Ely, Professor of Social Work and Ph.D. Program Director, University of Tennessee

The death of Savita Halappanavar in an Irish hospital in 2012 after she was denied an abortion during a miscarriage caused outrage across Ireland.AP Photo/Shawn Pogatchnik

If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion in the U.S., the nation may find itself on a path similar to that trod by the Irish...

The fight against school segregation began in South Carolina, long before it ended with Brown v. Board

Written by Roy Jones, Professor of Leadership, Counselor Education, Human and Organizational Development; Executive director, Call Me MISTER, Clemson University

Millicent Brown, left, was one of the first two Black students to integrate a South Carolina public school, in September 1963.AP Photo

When it comes to the case of Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court decision that outlawed school segregation, the focus is often on Topeka, Kansas, the home of the Brown family and the school board...