The Conversation

Putin's key mistake? Not understanding Ukraine's blossoming national identity - even in the Russian-friendly southeast

Written by Lowell Barrington, Associate Professor of Political Science , Marquette University

Vladimir Putin has written and spoken about how Ukrainians and Russians are 'one people.'Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022 has, thus far, produced the opposite of what he expected.

Rather than deepening political fissures in the West, Putin’s invasion has united the leaders and...

Where was the world's first zoo?

Written by Michael J. Renner, Professor of Biology, Psychology, and Environmental Science & Sustainability, Director Zoo & Conservation Science, Drake University

Interior view of Polito's Royal Menagerie, Exeter Change, Strand, Westminster, London, 1812.Heritage Images/Hulton Archives via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Who made the first zoo? – Veronica, age 11,...

Skin grafts for burns injuries can lead to crippling scars – a drug that blocks the skin's ability to respond to physical stimuli could promote healing, new research in pigs finds

Written by Kellen Chen, Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Arizona

Burn injuries can lead to disfiguring and sometimes crippling scars.Staras/iStock via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Reducing a skin graft’s responsiveness to its physical environment could help improve healing and reduce scarring from large injuries like burns or blast wounds,...

Impending demise of Roe v. Wade puts a spotlight on a major privacy risk: Your phone reveals more about you than you think

Written by Susan Landau, Professor of Cyber Security and Policy, Tufts University

Where you've been and who you've interacted with are not difficult for governments and corporations to find out.Maskot via Getty Images

When Politico published Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion that would undo Roe v. Wade, a number of commentators observed how hard it would be for women in states that had made abortion illegal...

How to make performance reviews less terrible – especially given the challenges of supervising remote workers

Written by Yalcin Acikgoz, Associate Professor of Psychology, Appalachian State University

A better way?Andersen Ross/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Few office workers seem to like performance reviews, those annual examinations of how well workers are doing their jobs. And many seem to outright hate – or fear – them.

A 2015 survey of Fortune 1000 companies found that nearly two-thirds of employees were dissatisfied with...

War crimes trial of Russian soldier was perfectly legal – but that doesn't make it wise

Written by Robert Goldman, Professor of Law, American University

The trial of Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin could be mirrored with similar war crimes prosecutions by Moscow.Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The war crimes trial of a Russian soldier in Ukraine – which concluded on May 23, 2022 with a conviction and life sentence for the defendant – was permissible under international law....

Europe is determined to cut fossil fuel ties with Russia, even though getting Hungary on board won't be easy

Written by Margarita Balmaceda, Professor of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University

An oil tank at Hungary's Duna Refinery, which receives Russian crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline. Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced Europe to rethink its energy policy – especially its deep dependence on Russia for about one-third of its fossil fuel imports. The European Union is...

The Martinican bèlè dance – a celebration of land, spirit and liberation

Written by Camee Maddox-Wingfield, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

On May 22 each year, when the eastern Caribbean island of Martinique observes Emancipation Day, drums beat from sunrise until the break of dawn the next day.

Participants at open-air, starlit gatherings dance, sing, play drums and feast for ancestors who fought to break the chains of bondage. The uprising that eventually led to the abolition of...

What is monkeypox? A microbiologist explains what's known about this smallpox cousin

Written by Rodney E. Rohde, Regents' Professor of Clinical Laboratory Science, Texas State University

Monkeypox causes lesions that resemble pus-filled blisters, which eventually scab over.CDC/Getty Images

On May 18, 2022, Massachusetts health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a single case of monkeypox in a patient who had recently traveled to Canada. Cases have also been reported in the United Kingdom and...

After initial silence, the Biden administration is making moves to free WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russian detention

Written by Rokeshia Renné Ashley, Assistant Professor of Communication, Florida International University

Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner before a WNBA game in 2015.Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

A week before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Russian authorities arrested American basketball star Brittney Griner at the Moscow airport. She was charged with drug smuggling after Russian officials allegedly...