The Conversation

In Confederate statue debates, common values can bring meaningful resolution

Written by Michael Zirulnik, Instructional Professional of Communication, Arizona State University; Research Instructor of Bioethics and Medical Humanism, University of Arizona

Workers remove the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Richmond, Virginia on July 8, 2020.AP Photo/Steve Helber

The U.S. is engaged in a national debate about how to deal with monuments to Confederate leaders, enslavers and other historical figures with complex, and often racist, histories.

As a scholar and practitioner of organizational...

Will the GOP let Congress send money to states and cities reeling from the pandemic? 4 essential reads on the economic crisis

Written by Naomi Schalit, Senior Editor, Politics + Society, The Conversation US

The pandemic has caused an economic emergency in states and cities. Viaframe/Getty

As Congress wrangles over a new coronavirus relief bill, it’s not only unemployed Americans who are facing financial disaster in the absence of new federal aid.

States and cities are, too.

Since early April, The Conversation has featured a series of stories on...

Young Black Americans not sold on Biden, the Democrats or voting

Written by David C. Barker, Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, American University School of Public Affairs

Will young, Black Americans turn out to vote in November?Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images

Most political analysts define “swing voters” as those who swing their support from one party to the other between election cycles – determining winners and losers in the process.

According to this conventional wisdom, the...

Buddhist monks have reversed roles in Thailand – now they are the ones donating goods to others

Written by Brooke Schedneck, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Rhodes College

Buddhist monks pass packs of water after their devotees donated water to a temple in Bangkok.AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit

The offering of food and material goods to monks is an essential part of the daily practice of Buddhism in Thailand. The belief is that through the act of giving, lay Buddhists – followers of the faith who have not been...

Don't want federal agents in your city or town? Then protect federal property

Written by Frank V. Zerunyan, Professor of the Practice of Governance, University of Southern California

During a protest, federal police officials stand inside a fence at the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, July 25, 2020. (Photo by Ankur Dholakia / AFP via Getty Images

I recently visited Portland, Oregon, and saw the destruction around the federal courthouse there – walls defaced with graffiti, fences vandalized, and the remains of...

Video: What the huge COVID-19 testing undercount in the US means

Written by Melissa Hawkins, Professor of Public Health, Director of Public Health Scholars Program, American University

Health care workers use a nasal swab to test a person for COVID-19 in Pembroke Park, Florida.Joe Raedle / Getty Images News

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other institutions recently published a study which estimated that the true number of people infected by COVID-19 could be six to 24 times higher than the...

Pompeo's plan for a hierarchy of human rights could serve to undermine them all – including religious freedom

Written by Shelley Inglis, Executive Director, University of Dayton Human Rights Center, University of Dayton

Critics have accused Mike Pompeo of sculpting policy out of his religious beliefs.Leah Millis/AFP via Getty Images

In pushing for religion to be given more prominence in U.S. foreign policy concerns, could Secretary of State Mike Pompeo be acting in bad faith?

That’s what many human rights groups believe. In a letter dated July 30, a coalition...

How gene editing a person's brain cells could be used to curb the opioid epidemic

Written by Craig W. Stevens, Professor of Pharmacology, Oklahoma State University

CRISPR/Cas is a tool for editing genes.STEVEN MCDOWELL/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Getty Images

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic cripples the economy and kills hundreds of people each day, there is another epidemic that continues to kill tens of thousands of people each year through opioid drug overdose.

Opioid analgesic drugs, like morphine and...

Why diversity training on campus is likely to disappoint

Written by Amna Khalid, Associate Professor of History, Carleton College

Diversity and inclusion training is often ineffective and short-lived. Image Source/GettyImages

U.S. colleges and universities will be embracing diversity training with renewed vigor this fall.

In response to the killing of George Floyd, the massive Black Lives Matter protests and pressure from students, dozens of colleges and universities have made...

Fight for economic equality is as old as America itself

Written by Daniel Mandell, Professor of History, Truman State University

In a 1775 cartoon, a British cartoonist mocks how wealthy elites were compelled by ordinary Americans to respect trade and price regulations.Philip Dawe/Wikimedia Commons

Americans are increasingly worried about the rising tide of economic inequality, as fewer control more wealth. For the origins of these concerns, commentators usually point to the...