The Conversation

Independent voters can be decisive in elections – but they're pretty unpredictable, not 'shadow partisans'

Written by Thom Reilly, Professor & Co-Director, Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy, School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University

Pennsylvania's independent voters helped elect Democrat John Fetterman, seen here, over the GOP contender for the U.S. Senate seat, Mehmet Oz. Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

In the end there was no red wave. And there was no blue wave.

There was an independent wave.

Pollsters and pundits were counting on independent voters in the 2022 midterm elections to...

Rural Americans aren't included in inflation figures – and for them, the cost of living may be rising faster

Written by Stephan Weiler, Professor of Economics, Colorado State University

Calculating the cost of living in the country.Ariel Skelley/Getty Images

When the Federal Reserve convenes at the end of January 2023 to set interest rates, it will be guided by one key bit of data: the U.S. inflation rate. The problem is, that stat ignores a sizable chunk of the country – rural America.

Currently sitting at 6.5%, the rate of...

LA's long, troubled history with urban oil drilling is nearing an end after years of health concerns

Written by Jill Johnston, Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California

Active oil wells can often be found next door to homes, office buildings and even schools.David McNew/Getty Images

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Los Angeles had oil wells pumping in its neighborhoods when Hollywood was in its infancy, and thousands of active wells still dot the city.

These wells can emit toxic chemicals such as benzene and...

Power struggles in nature can be more subtle, nuanced and strategic than just dog-eat-dog

Written by Lee Alan Dugatkin, Professor of Biology and Distinguished Arts and Science Scholar, University of Louisville

The battle for power in the animal world isn't always about brute force.photofellow/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Scientists used to think power in animals played out in a tidy and simple way. Nature is a dog-eat-dog place. Rams butt heads in a thunderous spectacle, and the winning male gets to mate with a female. Bigger, stronger, meaner animals...

It shouldn't seem so surprising when the pope says being gay 'isn't a crime' – a Catholic theologian explains

Written by Steven P. Millies, Professor of Public Theology and Director of The Bernardin Center, Catholic Theological Union

Pope Francis leads the second vespers service at St. Paul's Basilica on Jan. 25, 2023, in Rome.Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis via Getty Images

Once again, Pope Francis has called on Catholics to welcome and accept LGBTQ people.

“Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” the pope said in an interview with The Associated Press on Jan. 24, 2023,...

Beavers and oysters are helping restore lost ecosystems with their engineering skills – podcast

Written by Daniel Merino, Associate Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation

Beavers dramatically change a landscape by building dams that create ponds of still water.Jerzy Strzelecki/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Whether you are looking at tropical forests in Brazil, grasslands in California or coral reefs in Australia, it is hard to find places where humanity hasn’t left a mark. The scale of the alteration, invasion...

What's effective altruism? A philosopher explains

Written by Jacob Bauer, Lecturer of Philosophy, University of Dayton

Tech billionaire Dustin Mosovitz is one of the world's wealthiest effective altruists.Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images

Effective altruism is an intellectual and charitable movement that aspires to find the best ways to help others. People dedicated to it rely on evidence and rational arguments to identify what they can do to make the...

Ukraine has a mixed record of treating its citizens fairly – that could make it harder for it to maintain peace, once the war ends

Written by David Cingranelli, Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Human Rights Institute, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Ukraine has a mixed human rights record over the past several decades, new data shows.Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the dominant Western media narrative has been clear – Russia is the “global villain,” and Ukraine a model country victimized by an unjust war. But while the war...

People blame and judge parents for children's heavier weights

Written by Jaimie Arona Krems, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Oklahoma State University

Would you hold the mother responsible for her daughter's weight?Courtesy of Steve Neuberg, Arizona State University, and Jaimie Krems, Oklahoma State University

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Americans stigmatize parents of heavier children, specifically blaming them for their children’s weights,...

How California's ambitious new climate plan could help speed energy transformation around the world

Written by Daniel Sperling, Distinguished Blue Planet Prize Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis

Electrifying trucks and cars and shifting to renewable energy are crucial for California's zero-emissions future.Sergio Pitamitz / VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

California is embarking on an audacious new climate plan that aims to eliminate the state’s greenhouse gas footprint by 2045, and in the process, slash emissions far...