The Conversation

Best Easter pageant ever? Half a century of 'Jesus Christ Superstar'

Written by Henry Bial, Professor of Theater and Dance, University of Kansas

The musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar' has always had ardent fans and fierce critics.Blick/RDB/ullstein bild via Getty Images

In the days leading up to Easter Sunday, Christians around the world will participate in retellings of the story of the last days of Jesus’ life, from his entry into Jerusalem to the Last Supper and to his trial,...

Psychological tips aren’t enough – policies need to address structural inequities so everyone can flourish

Written by Sarah S. Willen, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Research Program on Global Health & Human Rights at the Human Rights Institute, University of Connecticut

Who gets to flourish and who doesn't?Tony Anderson/DigitalVision via Getty Images

“Languishing” is the in-vogue term for today’s widely shared sense of pandemic malaise. According to some psychologists, you can stop languishing with simple steps: Savor the small stuff. Do five good deeds. Find activities that let you “flow.&r...

Mismanaged cloud services put user data at risk

Written by Eric Pauley, PhD student in Computer Science and Engineering, Penn State

Cloud services that aren't properly managed can 'leak' data into the wrong hands.id-work/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

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

The big idea

Organizations’ failure to properly manage the servers they lease from cloud service providers can allow attackers to receive private...

Electrifying homes to slow climate change: 4 essential reads

Written by Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Energy Editor, The Conversation

LED lightbulbs are just the start.Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

The latest reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change show that to avoid massive losses and damage from global warming, nations must act quickly to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The good news is that experts believe it’s possible to cut global...

Great white sharks occasionally hunt in pairs - new research sheds light on social behavior of these mysterious predators

Written by Yannis Papastamatiou, Professor of Biological Sciences, Florida International University

Great white sharks are not normally thought of as social creatures.Yannis Papastamatiou, CC BY-ND

Sitting anchored to the rocky reef 70 feet (21 meters) below the surface of the ocean, hundreds of scalloped hammerhead sharks swam above me in unison, moving as if one. When most people think of sharks, they don’t think of them as social...

Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark?

Written by Braidee Foote, Clinical Assistant Professor of Veterinary Ophthalmology, University of Tennessee

The same thing that makes their eyes glow helps cats see better in dim light.Cletus Waldman/EyeEm 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.

Why do cats’ eyes glow in the dark? Chloe, age 10, Barkhamsted,...

Water fights, magical decapitated heads and family reunions – the Southeast Asian festival of Songkran has it all

Written by Andrew Alan Johnson, Visiting Scholar of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley

People celebrating the Songkran Festival in Luang Prabang, Laos, in April 2021.Xinhua/Kaikeo Saiyasane via Getty Images

In many countries in Southeast Asia, such as Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, the arrival of spring also marks the beginning of the new year. Songkran (สงกรานต์), as the...

Penance and plague: How the Black Death changed one of Christianity's most important rituals

Written by Nicole Archambeau, Associate Professor of History, Colorado State University

Confession, circa 1460/1470. Artist unknown.Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images

The 14th century is known for catastrophe. By midcentury, the first wave of plague spread through a Europe already weakened by successive famines and the Hundred Years War between England and France. And crises just kept coming. After the first wave,...

Will Smith's slap shows 'honor culture' is alive and well

Written by H. Colleen Sinclair, Associate Professor of Social Psychology, Mississippi State University

A culture of honor is more likely to develop in areas where law enforcement is inconsistent or nonexistent.20th Century Fox/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

After witnessing the “slap heard around the world” during the 2022 Oscars, I wasn’t surprised when the internet split into two camps: #TeamWill and #TeamChris.

As a social...

Ukrainian teens' voices from the middle of war: 'You begin to appreciate what was common and boring for you'

Written by Alexander Motyl, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University - Newark

A residential building destroyed by Russian army shelling in Borodyanka, Kyiv province. Hennadii Minchenko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A colleague from Kyiv, Ukraine, whom I’ll call N.M., sent me brief essays her students wrote on what they would do when the war ends. As both a scholar and a novelist, I knew that these voices, which...