The Conversation

Money, schools and religion: A controversial combo returns to the Supreme Court

Written by Charles J. Russo, Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and Health Sciences and Research Professor of Law, University of Dayton

Carson v. Makin comes on the heels of other SCOTUS cases about aid to students in religious schools.franckreporter/E+ via Getty Images

Since 1947, one topic in education has regularly come up at the Supreme Court more often than any other: disputes over religion.

That year, in Everson v. Board of Education, the justices upheld a New Jersey law...

Millions of Americans struggle to pay their water bills – here's how a national water aid program could work

Written by Joseph Cook, Associate Professor of Economic Sciences, Washington State University

Water: an increasingly expensive necessity.iStock via Getty Images

Running water and indoor plumbing are so central to modern life that most Americans take them from granted. But these services aren’t free, and millions struggle to afford them. A 2019 survey found that U.S. households in the bottom fifth of the economy spent 12.4% of their...

Drop in students who come to the US to study could affect higher education and jobs

Written by David L. Di Maria, Associate Vice Provost for International Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Declines in the enrollment of international students span all fields of study.Vladimir Vladimirov/E+ via Getty Images

Driven largely by the global pandemic, the number of international students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities fell by 15% – or 161,401 students – from 2019 to 2020. However, early data for 2021 indicate the...

The pandemic is changing the way young people eat and how they feel about their bodies: 4 essential reads

Written by Kate Kilpatrick, Editor

Studies show that spending more time on Instagram can lead to lower body satisfaction.OsakaWayne Studios/Moment Collection via Getty Images

Kids, like adults, cope with stress and anxiety in many different ways.

For example, while some children reach for more snacks to deal with uncomfortable feelings, others overexercise or restrict their eating...

Jury finds 3 Georgia men guilty of Ahmaud Arbery murder: 3 essential reads

Written by Matt Williams, Breaking News Editor

Murderers who will face maximum sentence of life in prison.Pool/AP

It took jurors around 11 hours of deliberations to arrive at guilty verdicts in the trial of three men accused in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 24, 2021, before a courtroom that included members of Arbery’s family, all the three defendants...

Great headphones blend physics, anatomy and psychology – but what you like to listen to is also important for choosing the right pair

Written by Timothy Hsu, Assistant Professor of Music and Arts Technology, IUPUI

Headphone designers have to balance scientific limitations with human preferences.Vladimir Godnik via Getty Images

Between music, podcasts, gaming and the unlimited supply of online content, most people spend hours a week wearing headphones. Perhaps you are considering a new pair for the holidays, but with so many options on the market, it can be...

Biden taps the Strategic Petroleum Reserve – What is it? Where did it come from? And does the US still need it?

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

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the largest in the world. AP Photo/U.S. Department of Energy

President Joe Biden ordered a release of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Nov. 23, 2021, as a part of a coordinated effort with five other countries to tamp down rising fuel prices. The U.S. plans to tap 50 million barrels of crude oil in...

The thousands of vulnerable people harmed by Facebook and Instagram are lost in Meta's 'average user' data

Written by Joseph Bak-Coleman, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for an Informed Public, University of Washington

Mark Zuckerberg's company says the kids are all right, but the data it presents is only about how the average social media user is doing.AP Photo/Eric Risberg

Fall 2021 has been filled with a steady stream of media coverage arguing that Meta’s Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram social media platforms pose a threat to users’ mental health a...

The NRA could be winning its long game even as it appears to be in dire straits

Written by Robert Spitzer, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of the Political Science Department, State University of New York College at Cortland

The National Rifle Association may soon get a major legal victory.scottlitt/iStock via Getty Images Plus

No observer of contemporary gun politics could fail to notice a jarring disconnect between the two very different trajectories of the gun rights movement today.

On the one hand, more states are allowing Americans to carry weapons in public...

What the Peng Shuai saga tells us about Beijing's grip on power and desire to crush a #MeToo moment

Written by Yan Bennett, Assistant Director for the Paul and Marcia Wythes Center on Contemporary China, Princeton University

Forced into the darkness?Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai’s apparent disappearance may have ended with a smattering of public events, which were carefully curated by state-run media and circulated in online clips. But many questions remain about the three weeks in which she was missing, and concerns linger over her...