The Conversation

Netflix’s 'My Unorthodox Life' spurred ultra-Orthodox Jewish women to talk publicly about their lives

Written by Jessica Roda, Assistant Professor Jewish Civilization (Anthropologist/Ethnomusicologist), Georgetown University

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women have started telling their own stories via social media, challenging television's sometimes one-sided depictions of their lives.rfranca/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

Over the past four years, Netflix has released several shows related to people leaving the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. These shows include...

When does life begin? There’s more than one religious view

Written by Rachel Mikva, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, Chicago Theological Seminary

People protest in Texas after the governor signed a bill to outlaw abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. Sergio Flores/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The most restrictive abortion law in the country went into effect on Sept. 1, 2021, after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to deny an emergency appeal. In Texas, abortions are now illegal...

Medicine is an imperfect science – but you can still trust its process

Written by Venktesh Ramnath, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California San Diego

Intensive care physicians are yet again facing ICU bed and staff shortages as severe COVID-19 cases rise.gorodenkoff/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The Conversation is running a series of dispatches from clinicians and researchers operating on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. You can find all of the stories here.

As an intensive care...

What young kids say worked -- and didn't work -- for them during virtual learning

Written by Mari Altshuler, Ph.D. Candidate, Learning Sciences, Northwestern University

Some children liked being able to move from room to room, while others felt more confined to their desks at home. Mayur Kakade/Moment Collection via Getty Images

On Aug. 30, 2021, my kid joined millions of children in walking through school doors as he began first grade.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, school buildings are almost universally open....

The women who appear in Dante's 'Divine Comedy' are finally getting their due, 700 years later

Written by Laura Ingallinella, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Italian Studies and English, Wellesley College

In a 14th-century illustration, Dante reaches out to Sapia, whose eyes have been sewn shut.Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, CC BY-NC

When Dante Alighieri died 700 years ago, on Sept. 14, 1321, he had just put his final flourishes on the “Divine Comedy,” a monumental poem that would inspire readers for centuries.

The...

The next attack on the Affordable Care Act may cost you free preventive health care

Written by Paul Shafer, Assistant Professor, Health Law, Policy, and Management, Boston University

A provision of the Affordable Care Act makes it easier for patients to receive preventive care.Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Digital Vision via Getty Images

Many Americans breathed a sigh of relief when the Supreme Court left the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in place following its third major legal challenge in June 2021. This decision left widely supported...

Pandemic hardship is about to get a lot worse for millions of out-of-work Americans

Written by Jeffrey Kucik, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Arizona

The door to unemployment benefits is closing for million of Americans.AP Photo/John Minchillo

Millions of unemployed Americans are set to lose pandemic-related jobless benefits after Labor Day – just as surging cases of coronavirus slow the pace of hiring.

In all, an estimated 8.8 million people will stop receiving unemployment insurance...

Can burying power lines protect storm-wracked electric grids? Not always

Written by Theodore J. Kury, Director of Energy Studies, University of Florida

Outages left downtown New Orleans in the dark after Hurricane Ida made landfall on Aug. 29, 2021. Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The good news when Hurricane Ida churned into Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2021 was that levees held up – especially those that were strengthened after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in...

At the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, ancient Greece and Rome can tell us a lot about the links between collective trauma and going to war

Written by Joel Christensen, Professor of Classical Studies, Brandeis University

America's political leaders rushed the nation into war just weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, just like ancient Greeks and Romans did in response to similar traumatic events.David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images

On the outskirts of Grapevine, Texas, a town about 5 miles northwest of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, there’s a memorial...

How memories of Japanese American imprisonment during WWII guided the US response to 9/11

Written by Susan H. Kamei, Lecturer in History; Managing Director of the Spatial Sciences Institute, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

On Sept. 17, 2001, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, left, met with President George W. Bush and others.Greg Mathieson/Mai/Getty Images

As soon as Islamic extremists were identified as having carried out four deadly, coordinated attacks on U.S. soil in the early morning of Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta started...