The Conversation

To avoid humans, more wildlife now work the night shift

Written by Kaitlyn Gaynor, Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley

Red fox under cover of darkness in LondonJamie Hall. For use only with this article.

For their first 100 million years on planet Earth, our mammal ancestors relied on the cover of darkness to escape their dinosaur predators and competitors. Only after the meteor-induced mass extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago could these nocturnal mammals...

Fathers forgotten when it comes to services to help them be good parents, new study finds

Written by Joyce Y. Lee, PhD Student in Social Work and Psychology, University of Michigan

Fathers want to be more involved but often feel sidelined, studies suggest.George Rudy/Shutterstock.com

Fathers have a significant impact on their children’s well-being – an impact that begins even before the child is born. In fact, studies have shown that fathers who are involved during pregnancy have healthier children.

During the...

Why black women's experiences of #MeToo are different

Written by Yolonda Wilson, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Howard University

Actress Nicolle Rochelle, who appeared on several episodes of 'The Cosby Show.'AP Photo/Corey Perrine, File

In April, a 25-year-old black woman named Chikesia Clemons was violently arrested by police at a Waffle House restaurant in Alabama.

A video of the arrest that went viral shows police pulling Clemons from her chair and throwing her to the...

Suicide nation: What's behind the need to numb and to seek a final escape?

Written by Monica H. Swahn, Professor, epidemiology and public health, Georgia State University

Paramedics and firefighters in Cincinnati respond to a possible opioid overdose at a hotel on Nov. 2, 2017.John Minchillo/AP Photo

Suicide rates in the U.S. have increased nearly 30 percent in less than 20 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported June 7. These mind-numbing statistics were released the same week two very...

Lessons on political polarization from Lincoln's 'House Divided' speech, 160 years later

Written by Bradford Vivian, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Director of the Center for Democratic Deliberation, Pennsylvania State University

The nation was bitterly divided over slavery in 1860, when this political cartoon was publishedLibrary of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

The idea of “two Americas,” or “red” and “blue” states, now dominates public discussion. “Political polarization,” the Pew Research Center reports,...

Four campus free speech problems solved

Written by David Moshman, Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

'Free speech zones' and other efforts to limit free speech on campus are igniting controversies across the nation.Chad Zuber/www.shutterstock.com

Concerns about free speech in higher education have reached the point where at least 30 state legislatures have considered, and nearly a dozen – including Arizona and Virginia – have passed, la...

Digital mental health drug raises troubling questions

Written by Anthony Ryan Hatch, Associate Professor of Science in Society, Wesleyan University

Abilify MyCite tracks whether patients are taking their medication. By kaprik/shutterstock.com

Moments after Neo eats the red pill in “The Matrix,” he touches a liquefied mirror that takes over his skin, penetrating the innards of his body with computer code. When I first learned about the controversial new digital drug Abilify MyCite,...

New European rules may give US internet users true privacy choices for the first time

Written by John Rothchild, Associate Professor of Law, Wayne State University

Europe's digital-data regulations are having ripple effects around the world.mixmagic/Shutterstock.com

Europe’s new data privacy rules, the General Data Protection Regulation, have taken effect, but what they actually mean remains to be discovered. And whether the GDPR, as it’s known, really helps protect your private data may depend on...

Why there are so many unsheltered homeless people on the West Coast

Written by Margot Kushel, Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

One-quarter of homeless people in the U.S. live in California, despite Californians making up only 12 percent of the population.

Not only is homelessness more common on the West Coast but it is also more visible, because a higher proportion of homeless people are unsheltered. In the U.S., 24 percent of homeless people sleep outside, in vehicles or...

El colapso económico de Venezuela tiene una clara explicación

Written by Henkel Garcia U, Finance Instructor, Professional Studies Extension Programme, Andres Bello Catholic University (UCAB)

Read in English.

Hoy mi país, Venezuela, está en los titulares internacionales casi a diario.

El hambre se extiende debido a la escasez y los altos precios, la gente muere por falta de medicinas y los ciudadanos llevan su cotidianidad en un ambiente de muy elevada inseguridad (Caracas está entre las ciudades más...