The Conversation

The hidden cost of convenience: How your data pulls in hundreds of billions of dollars for app and social media companies

Written by Kassem Fawaz, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Many apps and social media platforms collect detailed information about you as you use them, and sometimes even when you're not using them.Malte Mueller/fStop via Getty images

You wake up in the morning and, first thing, you open your weather app. You close that pesky ad that opens first and check the forecast. You like your weather app, which...

Why the US bombed a bunch of metal tubes − a nuclear engineer explains the importance of centrifuges to Iranian efforts to build nuclear weapons

Written by Anna Erickson, Professor of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

An image from Iranian television shows centrifuges lining a hall at Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility in 2021.IRIB via APPEAR

When U.S. forces attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 21, 2025, the main target was metal tubes in laboratories deep underground. The tubes are centrifuges that produce highly enriched uranium needed to...

Bill Moyers’ journalism strengthened democracy by connecting Americans to ideas and each other, in a long and extraordinary career

Written by Julie Leininger Pycior, Professor of History Emeritus, Manhattan University

“Bill Moyers? He’s spectacular!” George Clooney said – and no wonder.

I mentioned this legendary television journalist to the actor and filmmaker after Clooney emerged from the Broadway theater where he just had been portraying another news icon: Edward R. Murrow. Or as the Museum of Broadcast Communications put it in a...

Invasive carp threaten the Great Lakes − and reveal a surprising twist in national politics

Written by Mike Shriberg, Professor of Practice & Engagement, School for Environment & Sustainability, University of Michigan

Invasive Asian carp are spreading up the Mississippi River system and already clog the Illinois River.AP Photo/John Flesher

In his second term, President Donald Trump has not taken many actions that draw near-universal praise from across the political spectrum. But there is at least one of these political anomalies, and it illustrates the broad...

1 in 4 Americans reject evolution, a century after the Scopes monkey trial spotlighted the clash between science and religion

Written by William Trollinger, Professor of History, University of Dayton

The 1925 Scopes trial, in which a Dayton, Tennessee, teacher was charged with violating state law by teaching biological evolution, was one of the earliest and most iconic conflicts in America’s ongoing culture war.

Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species,” published in 1859, and subsequent scientific research made the case that...

Who’s the most American? Psychological studies show that many people are biased and think it’s a white English speaker

Written by Katherine Kinzler, Professor of Psychology, University of Chicago

Some people have a narrow view of who is American.The Good Brigade/DigitalVision via Getty Images

In the U.S. and elsewhere, nationality tends to be defined by a set of legal parameters. This may involve birthplace, parental citizenship or procedures for naturalization.

Yet in many Americans’ minds these objective notions of citizenship are a...

Here’s a way to save lives, curb traffic jams and make commutes faster and easier − ban left turns at intersections

Written by Vikash V. Gayah, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Penn State

Research shows left turns at intersections are dangerous and slow traffic.Benjamin Rondel/The Image Bank via Getty Images

More than 60% of traffic collisions at intersections involve left turns. Some U.S. cities – including San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Birmingham, Alabama – are restricting left turns.

Dr. Vikash Gayah, a professor...

Why the traditional college major may be holding students back in a rapidly changing job market

Written by John Weigand, Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Interior Design, Miami University

Rethinking the college major could help colleges better understand what employers and students need.Westend61/Getty Images

Colleges and universities are struggling to stay afloat.

The reasons are numerous: declining numbers of college-age students in much of the country, rising tuition at public institutions as state funding shrinks, and a growing...

What’s at risk for Arctic wildlife if Trump expands oil drilling in the fragile National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska

Written by Mariah Meek, Associate Professor of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University

Teshekpuk caribou graze in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Bob Wick/BLM, CC BY

The largest tract of public land in the United States is a wild expanse of tundra and wetlands stretching across nearly 23 million acres of northern Alaska. It’s called the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, but despite its industrial-sounding name, the...

1 in 3 Florida third graders have untreated cavities – how parents can protect their children’s teeth

Written by Olga Ensz, Clinical Assistant Professor of Community Dentistry, University of Florida

Many Florida children lack access to routine dental care.Lu ShaoJi/Moment via Getty Images

“He hides his smile in every school photo,” Jayden’s mother told me, holding up a picture of her 6-year-old son.

I first met Jayden – not his real name – as a patient at the University of Florida community dental outreach program...