The Conversation

Tattoos have a long history going back to the ancient world – and also to colonialism

Written by Allison Hawn, Instructional Faculty, Arizona State University

The Picts, the indigenous people of what is today northern Scotland, were documented by Roman historians as having complex tattoos.Theodor de Bry, via Wikimedia Commons

While most of us would likely care to forget the pandemic as soon as is possible, a few have opted for a permanent reminder of the health crisis – in the shape of a tattoo....

Slavery was the ultimate labor distortion – empowering workers today would be a form of reparations

Written by Joerg Rieger, Professor of Theology, Vanderbilt Divinity School

Labor violations disproportionately affect Black Americans.Katie Falkenberg/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The conversation about reparations for slavery entered a new stage earlier in 2021, with the U.S. House Judiciary Committee voting for the creation of a commission to address the matter.

The bill, H.R. 40, has been introduced every Congress...

Al-Qaida, Islamic State group struggle for recruits

Written by Charles Kurzman, Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In 2014, the Islamic State group could draw crowds of supporters, like these in Mosul, Iraq. But actual fighting recruits have been harder to come by.AP Photo

Al-Qaida was planning two sets of terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001. On Sept. 11, 2021, as Americans commemorate and mourn the lives lost that Tuesday morning 20 years ago, it is...

Will having so many disasters happening at the same time affect donations? We asked an expert

Written by Patrick Rooney, Glenn Family Chair of Economics and Philanthropic Studies, IUPUI

People evacuated from Afghanistan arriving in the U.S. flew to Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia.AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe

The scramble to assist the thousands of refugees who fled Afghanistan is on as the humanitarian crisis in that country grows more dire. Haiti’s recovery from an earthquake on Aug. 14, 2021, is off to a r...

5 reasons video games should be more widely used in school

Written by Andre Thomas, Director - LIVE lab and Associate Professor of the Practice, Texas A&M University

Studies show video games help students learn math and science. Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

In an effort to curtail how much time young people spend playing video games, China has banned students from playing them during the school week and limits them to just one hour per day on Fridays, weekends and holidays.

The new rule took...

Dance and movement therapy holds promise for treating anxiety and depression, as well as deeper psychological wounds

Written by Lana Ruvolo Grasser, Ph.D. Candidate and Graduate Research Fellow, Wayne State University

Dance and movement therapy not only holds promise for treatment of trauma, anxiety and depression but can also contribute lifelong coping skills.kate_sept2004/E+ via Getty Images

A few years ago, framed by the skyline of Detroit, a group of about 15 children resettled as refugees from the Middle East and Africa leapt and twirled around, waving...

A subway flood expert explains what needs to be done to stop underground station deluges

Written by Klaus Hans Jacob, Professor of Geophysics, Columbia University

Underground and underwater.David Dee Delgado/Getty Images via Getty Images

Subway stations in New York were inundated with water following heavy rain on Sept. 1, 2021. But the Big Apple isn’t alone – over the last year we have seen similar images in other major cities, including London and Zhengzhou in China.

We spoke with Klaus Hans...

Hurricane Ida: 2 reasons for its record-shattering rainfall in NYC and the Northeast long after the winds weakened

Written by Russ Schumacher, Associate Professor of Atmospheric Science and Colorado State Climatologist, Colorado State University

Philadelphia's Manayunk neighborhood was flooded by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.AP Images/Matt Rourke

Record downpours from Hurricane Ida overwhelmed cities across the Northeast on Sept. 1, 2021, hitting some with more than 3 inches of rain an hour. Water poured into subway stations in New York City, and streets flooded up to the rooftops of cars...

'Get out now' – inside the White House on 9/11, according to the staffers who were there

Written by Anita McBride, Fellow in Residence, Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, Department of Government, American University

Staff members were rushed into the White House Mess – then rushed out when they were told a plane was heading for the White House. Tina Hager/George W. Bush Presidential Center

On Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, I anticipated a busy but relatively calm day at the White House.

I was the special assistant to the president for management and...

How Arctic warming can trigger extreme cold waves like the Texas freeze – a new study makes the connection

Written by Mathew Barlow, Professor of Climate Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Temperatures in normally warm Texas plunged into the teens in February 2021, knocking out power for a population unaccustomed to cold, with deadly consequences. Thomas Shea / AFP via Getty Images

In February 2021, in the midst of rapidly warming global temperatures, an exceptionally severe cold wave hit large parts of North America, from Canada to...