The Conversation

Gig worker employment fights like those in California pit flexibility against a livable wage – but 'platform cooperatives' could ensure workers get both

Written by Juliet B. Schor, Professor of Sociology, Boston College

California's Proposition 22 would reverse a new law that made Uber and Lyft drivers employees. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Voters in California will decide in November whether Uber drivers and other gig economy workers should be considered employees or contractors – a question that’s been debated and litigated for many years...

Google antitrust case suggests Apple should be in the Department of Justice’s crosshairs too

Written by Hemant K. Bhargava, Professor, Suran Chair in Technology Management; Director, Center for Analytics and Technology in Society, University of California, Davis

Apple devices drive over half of all Google search traffic. AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels

Google’s payments to Apple to promote its search engine in iPhones, iPads and Mac computers are at the center of the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant.

The suit alleges this creates a “continuous and...

Halloween isn't about candy and costumes for modern-day pagans – witches mark Halloween with reflections on death as well as magic

Written by Helen A. Berger, Resident Scholar, Brandeis University

A home in New York decorated for 2020 Halloween.Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images

This Halloween, there are likely to be fewer pint-sized witches going door to door in search of candy. Concerns over the coronavirus have meant that in many places, trick-or-treating is off the menu. Even in Salem, Massachusetts, the place associated with the infamous...

Why sleep experts say it's time to ditch daylight saving time

Written by Michael S. Jaffee, Vice Chair, Department of Neurology, University of Florida

"Spring forward, fall back": The clock goes back one hour on Nov. 1.billberryphotography via Getty Images

For most of the U.S., the clock goes back one hour on Sunday morning, Nov. 1, the “fall back” for daylight saving time. Many of us appreciate the extra hour of sleep.

But for millions, that gain won’t counter the inadequate...

On Twitter, bots spread conspiracy theories and QAnon talking points

Written by Emilio Ferrara, Associate Professor of Computer Science; USC Viterbi School of Engineering; Associate Professor of Communication, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

Are you being deceived by a robot?Alina Kvaratskhelia/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Americans who seek political insight and information on Twitter should know how much of what they are seeing is the result of automated propaganda campaigns.

Nearly four years after my collaborators and I revealed how automated Twitter accounts were distorting online...

People's bodies now run cooler than 'normal' – even in the Bolivian Amazon

Written by Michael Gurven, Professor of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara

Tsimane children look out over the Maniqui River, in the Bolivian Amazon.Michael Gurven, CC BY-ND

Feeling under the weather? Chances are you or your doctor will grab a thermometer, take your temperature and hope for the familiar 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) everyone recognizes as “normal.”

But what is normal and why does...

For a growing number of evangelical Christians, Trump is no longer the lesser of two evils

Written by Stewart Clem, Assistant Professor of Moral Theology, Aquinas Institute of Theology

A moral minority of evangelicals are moving away from Trump.Scott McIntyre/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

It has long been taken for granted that the majority of evangelical Christians in the United States will vote for Donald Trump.

That may well be the case. But there are recent signs that fewer evangelicals will support Trump this time...

Cigarette smoke can reprogram cells in your airways, causing COPD to hang on after smoking ends

Written by Bradley Richmond, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt University

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the third leading cause of death in the United States.Pascal Kiszon via Getty Images

Smoking is the most common cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an often fatal respiratory condition that afflicts millions of Americans. But for many patients living with COPD, stopping smoking isn’t the...

Scientists at work: Sloshing through marshes to see how birds survive hurricanes

Written by Scott Rush, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management, Mississippi State University

A clapper rail with a fiddler crab in its bill.Michael Gray, CC BY-ND

When storms like Huricane Zeta menace the Gulf Coast, residents know the drill: Board up windows, clear storm drains, gas up the car and stock up on water, batteries and canned goods.

But how does wildlife ride out a hurricane? Animals that live along coastlines have evolved to...

Achieving COVID-19 herd immunity through infection is dangerous, deadly and might not even work

Written by Steven Albert, Professor and Chair of Behavioral and Community Health, University of Pittsburgh

Under relaxed public health restrictions, deaths will spike far before herd immunity is achieved.AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

White House advisers have made the case recently for a “natural” approach to herd immunity as a way to reduce the need for public health measures to control the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic while still keeping people safe. This...