The Conversation

No time to recover: Hurricane Melissa and the Caribbean’s compounding disaster trap as the storms keep coming

Written by Farah Nibbs, Assistant Professor of Emergency and Disaster Health Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Hurricane Melissa tore off roofs and stripped trees of their leaves, including in many parts of Jamaica hit by Hurricane Beryl a year earlier.Ricardo Makyn/AFP via Getty Images

Headlines have been filled with talk of the catastrophic power of Hurricane Melissa after the Category 5 storm devastated communities across Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti in...

New technologies like AI come with big claims – borrowing the scientific concept of validity can help cut through the hype

Written by Kai R. Larsen, Professor of Information Systems, University of Colorado Boulder

Closely examining the claims companies make about a product can help you separate hype from reality.Flavio Coelho/Moment via Getty Images

Technological innovations can seem relentless. In computing, some have proclaimed that “a year in machine learning is a century in any other field.” But how do you know whether those advancements are...

What is time? Rather than something that ‘flows,’ a philosopher suggests time is a psychological projection

Written by Adrian Bardon, Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest University

Time isn't an illusion, unlike optical illusions that trick your eyes. There's nothing to 'trick' because it has no physical basis.BSIP/UIG Via Getty Image

“Time flies,” “time waits for no one,” “as time goes on”: The way we speak about time tends to strongly imply that the passage of time is some sort of real...

Turn shopping stress into purposeful gift giving by cultivating ‘consumer wisdom’ during the holidays

Written by Michael Luchs, JS Mack Professor of Business, William & Mary

The most meaningful gifts reflect the recipient’s values and identity – and the giver’s, too.Halfpoint images/Moment via Getty Images

Every fall I anticipate the winter holidays with almost childlike joy. I look forward to familiar traditions with friends and family, eggnog in my coffee, and the sense that everyone is feeling a...

Community health centers provide care for 1 in 10 Americans, but funding cuts threaten their survival

Written by Jennifer Spinghart, Clinical Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina

Community health clinics provide primary care to 1 in 10 people in the U.S., but they often operate on razor-thin margins.Ariel Skelley/Photodisc via Getty Images

Affordable health care was the primary point of contention in the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which hit 43 days on Nov. 12, 2025.

This fight highlights a persistent...

Bad Bunny is the latest product of political rage — how pop culture became the front line of American politics

Written by Adam G. Klein, Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Pace University

Bad Bunny performs in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 11, 2025.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

When the NFL in September 2025 announced that Bad Bunny would headline the next Super Bowl halftime show, it took only hours for the political outrage machine to roar to life.

The Puerto Rican performer, known for mixing pop stardom with outspoken politics, was...

Sulfur-based batteries could offer electric vehicles a greener, longer-range option

Written by Golareh Jalilvand, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina

Sulfur is abundant and inexpensive, making it an attractive ingredient for making batteries.Alanna Dumonceaux/Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Picture an electric car that could go 600, 700 or even 1,000 miles on a single charge. That’s much farther than the longest-range electric vehicles on the U.S. market,...

Want to make America healthy again? Stop fueling climate change

Written by Jonathan Levy, Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental Health, Boston University

Extreme heat can threaten human health, but it's only one way climate change puts lives at risk.Drew Angerer/Getty Images

If you’ve been following recent debates about health, you’ve been hearing a lot about vaccines, diet, measles, Medicaid cuts and health insurance costs – but much less about one of the greatest threats to...

Colorado’s rural schools serve more than 130,000 students, and their superintendents want more pay for their teachers

Written by Robert Mitchell, Associate Professor, College of Education, University of Colorado Colorado Springs

Leaders of Colorado’s rural schools are more likely to encourage a total stranger to go into teaching than a member of their own family, according to a Colorado-based survey published in October 2025.

The results come at a time when nearly every state in the United States faces critical teacher shortages.

We collected data in the fall of 2023...

Students of color are at greater risk for reading difficulties – even in kindergarten

Written by Paul L. Morgan, Director, Institute for Social and Health Equity, University at Albany, State University of New York

The achievement gap for young readers is stark, even in kindergarten.andresr/E+ via Getty Images

Black, Hispanic and Native American students are more likely than white or Asian students to struggle with reading – and that gap emerges early, according to our new research. During kindergarten, they are more likely to score in the lowest 10% on...