The Conversation

Can a Christian flag fly at city hall? The Supreme Court will have to decide

Written by Mark Satta, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Wayne State University

Organizations can apply to have their flag temporarily replace the Boston city flag, shown on far right, in front of City Hall.gregobagel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

There are three flagpoles outside Boston City Hall. One flies the United States flag. Another flies the Massachusetts state flag. What can – and can’t – fly from the...

The 'China shock' of trade in the 2000s reverberates in US politics and economics – and warns of the dangers for fossil fuel workers

Written by Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology

Containers are seen stacked at a port in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province on Jan. 14, 2020. STR/AFP via Getty Images

In December 1978, the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping introduced economic reforms that dramatically altered China’s economy by strengthening trade and cultural ties with the West.

Beginning in the 1990s, these reforms...

College students with young kids – especially mothers – find themselves in a time crunch

Written by Claire Wladis, Professor of Urban Education, CUNY Graduate Center

Mothers in college have less time to study than students without children. 10'000 Hours/Getty Images

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

The big idea

We found that college students who have children had significantly less time for college than their childless peers – about 4.3 hours less per week, to be specific...

Real shooting stars exist, but they aren't the streaks you see in a clear night sky

Written by Idan Ginsburg, Academic Faculty in Physics & Astronomy, Georgia State University

Some stars travel at high speeds through the universe and sometimes leave spectacular clouds of dust and gas in their wake. NASA, ESA and R. Sahai (NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory), CC BY

“I see thy glory like a shooting star.”

So says the Earl of Salisbury as he ruminates about the future in Shakespeare’s “Richard...

When endangered species recover, humans may need to make room for them – and it's not always easy

Written by Veronica Frans, PhD Student, Michigan State University

Fencing protects New Zealand sea lions that have migrated inland from road traffic.Janet Ledingham, CC BY-ND

Imagine discovering a sea lion in the middle of the woods, more than a mile inland from the beach. Or coming face to face with one of these curious creatures in a local swimming pool or on your front porch.

These encounters are happening in...

A taste for sweet – an anthropologist explains the evolutionary origins of why you're programmed to love sugar

Written by Stephen Wooding, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Heritage Studies, University of California, Merced

Being able to perceive sweetness can guide foragers to the most calorie-rich picks.Elva Etienne/Moment via Getty Images

The sweetness of sugar is one of life’s great pleasures. People’s love for sweet is so visceral, food companies lure consumers to their products by adding sugar to almost everything they make: yogurt, ketchup, fruit...

Online tools put will-writing in reach for most people – but they're not the end of the line for producing a legally binding document

Written by Allison Anna Tait, Professor of Law, University of Richmond

Paper copies of wills haven't gone extinct yet, but online estate tools have brought will preparation into the 21st century.Bradshaw79/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

The promise of online wills is undeniable. Online programs offer people an easy way to write their wills. Online templates can be completed anywhere, at any time. There is no office appointment,...

After Afghanistan, US military presence abroad faces domestic and foreign opposition in 2022

Written by Michael A. Allen, Associate Professor of Political Science, Boise State University

U.S. Army soldiers walk to their C-17 cargo plane for departure on May 11, 2013, at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

In August 2021, the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan after fighting a war there for nearly 20 years.

In addition to Afghanistan, the U.S. has reduced its military presence in several other...

'Don’t Look Up': Hollywood's primer on climate denial illustrates 5 myths that fuel rejection of science

Written by Gale Sinatra, Professor of Education and Psychology, University of Southern California

Every disaster movie seems to open with a scientist being ignored. “Don’t Look Up” is no exception – in fact, people ignoring or flat out denying scientific evidence is the point.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play astronomers who make a literally Earth-shattering discovery and then try to persuade the president to...

How cybercriminals turn paper checks stolen from mailboxes into bitcoin

Written by David Maimon, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University

Mailboxes are increasingly becoming the scene of a crime. GregAIT/E+ via Getty Images

While cybercrime gets a lot of attention from law enforcement and the media these days, I’ve been documenting a less high-tech threat emerging in recent months: a surge in stolen checks.

Criminals are increasingly targeting U.S. Postal Service and personal...