The Conversation

History shows why FEMA is essential in disasters, and how losing independent agency status hurt its ability to function

Written by Susan L. Cutter, Distinguished Professor of Geography and Director of the Hazards Vulnerability & Resilience Institute, University of South Carolina

FEMA workers help residents who lost homes in the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires apply for aid.Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

When the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s urban search and rescue team resigned after the deadly July 4, 2025, Texas floods, he told colleagues he was frustrated with bureaucratic...

Iron nanoparticles can help treat contaminated water – our team of scientists created them out of expired supplements

Written by Ahmed Ibrahim Yunus, Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Scientists used pharmaceutical waste to create a new material with interesting properties. Mitrija/iStock via Getty Images

Today, approximately 1,800,000 acres of land in the United States is used for landfill waste disposal. In terms of volume, the U.S alone generated over 290 million tons of solid waste in 2018, an amount equivalent to about...

Youth athletes, not just professionals, may face mental health risks from repeated traumatic brain injuries

Written by David B. Sarwer, Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Temple University

Limiting the amount of physical contact in training can reduce young players' head injury risks, research shows.Mint Images RF via Getty Images

On July 28, 2025, a 27-year-old gunman entered a New York City office building that is home to the National Football League’s headquarters. He shot and killed four people and injured one other before...

Insurance warning signs in doctors’ offices might discourage patients from speaking openly about their health

Written by Helen Colby, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Indiana University

Have you ever noticed a sign in a doctor’s office saying that you may have to pay extra insurance costs if you discuss additional problems with your physician?

If so, you’re not alone. As health care spending continues to rise, providers are being asked to warn patients about any potential unexpected costs – for example,...

Where next for Khamenei? After war, Iran’s supreme leader is faced with difficult choices

Written by Shirvin Zeinalzadeh, Graduate Teaching Associate, School of Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State University

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes a speech in Tehran, Iran, on July 16, 2025. Photo by Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu via Getty Images

In the weeks since Israel’s expansive 12-day war, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rarely been seen in public.

That absence has inevitably led to speculation over...

Philadelphia is using AI-driven cameras to keep bus lanes clear – transparency can help build trust in the system

Written by Murugan Anandarajan, Professor of Decision Sciences and Management Information Systems, Drexel University

More than 150 Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority buses across Philadelphia are equipped with cameras that detect vehicles blocking bus lanes. Han Zheng via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority piloted a new enforcement tool in Philadelphia in 2023: AI-powered cameras mounted on seven of...

The Druze are a tightly knit community – and the violence in Syria is triggering fears in Lebanon

Written by Mireille Rebeiz, Chair of Middle East Studies, Dickinson College

Walid Jumblatt, the political leader of Lebanon's Druze minority, speaks in Beirut on July 18, 2025.AP Photo/Bilal Hussein

Violence continues several weeks after clashes started between armed Bedouin clans, Sunni jihadist groups and Druze fighters on July 14, 2025, in Sweida, a city in southern Syria.

Hundreds of Druze were killed in the clashes,...

EPA removal of vehicle emissions limits won’t stop the shift to electric vehicles, but will make it harder, slower and more expensive

Written by Alan Jenn, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis

Customers have embraced electric vehicles; policy changes may decrease that interest but will not eliminate it.Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The U.S. government is in full retreat from its efforts to make vehicles more fuel-efficient, which it has been waging, along with state governments, since the 1970s.

The latest move came on...

A red meat allergy from tick bites is spreading – and the lone star tick isn’t the only alpha-gal carrier to worry about

Written by Lee Rafuse Haines, Associate Research Professor of Molecular Parasitology and Medical Entomology, University of Notre Dame

Steak and other red meats can trigger an allergic reaction in people with alpha-gal syndrome.Vicushka/Moment via Getty Images

Hours after savoring that perfectly grilled steak on a beautiful summer evening, your body turns traitor, declaring war on the very meal you just enjoyed. You begin to feel excruciating itchiness, pain or even swelling that...

Why leisure matters for a good life, according to Aristotle

Written by Ross Channing Reed, Lecturer in Philosophy, Missouri University of Science and Technology

What we do in our free time says a lot about what makes us happy.Halfpoint Images/Moment via Getty Images

In his powerful book “The Burnout Society,” South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han argues that in modern society, individuals have an imperative to achieve. Han calls this an “achievement society” in which we must...