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How dogs were implicated during the Salem witch trials

  • Written by Bridget Marshall, Professor of English, UMass Lowell
imageAn illustration of a court scene during the late-17th century witch trials in Salem, Mass.Christine_Kohler/iStock via Getty Images Plus

I teach a course on New England witchcraft trials, and students always arrive with varying degrees of knowledge of what happened in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692.

Nineteen people accused of witchcraft were executed...

Read more: How dogs were implicated during the Salem witch trials

This course explores the history of contested presidential elections

  • Written by Sarah J. Purcell, Professor of History, Grinnell College
imageThe 2000 election featuring George W. Bush and Al Gore was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.Tannen Maury via Getty Imagesimage

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

Contested U.S. Presidential Elections

What prompted the idea for the course?

I was...

Read more: This course explores the history of contested presidential elections

Candidate experience matters in elections, but not the way you think

  • Written by Charlie Hunt, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Boise State University
imagePreviously holding political office is an obvious advantage for candidates seeking votes. SDI Productions/E+/Getty Images

Ever since he was chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate back in July, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio, has come under a level of scrutiny typical for a vice presidential candidate, including for some of his...

Read more: Candidate experience matters in elections, but not the way you think

Farms to fame: How China’s rural influencers are redefining country life

  • Written by Mitchell Gallagher, Ph.D Candidate in Political Science, Wayne State University

In the quiet backwaters of Yunnan, Dong Meihua – though her followers know her by the public alias Dianxi Xiaoge – has done something remarkable: She’s taken the pastoral simplicity of rural China and made it irresistible to millions. In her hands, a village kitchen becomes a stage, and the rhythms of farm life become a story as...

Read more: Farms to fame: How China’s rural influencers are redefining country life

Rain may have helped form the first cells, kick-starting life as we know it

  • Written by Aman Agrawal, Postdoctoral Scholar in Chemical Engineering, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
imageHow did early cells keep themselves distinct while allowing for some amount of exchange?UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering/Peter Allen, Second Bay Studios, CC BY-ND

Billions of years of evolution have made modern cells incredibly complex. Inside cells are small compartments called organelles that perform specific functions essential...

Read more: Rain may have helped form the first cells, kick-starting life as we know it

Why FEMA’s disaster relief gets political − especially when hurricane season and election season collide

  • Written by Jennifer Selin, Associate Professor of Law, Arizona State University
imagePresident Joe Biden delivers remarks on the effects of Hurricane Milton on Oct. 10, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Rumors and lies about government responses to natural disasters are not new. Politics, misinformation and blame-shifting have long surrounded government response efforts.

When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in...

Read more: Why FEMA’s disaster relief gets political − especially when hurricane season and election season...

A devastating hurricane doesn’t dramatically change how people vote – but in a close election, it can matter

  • Written by Boris Heersink, Associate Professor of Political Science, Fordham University
imageResidents walk on a damaged street in Sarasota, Fla., on Oct. 10, 2024. Eva Marie Uzcategui for The Washington Post via Getty Images

North Carolina and Florida are changing administrative rules and, in some cases, issuing emergency funding that is intended to make it easier for people in areas damaged by Hurricanes Helene and Milton to vote.

The...

Read more: A devastating hurricane doesn’t dramatically change how people vote – but in a close election, it...

What is a communist, and what do communists believe?

  • Written by Aminda Smith, Associate Professor of History, Michigan State University
imageSeeking social change often requires collective action.champc/iStock / Getty Images Plusimage

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.

What is a communist? – Artie, age 10, Astoria, New York

Simply put, a communist is someone who...

Read more: What is a communist, and what do communists believe?

No country still uses an electoral college − except the US

  • Written by Joshua Holzer, Associate Professor of Political Science, Westminster College
imageEvery four years, Congress gathers to count electoral votes.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The United States is the only democracy in the world where a presidential candidate can get the most popular votes and still lose the election. Thanks to the Electoral College, that has happened five times in the country’s history. The most recent...

Read more: No country still uses an electoral college − except the US

Godzilla at 70: The monster’s warning to humanity is still urgent

  • Written by Amanda Kennell, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Notre Dame
imageThe monster in the 2023 movie "Godzilla Minus One." Toho Co. Ltd., CC BY-ND

The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations. Many of these witnesses have spent their lives warning of the dangers of nuclear war – but initially, much of the world didn’t want...

Read more: Godzilla at 70: The monster’s warning to humanity is still urgent

More Articles ...

  1. What does Springfield, Illinois, in 1908 tell us about Springfield, Ohio, in 2024?
  2. From Swift to Springsteen to Al Jolson, candidates keep trying to use celebrities to change voters’ songs
  3. Trump’s musical interlude is a twist on the long tradition of candidates enlisting musicians’ support, from Al Jolson to Springsteen to Swift
  4. As OpenAI attracts billions in new investment, its goal of balancing profit with purpose is getting more challenging to pull off
  5. Scientists around the world report millions of new discoveries every year − but this explosive research growth wasn’t what experts predicted
  6. Atmospheric rivers are shifting poleward, reshaping global weather patterns
  7. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is a Halloween visitor from the spooky Oort Cloud − the invisible bubble that’s home to countless space objects
  8. Vatican synod is opening the door a bit wider for Catholic women − but they’ve been knocking for more than 100 years
  9. Happiness class is helping clinically depressed school teachers become emotionally healthy − with a cheery assist from Aristotle
  10. Swing-state GOP leaders amplified election denial in 2020 − and may do so again
  11. San Francisco is suing the EPA over how specific water pollution permits should be
  12. Millions of people across the US use well water, but very few test it often enough to make sure it’s safe
  13. If you think grocery prices take a big bite out of your paycheck in the US, check out the rest of the world
  14. Evacuating in disasters like Hurricane Milton isn’t simple – there are reasons people stay in harm’s way, and it’s not just stubbornness
  15. Evacuating in disasters like Hurricane Milton isn’t simple – there are reasons people stay in harm’s way
  16. US inflation rate fell to 2.4% in September − here’s what that means for interest rates and markets
  17. Is childproofing the internet constitutional? A tech law expert draws out the issues
  18. Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage: sales pitches are often from biased sources, the choices can be overwhelming and impartial help is not equally available to all
  19. Charging, not range, is becoming a top concern for electric car drivers
  20. LGBTQ rights: Where do Harris and Trump stand?
  21. Why Trump accuses people of wrongdoing he himself committed − an explanation of projection
  22. Caitlin Clark, Christine Brennan and how racial stereotypes persist in the media’s WNBA coverage
  23. A realistic statue of Mary giving birth was criticized, then vandalized − but saints and artists have often reimagined Christ’s birth
  24. ‘Cajun Navy’ volunteers who participate in search-and-rescue operations after hurricanes are forming long-lasting organizations
  25. Machine learning cracked the protein-folding problem and won the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry
  26. Buyer beware: Off-brand Ozempic, Zepbound and other weight loss products carry undisclosed risks for consumers
  27. Columbus who? Decolonizing the calendar in Latin America
  28. Blitz of political attack ads in Pennsylvania and other swing states may be doing candidates and voters more harm than good
  29. How a subfield of physics led to breakthroughs in AI – and from there to this year’s Nobel Prize
  30. Misspoke: The long and winding road to becoming a political weasel word
  31. DEA could reclassify marijuana to a less restrictive category – a drug policy expert weighs the pros and cons
  32. So you don’t like Trump or Harris – here’s why it’s still best to vote for one of them
  33. Though home to about 50 white extremist groups, Ohio’s social and political landscape is undergoing rapid racial change
  34. The woman who revolutionized the fantasy genre is finally getting her due
  35. 5 kinds of American evangelicals and their voting patterns
  36. Harris proposes that Medicare cover more in-home health care, filling a large gap for older Americans and their caregivers
  37. Nobel Prize in physics spotlights key breakthroughs in AI revolution − making machines that learn
  38. How foreign operations are manipulating social media to influence your views
  39. Trump and Harris are sharply divided on science, but share common ground on US technology policy
  40. Can Montana’s ‘last rural Democrat’ survive another election?
  41. Is it COVID-19? Flu? At-home rapid tests could help you and your doctor decide on a treatment plan
  42. Kamala Harris has spoken of her racial backgrounds − but a shared identity isn’t enough to attract supporters
  43. ‘No antidote for bad polls’: Recalling the New York Times’ 1956 election experiment in shoe-leather reporting
  44. Why wildfires started by human activities can be more destructive and harder to contain
  45. European court ruling finds just cause to award soccer players greater freedom of movement
  46. Swing state voters along the Great Lakes love cleaner water and beaches − and candidates from both parties have long fished for support there
  47. Hurricane Milton explodes into a powerful Category 5 storm as it heads for Florida − here’s how rapid intensification works
  48. Many stable atoms have ‘magic numbers’ of protons and neutrons − 75 years ago, 2 physicists discovered their special properties
  49. MicroRNA is the Nobel-winning master regulator of the genome – researchers are learning to treat disease by harnessing how it controls genes
  50. How Hurricane Helene became a deadly disaster across six states