The Conversation

From flammable neighborhoods to moral hazards, fire insurance maps capture early US cities and the landscape of discrimination

Written by Jack Swab, Assistant Professor Department of Geography & Sustainability, University of Tennessee

1909 Sanborn map of Suffolk County in Boston, Mass.Library of Congress

Imagine a map that allows you to see what your neighborhood looked like a century ago in immense detail. What you’re thinking of is probably very much like the fire insurance maps produced from the 1860s to the 1970s for insurance companies to identify potential fire risks....

Viruses aren’t all bad: In the ocean, some help fuel the food web – a new study shows how

Written by Steven Wilhelm, Professor of Microbiology, University of Tennessee

A research ship sails in the Atlantic Ocean, where scientists are studying the roles of marine viruses.SW Wilhelm

Virus. The word evokes images of illness and fears of outbreaks. Yet, in the oceans, not all viruses are bad news.

Some play a helpful, even critical, role in sustaining marine life.

In a new study, we and an international team of...

3 ways US actions in Venezuela violated international law

Written by Mary Ellen O'Connell, Professor of Law and International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

International law generally prohibits prosecuting a head of state in a foreign court.AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams

Heads of state, policymakers and international law scholars are among those who have labeled U.S. military actions against Venezuela and the Jan. 3, 2026, capture of its leader as unlawful. But what exactly does that mean?

The...

Nearly half of Detroit seniors spend at least 30% of their income on housing costs − even as real estate values fall

Written by Amanda Nothaft, Director of Data and Analysis, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, University of Michigan

The high costs of maintaining a home can put Detroit seniors at risk.Nick Hagen/The Washington Post via Getty Images

For Detroit homeowners over 65 who overwhelmingly live on fixed incomes, unexpected costs – increases in grocery prices, rising health care premiums or an emergency repair – heighten their risk of financial instability...

Small businesses say they aren’t planning to hire many recent graduates for entry-level jobs – here’s why

Written by Murugan Anandarajan, Professor of Decision Sciences and Management Information Systems, Drexel University

Small businesses often do not have the time or resources to onboard recent graduates with little or no experience. 020 Creative/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Small businesses are planning to hire fewer recent college graduates than they did in 2025, making it likely harder for this cohort to find entry-level jobs.

In our recent national survey, we...

Wars without clear purpose erode presidential legacies, and Trump risks political consequences with further military action in Venezuela

Written by Charles Walldorf, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Wake Forest University

The body of U.S. Army Spc. Israel Candelaria Mejias is carried in a transfer case at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware after he was killed on April 5, 2009, near Baghdad. AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards via Getty Images

Despite public support in the U.S. for deposing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump is unlikely to find that...

Colorado ranks among the highest states in the country for flu – an emergency room physician describes why the 2025-26 flu season is hitting hard

Written by Jean Hoffman, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Nationally, doctor's visits for flu-like symptoms are at a 30-year high.Boston Globe/Getty Images

Colorado is in the midst of a record-breaking flu season. In the week ending Dec. 27, 2025, 831 people were hospitalized with influenza – the most since the state started tracking flu cases two decades ago. Hospitalizations eased the following...

DOJ criminal probe highlights risk of Fed losing independence – a central bank scholar explains what’s at stake

Written by Cristina Bodea, Professor of Political Science, Michigan State University

U.S. President Donald Trump with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on July 24, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

The Department of Justice’s decision to open a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has reignited concern over the independence of the central bank.

In unusually blunt remarks, Powell...

How social media is channeling popular discontent in Iran during ongoing period of domestic unrest

Written by Shirvin Zeinalzadeh, Graduate Teaching Associate, School of Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State University

Days of protest across Iran have left hundreds dead and many more injured.

Attempts by Iranian authorities to quell dissent through a near-total internet blackout point to the pivotal role that social media has played in organizing, spreading and documenting unrest.

The Conversation asked Shirvin Zeinalzadeh, an expert on the impact of media in...

Ukraine is under pressure to trade land for peace − if it does, history shows it might not ever get it back

Written by Peter Harris, Associate Professor of Political Science, Colorado State University

An elderly Ukrainian walks through the rubble following a Russian aerial bomb strike in Donetsk Oblast.Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images

Asked in December 2025 what the biggest sticking point was in negotiating peace in Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump got straight to the point: land. “Some of that land has been taken. Some...