The Conversation

Why Muslim American nonprofits are taking steps to build trust with donors during Ramadan

Written by Shariq Siddiqui, Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University

Nearly 70% of American Muslims report giving Zakat, the obligatory charity, during Ramadan.NickyLloyd/E+ via Getty Images

As Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, an important aspect of their faith is their role as stewards of God on Earth. One way Muslims do this is through the practice of Zakat, an obligatory kind of charity that’s...

Death by firing squad set to resume in the US – but no matter the method, all means of execution come with a troubling history

Written by Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

The firing squad chair in which Brad Sigmon will be strapped before three volunteers shoot him dead.South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP

Barring any late developments, the U.S. is set to see its first execution by firing squad in 15 years on March 7, 2025.

Photos released by the South Carolina Department of Corrections suggest that the...

Philly’s street fentanyl contains an industrial chemical called BTMPS that’s an ingredient in plastic

Written by Karli Hochstatter, Research Scientist in Epidemiology and Health Services, Columbia University

Adulterants such as xylazine, medetomidine and now BTMPS are common in Philly's street fentanyl.Juan Pablo Pino/AFP via Getty Images

As much as half of the fentanyl sold on Philly’s streets contains an industrial chemical used in plastics manufacturing. That’s according to our November 2024 testing of fentanyl samples collected in...

The US energy market has its troubles, though it may not be a ‘national emergency’

Written by Seth Blumsack, Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics and International Affairs, Penn State

This Montana refinery processes crude oil imported from Canada.AP Photo/Matthew Brown

President Donald Trump’s declaration of a “national energy emergency” on his first day in office – and which he reiterated during his address to Congress on March 4, 2025 – might have seemed to echo other national emergencies, like...

Carolina wildfires followed months of weather whiplash, from drought to hurricane-fueled floods and back to drought

Written by Lauren Lowman, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wake Forest University

A hillside burns near Tryon, N.C., on March 3, 2025. Fire season here typically starts in late March or April.Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images

Scores of wildfires broke out across North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia in early March 2025 as strong winds, abnormally dry conditions and low humidity combined to kindle and spread the flames.

The...

The child boss in ‘Severance’ reveals a devastating truth about work and child-rearing in the 21st century

Written by Anna Mae Duane, Professor of English, University of Connecticut

Miss Huang is, in many ways, capitalism's ideal child.Apple TV+

In the second season of “Severance,” there’s an unexpected character: a child supervisor named Miss Huang, who matter-of-factly explains she’s a child “because of when I was born.”

Miss Huang’s deadpan response is more than just a clever quip....

Supreme Court sides with San Francisco, requiring EPA to set specific targets in water pollution permits

Written by Robin Kundis Craig, Professor of Law, University of Kansas

Swimmers gather at San Francisco's Ocean Beach for a Polar Plunge to start the new year, Jan. 1, 2025.Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court has limited how flexible the Environmental Protection Agency and states can be in regulating water pollution under the Clean Water Act in a ruling issued March 4, 2025. However, the...

COVID-19 is the latest epidemic to show biomedical breakthroughs aren’t enough to eliminate a disease

Written by Powel H. Kazanjian, Professor of Infectious Diseases and of History, University of Michigan

COVID-19 has become a part of modern life that many people don't pay much attention to.Spencer Platt via Getty Images News

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed over the past five years from a catastrophic threat that has killed over 7 million people to what most people regard today as a tolerable annoyance that doesn’t require precaution....

Learning ethics − one Marvel movie at a time

Written by James Calvin Davis, Professor of Religion, Middlebury

Philosophically, there's more to many superhero movies than first meets the eye.Daniel Fung/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

Ethics in the MCU

What prompted the idea for the course?

As a die-hard fan of the...

USAID’s history shows decades of good work on behalf of America’s global interests, although not all its projects succeeded

Written by Christian Ruth, America in the World Consortium Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Florida

Volunteers at a camp for internally displaced people in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, carry wheat flour donated by USAID in December 2021. J. Countess/Getty Images

The Trump administration’s sudden dismantling of nearly all foreign aid, including the work carried out by the U.S. Agency for International Development, has upended the government...