The Conversation

How does the 'unidentified political object' that is the European Union really work?

Written by Garret Martin, Professorial Lecturer, American University School of International Service

European Union flags at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Sept. 11, 2019. AP/Virginia Mayo

In the run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom, “Take our country back” became a rallying slogan for the campaign pushing for the U.K. to leave the European Union.

Opponents of further integration of the U.K. into the EU resented...

Malicious bots and trolls spread vaccine misinformation – now social media companies are fighting back

Written by Ana Santos Rutschman, Assistant Professor of Law, Saint Louis University

At least half of parents of young children report having encountered negative messages about vaccines on social media.Alexander Dummer/Unsplash, CC BY

Social media have become one of the preeminent ways of disseminating accurate information about vaccines. However, a lot of the vaccine information propagated across social media in the United States...

Are conspiracy theories on the rise in the US?

Written by Liberty Vittert, Professor of the Practice of Data Science, Washington University in St Louis

Conspiracy theories have been popular in the U.S. for decades.Motortion Films/Shutterstock.com

Have the internet and social media created a climate where Americans believe anything is possible? With headlines citing now as the age of conspiracy, is it really true?

In a word, no.

While it may be true that the internet has allowed people who believe...

I researched Uighur society in China for 8 years and watched how technology opened new opportunities – then became a trap

Written by Darren Byler, Lecturer in Anthropology, University of Washington

Uighurs wait in line at a face scan checkpoint in Turpan, Xinjiang in northwest China on April 11, 2018Darren Byler, CC BY

The Uighurs, a Muslim minority ethnic group of around 12 million in northwest China, are required by the police to carry their smartphones and IDs listing their ethnicity.

As they pass through one of the thousands of newly...

Fish larvae float across national borders, binding the world's oceans in a single network

Written by Nandini Ramesh, Postdoctoral Researcher in Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley

Larval black sea bass, an important commercial species along the US Atlantic coast.NOAA Fisheries/Ehren Habeck

Fish populations are declining around the world, and many countries are trying to conserve them by regulating their fishing industries. However, controlling fishing locally may not do enough to strengthen fish populations. Often one...

The 4 big questions that the next Israeli government will decide

Written by Dov Waxman, Professor of Political Science, International Affairs and Israel Studies, Northeastern University

Ultra orthodox Jews watch Rabbi Israel Hager vote in Bnei Brak, Israel, Sept. 17, 2019. AP/Oded Balilty

On Sept. 17, Israelis went to the polls for the second time in less than six months.

They were voting again because – for the first time in the country’s history – a coalition government could not be assembled after the last...

Wall Street is ignoring the omens of recession – here's why

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Senior Lecturer, Boston University

Why is this man smiling? AP Photo/Richard Drew

The world is on the brink of a recession, if all the breathless headlines are to be believed. So why are U.S. stocks near all-time highs?

That’s a question my MBA students have been asking me lately. Even the Federal Reserve is concerned – at least worried enough to reduce U.S. borrowing...

A quarter of US parents are unmarried – and that changes how much they invest in their kids

Written by Orestes 'Pat' Hastings, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Colorado State University

Unmarried parents spend, on average, several hundred dollars less on each child annually.fizkes/Shutterstock.com

Family structure in America is sharply divided by class and race.

While 84% of children whose mothers have a bachelor’s degree or higher-level education live with married parents, only 58% of children whose mothers have a high...

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos' billions for the homeless will relieve suffering but won't defeat homelessness

Written by Marybeth Shinn, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Human and Organizational Development, Vanderbilt University

Many homeless Americans are babies and small children.AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos, his ex-wife, are giving away US$2 billion. The money will fund existing nonprofits to support homeless families and establish a new network of free preschools for low-income children.

I’ve researched the best ways to...

Why Bill Maher is wrong about fat-shaming

Written by Bill Sullivan, Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Indiana University

Bill Maher suggests that fat-shaming may help people lose weight.Randy Miramontez/Shutterstock.com

On a recent episode of his Friday evening talk show, Bill Maher proposed that society combat obesity by body-shaming overweight individuals. He argued that “fat shaming doesn’t need to end, it needs to make a comeback” to deter...