The Conversation

Joe Biden appealed to 2 different audiences in his acceptance speech – 2 experts discuss which punches landed

Written by Todd Shaw, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of South Carolina

Biden accepts the Democratic nomination on Aug. 20, 2020.AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

“Give people light,” Joe Biden said, beginning his acceptance speech at the conclusion of the Democratic Party’s online convention on Aug. 20. Cynthia Young, a professor of African American studies at Penn State University, and political scientist Todd...

Why Steve Bannon faces fraud charges: 4 questions answered

Written by Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame

The former Trump aide and others allegedly misused funds donated to build a border wall.Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images

Editor’s note: Federal prosecutors in New York have arrested former senior Trump adviser Steve Bannon and three other men, and charged them with allegedly defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors to an online fundraising...

Mail-in voting does not cause fraud, but judges are buying the GOP's argument that it does

Written by Penny Venetis, Clinical Professor of Law, Director of the International Human Rights Clinic, Rutgers University Newark

Protesters against passage of a bill to expand mail-in voting during a Nevada Republican Party demonstration, August 4, 2020, in Las Vegas.Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee filed lawsuits recently against New Jersey and Nevada to prevent expansive vote-by-mail efforts in those states.

These...

Here's what it'll take to clean up esports' toxic culture

Written by Amanda Cote, Assistant Professor of Media Studies/Game Studies, University of Oregon

College videogame team members practice League of Legends.AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

In day-to-day life, you probably haven’t had someone yell at you, “Get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich!” If you’re a woman who plays online video games, though, statements like this, and worse, are all too common.

As COVID-19 has...

Why companies were so quick to endorse Black Lives Matter

Written by Eugene Y. Chan, Associate Professor, Purdue University

Young people have dominated Black Lives Matter protests.STRF/STAR MAX/IPx

CC BY-ND

It’s not every day that you see companies switch gears on a dime.

Not too long ago, few companies paid much attention to Black Lives Matter. Today, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, it seems as if most major companies including Apple, Amazon and Facebook...

Outdoor classes hold promise for in-person learning amid COVID-19

Written by Tracey Birdwell, Program Director - Mosaic Initiative, Indiana University

Rice University will hold some classes in outdoor tents this fall.Brandon Martin/Rice University

When it comes to conducting classes this fall, most colleges seem to be stuck between holding in-person or remote classes, or some combination of the two. As a researcher who focuses on the design of educational spaces, I believe there’s a fourth...

I'm a lung doctor testing the blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors as a treatment for the sick – a century-old idea that could be a fast track to treatment

Written by Jeffrey M. Sturek, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia

A nurse holds plasma donated by a man who recovered from COVID-19.Guillermo Legaria /Getty Images South America

Imagine going to the doctor for a cough and getting a transfusion of blood from a goat. It probably sounds strange today, but that is exactly how antibody therapy started in the late 1800s.

Researchers found that plasma, the part of blood...

Parents of bereaved children are also heroes of the pandemic – they can help build resilience in kids

Written by Irwin N. Sandler, Research Professor; Regents' Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University

A father adjusts his daughter's face mask outside the White HouseSarah Silbiger/Getty Images

The death of a parent is one of the most traumatic events that can happen to a child. Sadly, during the pandemic losing a mother or father to the coronavirus has been a reality for too many.

But research shows that children can be resilient. Many will not...

Is NCAA football too big to fail?

Written by David Ridpath, Associate Professor and Kahandas Nandola Professor of Sports Administration, Ohio University

Nebraska, a member of the Big Ten conference, won't be playing football this fall.AP Photo/Nati Harnik

The coronavirus continues to jeopardize college sports.

The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments were canceled back in the spring. In early August, smaller conferences like the Mid-American Conference and the Mountain West...

Trump greenlights drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but will oil companies show up?

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

Caribou from the Porcupine Caribou Herd migrate onto the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska.USFWS via AP

The Trump administration has announced that it is opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development – the latest twist in a decades-long battle over the fate of this remote...