The Conversation

Video: The Wall of Moms builds on a long protest tradition

Written by Kelsy Kretschmer, Associate Professor of Sociology, Oregon State University

Kelsy Kretschmer, associate professor of sociology at Oregon State University, explains why the Wall of Moms protest group attracted so much attention in the coverage of the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, and how the group draws on a long tradition of mothers’ movements around the world.

Kelsy Kretschmer discusses the Wall of Moms...

Children in foster care face deeper jeopardy during the coronavirus pandemic

Written by Lenette Azzi-Lessing, Clinical Professor of Social Work, Boston University

Movie star and comedian Tiffany Haddish, left, is a former foster child who now advocates on behalf of foster children.FilmMagic/FilmMagic for CASA of Los Angeles/via Getty Images

The stress and isolation caused by job losses, school closings and limited social interactions, along with the sharp economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus...

Should students get a discount if they won't be on campus because of COVID-19?

Written by Robert Massa, Adjunct Professor, Rossier School of Education, USC, University of Southern California

COVID-19 has caused colleges to spend more to cope with the pandemic. elenaleonova/GettyImages

Not long after the COVID-19 pandemic caused colleges to start teaching remotely, students balked at the idea of paying full tuition for online learning. It’s not hard to understand why. After all, they were not getting the football and basketball...

¿El coronavirus permanece en el cuerpo? Lo que sabemos sobre cómo los virus subsisten en el cerebro y los testículos

Written by William Petri, Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia

¿Existen áreas del cuerpo donde el SARS-CoV-2 pueda esconderse del sistema inmunitario?fotograzia / Getty Images

Mientras millones de personas se recuperan de la COVID-19, queda una pregunta sin responder: ¿el virus puede “ocultarse” en pacientes aparentemente recuperados? Si es así, ¿podría eso...

Insect apocalypse? Not so fast, at least in North America

Written by Matthew D. Moran, Professor of Biology, Hendrix College

The Texas frosted elfin (_Callophrys irus hadros_), a small butterfly subspecies found only in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, has lost most of its prairie habitat and is thought to have dramatically declined over the last century. Matthew D. Moran, CC BY-ND

In recent years, the notion of an insect apocalypse has become a hot topic in...

How to use ventilation and air filtration to prevent the spread of coronavirus indoors

Written by Shelly Miller, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

Open windows are the simplest way to increase air flow in a room. Justin Paget / Digital Vision via Getty Images

The vast majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs indoors, most of it from the inhalation of airborne particles that contain the coronavirus. The best way to prevent the virus from spreading in a home or business would be to simply...

As coronavirus curtails travel, backyard pilgrimages become the way to a spiritual journey

Written by Kathryn Barush, Thomas E. Bertelsen Jr. Chair and Associate Professor of Art History and Religion at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley and The Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara University

COVID-19 is changing how people go on pilgrimages.conceptual,fashion,advertising/Moment via Getty Images

Many major religious pilgrimages have been canceled or curtailed in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. These have included the Hajj, a religious milestone for Muslims the world over; the Hindu pilgrimage, known as the Amarnath Yatra hig...

Armed poll watchers: New Jersey's cautionary tale ahead of the 2020 presidential election

Written by Mark Krasovic, Associate Professor of History and American Studies, Rutgers University Newark

Democrats filed suit against Republicans in 1981 for allegedly sending armed patrols to polling stations during the New Jersey gubernatorial race.Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images

In the history of voter suppression in the United States – including attempts to stop Black and Latino people from voting – Republican tactics in the 1981...

Democratic, Republican parties both play favorites when allotting convention delegates to states

Written by John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College

Politics is a push-and-pull between the parties and the states. Samuil_Levich/iStock/Getty Images

As the Democratic and Republican parties pick their nominees for the presidency, they’ll do so under a delegate system that rewards states for their partisan loyalty – and ignores the common principle of everyone having an equal say.

Consider...

'Morality pills' may be the US's best shot at ending the coronavirus pandemic, according to one ethicist

Written by Parker Crutchfield, Associate Professor of Medical Ethics, Humanities and Law, Western Michigan University

A psychoactive substance to make you act in everyone's best interest?Sayanh Kaew Mni/EyeEm via Getty Images

COVID-19 is a collective risk. It threatens everyone, and we all must cooperate to lower the chance that the coronavirus harms any one individual. Among other things, that means keeping safe social distances and wearing masks. But many people...