The Conversation

5 things to know about US aid to Ukraine

Written by Jessica Trisko Darden, Associate Professor of Political Science, Virginia Commonwealth University

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Joe Biden arrive for a news conference on Dec. 12, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images

From the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the U.S. government has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s war effort. The Biden administration has repeatedly...

A US ambassador working for Cuba? Charges against former diplomat Victor Manuel Rocha spotlight Havana's importance in the world of spying

Written by Calder Walton, Assistant Director, Applied History Project and Intelligence Project, Harvard Kennedy School

A U.S. Justice Department image showing Victor Manuel Rocha during a meeting with an FBI undercover employee. U.S. Department of Justice via AP

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Dec. 4, 2023, that Victor Manuel Rocha, a former U.S. government employee, had been arrested and faced federal charges for secretly acting for decades as an agent...

Racism produces subtle brain changes that lead to increased disease risk in Black populations

Written by Negar Fani, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Emory University

Coping with everyday affronts comes at a cost and requires a certain level of emotional suppression. RyanJLane/E+ via Getty Images

The U.S. is in the midst of a racial reckoning. The COVID-19 pandemic, which took a particularly heavy toll on Black communities, turned a harsh spotlight on long-standing health disparities that the public could no...

As Russia ramps up 'traditional values' rhetoric − especially against LGBTQ+ groups − it's won Putin far-right fans abroad

Written by Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, Assistant Professor of Religion and Anthropology, Northeastern University

Russian riot police detain gay rights activists during World Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in St. Petersburg in 2019.Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images

With LGBTQ+ rights continuing to expand across much of the world, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has doubled down on restricting them – and a new ruling has made the future even more...

War in Gaza: An ethicist explains why you shouldn't turn to social media for information about the conflict or to do something about it

Written by Nir Eisikovits, Professor of Philosophy and Director, Applied Ethics Center, UMass Boston

There has been a flood of images on social media about the Israel-Hamas war. NurPhoto via Getty Images

As the war between Israel and Hamas drags on, many on both sides have taken to social media to gather information and air their outrage. The impulse to do so is understandable: Political activism on social media provides people with an emotional...

Sandra Day O’Connor saw civics education as key to the future of democracy

Written by Joshua Jansa, Associate Professor of Political Science, Oklahoma State University

Beyond her trailblazing role as the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor considered iCivics – a civics education nonprofit founded after she retired from the court – to be her “most important legacy.”

“The practice of democracy is not passed down through the gene...

How to provide reliable water in a warming world – these cities are testing small-scale treatment systems and wastewater recycling

Written by Lu Liu, Assistant Professor of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University

Water treatment doesn't have to be one large, citywide system.Deepblue4you/E+ via Getty Images

A lot can go wrong in a large urban water system. Pumps malfunction. Valves break. Pipes leak. Even when the system is functioning properly, water can sit in pipes for long periods of time. Water shortages are also a growing problem in a warming world, as...

Mutton, an Indigenous woolly dog, died in 1859 − new analysis confirms precolonial lineage of this extinct breed, once kept for their wool

Written by Audrey T. Lin, Research Associate in Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution

Indigenous Coast Salish women wove woolly dogs' fur into blankets.Artist's reconstruction by Karen Carr

Dogs have been in the Americas for more than 10,000 years. They were already domesticated when they came from Eurasia with the first people to reach North America. In the coastal parts of present-day Washington state and southwestern British...

Release of Alberto Fujimori in Peru rekindles fears of backsliding on human rights

Written by Ñusta Carranza Ko, Assistant Professor, School of Public and International Affairs, University of Baltimore

A frail but free Alberto Fujimori.Renato Pajuelo/AFP via Getty Images

The release from prison of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori on Dec. 6, 2023, has sparked concern over Peru’s commitment to human rights.

The move came a a day after the Constitutional Tribunal of Peru ruled that the 85-year-old, who was serving a 25-year sentence...

When authoritative sources hold onto bad data: A legal scholar explains the need for government databases to retract information

Written by Janet Freilich, Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University

Government information sources like the U.S. patent database often file bad information without labeling it or providing a way to retract it.Thinglass/iStock via Getty Images

In 2004, Hwang Woo-suk was celebrated for his breakthrough discovery creating cloned human embryos, and his work was published in the prestigious journal Science. But the...