The Conversation

Music inspires powerful emotions on screen, just like in real life

Written by Gena R. Greher, Professor of Music, UMass Lowell

Without its iconic music, the shower scene of the movie 'Psycho' would likely create a very different experience for viewers.Bettmann/Contributor via Getty Images

There are some classic films in which music is so integral to a scene, it would be hard to imagine the scene without it.

The shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s film...

Loss and damage: Who is responsible when climate change harms the world's poorest countries?

Written by Bethany Tietjen, Research fellow in climate policy, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Extreme flooding in Pakistan in 2022 affected 33 million people. Akram Shahid/AFP via Getty Images

You may be hearing the phrase “loss and damage” in the coming weeks as government leaders meet in Egypt for the 2022 U.N. Climate Change Conference.

It refers to the costs, both economic and physical, that developing countries are facing...

Former math teacher explains why some students are 'good' at math and others lag behind

Written by Frances E. Anderson, Faculty Member in Teacher Education, University of Nebraska Omaha

Math proficiency scores fell during the pandemic. fstop123 via Getty Images

When Frances E. Anderson saw the latest math scores for America’s fourth- and eighth-graders, she was hardly surprised that they had dropped. Until recently – including the period of remote instruction during the pandemic – Anderson taught high school math...

Why schools' going back to 'normal' won't work for students of color

Written by Adriana Villavicencio, Assistant Professor of Education, University of California, Irvine

Students of color have long needed more from schools than is typically provided.THEPALMER/E+ via Getty Images

National test results released in September 2022 show unprecedented losses in math and reading scores since the pandemic disrupted schooling for millions of children.

In response, educational leaders and policymakers across the country are ea...

How a 2013 US Supreme Court ruling enabled states to enact election laws without federal approval

Written by Joshua F.J. Inwood, Professor of Geography and Senior Research Associate in the Rock Ethics Institute, Penn State

Terry Hubbard, a former felon, voted in the 2020 presidential election and was arrested two years later in Florida on voter fraud charges.Josh Ritchie for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Since 2019, legislators and election officials in Florida have revised, passed and enforced restrictive voting laws that make it harder for poor people,...

Conservative US Supreme Court reconsidering affirmative action, leaving the use of race in college admissions on the brink of extinction

Written by Travis Knoll, Adjunct Professor of History, University of North Carolina – Charlotte

The U.S. Supreme Court in its official portrait on Oct. 7, 2022.Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. military learned a valuable lesson about race during the Vietnam War: Diversity does not happen without affirmative action.

That helps explain why a distinguished group of 35 military officials wrote a brief to the Supreme Court supporting...

Abortion is not influencing most voters as the midterms approach – economic issues are predominating in new survey

Written by Matthew A Baum, Marvin Kalb Professor of Global Communications & Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Amy Cox, a Democratic candidate running to be an Ohio state representative, speaks with a potential voter on Oct. 23, 2022. Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images

Since the Supreme Court’s June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion, election observers have raised questions about whether and how the issue...

Beyond passenger cars and pickups: 5 questions answered about electrifying trucks

Written by Daniel Sperling, Distinguished Blue Planet Prize Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis

Trucks line up to load and unload at the Port of Los Angeles in Long Beach, California.Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

As part of its effort to reduce air pollution and cut greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, California is pursuing aggressive policies to promote clean trucks. The state already requires that...

How to ensure election integrity and accuracy – 3 essential reads

Written by Jeff Inglis, Freelance Editor, The Conversation US

A county clerk, far left, swears in a group of Nevada residents to conduct a hand count of ballots on Oct. 26, 2022.AP Photo/Gabe Stern

It’s almost certain there will be questions about the integrity of the 2022 midterm elections. In fact, some concerns about machine counting have already sparked one Nevada county to seek to hand-count all...

Vigilantes at the polls were a threat in the 19th century, too, but the laws put in place then may not work in 2022

Written by Kristin Kanthak, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

State laws dictate how far away campaign signs and workers need to be from polling places. AP Photo/Eric Gay

Author Edgar Allan Poe, the 19th-century master of American macabre fiction, may have died of dirty politics. According to legend, a gang of party “poll hustlers” kidnapped and drugged him. They forced him to vote, then abandoned...