Audiences were furious to hear that Michelle Williams was paid eight times less than Mark Wahlberg for her starring role in “All the Money in the World” and 1,500 times less for reshoots. He was paid US$1.5 million for...
Kamala Harris recently dropped out of the presidential race after months of attacks from the left for her “tough-on-crime” record as San Francisco’s district attorney and as California’s attorney general.
A few years ago, the...
Read more: How being 'tough on crime' became a political liability
Editor’s note: The seven Democrats who qualified for the final Democratic presidential debate of 2019 sparred over the economy, trade, social justice and many other issues – including “wine caves.” We asked three scholars to watch the...
From climate change to omnipresent plastic waste, 2019 delivered a lot of discouraging environmental news. Several special reports this year from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change documented how global warming is altering the planet’s lands, forests, oceans and frozen...
Read more: Finding opportunity in crisis: 3 essential reads about environmental solutions
Out of the mouths of babes… comes a never-ending stream of questions.
So this year, The Conversation US jumped on a great idea dreamed up by our colleagues in Australia and launched a series of articles meant to answer questions kids ask, but that everyone probably wonders about. The...
Read more: We asked kids to send us their burning questions – here are 5 of our favorites from 2019
Christmas and New Year’s are days of celebration in many parts of the world when people gather with family and friends. One thing many typically don’t celebrate on those days is a birthday.
That’s because Dec. 25 is the least popular day in the U.S., Aus...
Read more: Why are so few people born on Christmas Day, New Year's and other holidays?
Editor’s note: As we come to the end of the year, Conversation editors take a look back at the stories that – for them – exemplified 2019.
Who gets to live in the United States?
It’s a contentious question, particularly as the Trump...
As the 2020 election season heats up, there will be a massive number of people competing for your vote. Only some of them will be legitimate candidates.
The vast majority will be information warriors, people who seek to confuse you about what is truth and what is fiction...
Read more: Don't let your vote get stolen – 5 essential reads about disinformation in 2020
Around the world, religious minorities are facing violence because of their beliefs.
Noting that attacks on places of worship had increased, this year the United Nations declared Aug. 22 as...
Read more: Religious minorities around the world face an uncertain future: 5 essential reads
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.
Where does beach sand come from? – Sly M., age 6, Cambridge, Massachusetts
There’s more to beach sand than meets the...