The Conversation

The Christmas tree is a tradition older than Christmas

Written by Troy Bickham, Professor of History, Texas A&M University

Public Christmas trees, like Rockefeller Center's famous tree, didn't start appearing in the U.S. until the 20th century. Nicholas Hunt/WireImage via Getty Images

Why, every Christmas, do so many people endure the mess of dried pine needles, the risk of a fire hazard and impossibly tangled strings of lights?

Strapping a fir tree to the hood of my...

What social media regulation could look like: Think of pipelines, not utilities

Written by Theodore J. Kury, Director of Energy Studies, University of Florida

Is the law coming for Twitter, Meta and other social media outlets?new look casting/iStock via Getty Images

Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, and his controversial statements and decisions as its owner, have fueled a new wave of calls for regulating social media companies. Elected officials and policy scholars have argued for years that...

Record low water levels on the Mississippi River in 2022 show how climate change is altering large rivers

Written by Ray Lombardi, Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Memphis

A barge maneuvers its way down the drought-narrowed Mississippi River at Tiptonville, Tenn., Oct. 20, 2022.AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

Rivers are critical corridors that connect cities and ecosystems alike. When drought develops, water levels fall, making river navigation harder and more expensive.

In 2022, water levels in some of the world’s...

Special counsels, like the one leading the Department of Justice's investigation of Trump, are intended to be independent – but they aren't entirely

Written by Joshua Holzer, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Westminster College

Merrick Garland, center, announcing on Nov. 18, 2022, that he will appoint a special counsel for the Department of Justice investigation into former President Donald Trump. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

When Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed veteran prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee two criminal investigations into former...

A tortured and deadly legacy: Kissinger and realpolitik in US foreign policy

Written by Jarrod Hayes, Associate Professor of Political Science, UMass Lowell

President Richard Nixon, left, speaks with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger at the White House in September 1972.AP Photo

In 2023, Henry Kissinger will mark a century since his birth and more than 50 years of influence on American foreign policy. Kissinger’s centennial represents an important opportunity to reflect on not only his...

Nasal vaccines promise to stop the COVID-19 virus before it gets to the lungs – an immunologist explains how they work

Written by Michael W. Russell, Professor Emeritus of Microbiology and Immunology, University at Buffalo

Nasal vaccines for COVID-19 are still in early development.Paul Biris/Moment via Getty Images

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines have played a large role in preventing deaths and severe infections from COVID-19. But researchers are still in the process of developing alternative approaches to vaccines to improve their effectiveness,...

Social media always remembers – which makes moving on from a breakup that much harder

Written by Kate G. Blackburn, Post Doctoral Researcher, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts

There's no playbook for how to navigate breakups in the digital age.Sean Gladwell/Moment via Getty Images

Before the internet, people commonly burned Polaroids and love letters in a fire as an act of closure following a breakup.

Nowadays, it isn’t so simple. People produce and consume massive amounts of digital stuff – 33 trillion...

Mpox, AIDS and COVID-19 show the challenges of targeting public health messaging to specific groups without causing stigma

Written by Ken Ho, Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences

Fear-based public health messaging can both motivate and alienate at-risk groups.AP Photo/Gillian Allen

During infectious disease outbreaks, clinicians and public health officials are tasked with providing accurate guidance for the public on how to stay safe and protect themselves and their loved ones. However, sensationalized media coverage can...

As viral infections skyrocket, masks are still a tried-and-true way to help keep yourself and others safe

Written by Emily Toth Martin, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of Michigan

Masks are an easy and low-cost way to reduce the amount of virus entering the air and spreading to others.william87/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The cold and flu season of 2022 has begun with a vengeance. Viruses that have been unusually scarce over the past three years are reappearing at remarkably high levels, sparking a “tripledemic”...

The Catholic view on indulgences and how they work today

Written by Myriam Renaud, Affiliated Faculty of Bioethics, Religion, and Society, Department of Religious Studies, DePaul University

The National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini in Chicago recently offered indulgences.Myriam Renaud, CC BY-NC

In 1517, the German theologian Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to Wittenberg’s Castle Church door, attacking indulgences, a Catholic practice that, according to church teachings, can reduce or eliminate punishment for sin....