The Conversation

Winning the Tour de France requires subtle physics, young muscles and an obscene amount of calories – 3 essential reads

Written by Daniel Merino, Assistant Science Editor and Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast

Last year's Tour de France winner was Tadej Pogacar, in the yellow jersey here – his second consecutive Tour title.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The 2022 Tour de France is here. Starting in Copenhagen on July 1, the tour covers almost 2,100 miles (3,380 kilometers) over 24 days of riding through Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and...

Kremlin tightens control over Russians' online lives – threatening domestic freedoms and the global internet

Written by Stanislav Budnitsky, Postdoctoral Fellow in Global and International Studies, Indiana University

Russia has pioneered the concept of digital sovereignty and used it to severely restrict Russians' access to the internet.NurPhoto via Getty Images

Since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine in late February 2022, Russian internet users have experienced what has been dubbed the descent of a “digital iron curtain.”

Russian...

When does the fetus acquire a moral status of a human being? The philosophy of 'gradualism' can provide answers

Written by Amanda Roth, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Women's & Gender Studies, State University of New York, College at Geneseo

A patient seeking abortion services at the Women's Reproductive Clinic in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.Robyn Beck /AFP via Getty Images

I lost my twins in the second trimester of my first pregnancy. One fetus died around 14 weeks, and a month later I went into preterm labor – likely caused by the death of the first and an infection. I delivered...

A water strategy for the parched West: Have cities pay farmers to install more efficient irrigation systems

Written by Robert Glennon, Regents Professor Emeritus and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy Emeritus, University of Arizona

Low-tech irrigation on a cattle ranch near Whitewater, Colo., June 30, 2021.Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

“Are you going to run out of water?” is the first question people ask when they find out I’m from Arizona. The answer is that some people already have, others soon may and it’s going to get much worse without...

People vary a lot in how well they recognize, match or categorize the things they see – researchers attribute this skill to an ability they call 'o'

Written by Isabel Gauthier, David K. Wilson Professor of Psychology, Vanderbilt University

Some people are inherently better at tasks like reading X-rays.SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images

Like snowflakes, no two people are exactly the same. You’re probably used to the idea that people differ substantially in personality and in cognitive abilities – skills like problem-solving or remembering information.

In contrast,...

Racial wealth gaps are yet another thing the US and UK have in common

Written by Calvin Schermerhorn, Professor of History, Arizona State University

Britain's Prince William speaks during the unveiling of the National Windrush Monument on June 22, 2022.John SibleyPOOL/AFP via Getty Images

It’s an old saying that Britain and America are two countries separated by a common language.

But they are united by racial wealth gaps that formed at a similar time for related reasons. Black Britons of...

The Supreme Court has overturned precedent dozens of times, including striking down legal segregation and reversing Roe

Written by David Schultz, Professor of Law, University of Minnesota; Professor of Political Science, Hamline University

A demonstrator outside the Supreme Court building expresses fear that other precedents will fall, too.AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

It is a central principle of law: Courts, including the Supreme Court, are supposed to follow earlier decisions – precedent – to resolve current disputes. But on rare occasions, Supreme Court justices conclude...

More states will now limit abortion, but they have long used laws to govern – and sometimes jail – pregnant women

Written by Wendy Bach, Professor of Law, University of Tennessee

Activists protest for the end of shackling pregnant women during birth in prison in New York in 2015.Yanina Manolova/Associated Press

It’s clear that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization will make it harder for women to get an abortion across much of the United States. But there are other...

Jan. 6 hearings highlight problems with certification of presidential elections and potential ways to fix them

Written by Derek T. Muller, Professor of Law, University of Iowa

Former Vice President Mike Pence is seen presiding over the counting of the votes on Jan. 6, 2021, during a hearing of the House January 6 committee in Washington, D.C., on June 16, 2022.Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Lack of clarity in how Congress counts presidential electoral votes was highlighted in recent public hearings held by the Select...

Let's spare a few words for 'Silent Cal' Coolidge on July 4, his 150th birthday

Written by Chris Lamb, Professor of Journalism, IUPUI

President Calvin Coolidge stands with members of a nonprofit group called the Daughters of 1812. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

A woman sitting next to President Calvin Coolidge at a dinner party once told him she had made a bet that she could get him to say more than two words.

“You lose,” replied Coolidge, who served...