The Conversation

What is 'legitimate political discourse,' and does it include the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol?

Written by Jennifer Mercieca, Professor of Communication, Texas A&M University

When persuasion stops and violence begins, that's the line between 'legitimate political discourse' and something very different, scholars explain.AP Photo/John Minchillo

When the governing body of the Republican Party called the events of Jan. 6, 2021, “legitimate public discourse,” it renewed a sometimes-furious debate about what are,...

Midlife isn't a crisis, but sleep, stress and happiness feel a little different after 35 – or whenever middle age actually begins

Written by Soomi Lee, Assistant Professor of Aging Studies, University of South Florida

When midlife begins can vary from person to person.Flashpop/Digitalvision via Getty Images

Fewer than one-fifth of Americans say they actually experienced a midlife crisis. And yet there are still some common misunderstandings people have about midlife.

I study midlife, and especially how people in this stage of life experience sleep and stress. In...

Whoopi Goldberg awkwardly demonstrates how the idea of race varies by place and changes over time

Written by Robyn Autry, Associate Professor of Sociology, Wesleyan University

On "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," Whoopi Goldberg said, "I don't want to make a fake apology."Youtube

Whoopi Goldberg, co-host of ABC’s “The View,” set off a firestorm when she insisted on Jan. 31, 2022 that the Holocaust was “not about race.” Hands outstretched, she went on to describe the genocide as a...

Why are some Roman Catholic saints called doctors of the church?

Written by Joanne M. Pierce, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

Bearers carry the relic and the statue in honor of St. Anthony of Padua during a procession in Rome, Italy. St. Anthony of Padua was proclaimed a doctor of the church in 1946.Stefano Montesi - Corbis/Getty Images Europe via Getty Images

In January 2022, Pope Francis bestowed the title doctor of the church on St. Irenaeus of Lyons, a Christian...

Students are suspended less when their teacher has the same race or ethnicity

Written by Matthew Shirrell, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Administration, George Washington University

Black and Latino students are suspended at higher rates than their white peers. FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images

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

The big idea

Black, Latino and Asian American students are less likely to be suspended from school when they have more teachers who share their racial or ethnic background....

The fastest population growth in the West's wildland fringes is in ecosystems most vulnerable to wildfires

Written by Krishna Rao, Ph.D. candidate in Earth System Science, Stanford University

Homes overlook a forest in the wildland-urban interface in Arizona.Marius von Essen

The view from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Southern California can be beautiful – pine forests and chaparral spill across an often rugged landscape. But as more people build homes in this area, where development gets into wild land, they’re...

The fastest population growth in the West's wildland-urban interface is in areas most vulnerable to wildfires

Written by Krishna Rao, Ph.D. candidate in Earth System Science, Stanford University

Homes overlook a forest in the wildland-urban interface in Arizona.Marius von Essen

The view from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California can be beautiful – pine forests and chaparral spill across an often rugged landscape. But as more people build homes in this area, where development gets into wild land, they’re facing some...

Mountain glaciers may hold less ice than previously thought – here’s what that means for 2 billion downstream water users and sea level rise

Written by Mathieu Morlighem, Professor of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College

Mountain glaciers are under threat from global warming.Phunjo Lama/AFP via Getty Images

Mountain glaciers are essential water sources for nearly a quarter of the global population. But figuring out just how much ice they hold – and how much water will be available as glaciers shrink in a warming world – has been notoriously difficult.

In...

5 strategies employers can use to address workplace mental health issues

Written by Patricia L. Haynes, Associate Professor of Health Promotion Sciences, University of Arizona

Many workers are stressed out. Symphonie/The Image Bank via Getty Images

COVID-19 has inflicted a serious mental health toll on many U.S. workers.

Like other Americans, workers have lost loved ones, connections to friends and family, and the comforts of their daily social rhythms. The pandemic has also imposed a unique set of stresses on workers,...

Disaster news on TV and social media can trigger post-traumatic stress in kids thousands of miles away – here’s why some are more vulnerable

Written by Jonathan S. Comer, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, Florida International University

Exposure to videos of disasters can trigger post-traumatic stress symptoms in some children.Chokchai Poomichaiya / EyeEm via Getty Images

When disasters strike, the flood of images on TV and social media can have a powerful psychological impact on children – whether those children are physically in the line of danger or watching from...