The Conversation

Trump's purge of defense agencies comes at a vulnerable time for US national security

Written by Arie Perliger, Director of Security Studies and Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Marines at Camp Post, Afghanistan, Sept. 11, 2020, on the 19th anniversary of the terror attacks that began the U.S. war there. Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s recent firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper and subsequent resignations from the department of four more top civilian officials – either in protest or...

No, soaring COVID-19 cases are not due to more testing – they show a surging pandemic

Written by Zoë McLaren, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Access to testing had been improving across the U.S., but as cases increase, more testing is needed.AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

COVID-19 cases are surging upward around the U.S., reaching 100,000 daily cases for the first time on Nov. 4 and 150,000 only eight days later. Some believe this increase in reported cases is a result of increases in testing,...

Election polls are more accurate if they ask participants how others will vote

Written by Mirta Galesic, Professor of Human Social Dynamics, Santa Fe Institute; External Faculty, Complexity Science Hub Vienna; Associate Researcher, Harding Center for Risk Literacy, University of Potsdam

People have information on how they'll vote, but also about how others in their community may vote.AP Photo/Wong Maye-E

Most public opinion polls correctly predicted the winning candidate in the 2020 U.S. presidential election – but on average, they overestimated the margin by which Democrat Joe Biden would beat Republican incumbent Donald...

Patsy Takemoto Mink blazed the trail for Kamala Harris – not famous white woman Susan B. Anthony

Written by Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, Professor of Asian American Studies and Director of the UCI Humanities Institute, University of California, Irvine

Congress had very few women members back in 1960, and just one woman of color: Representative Patsy Mink of Hawaii.Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

Clad in suffragette white, Kamala Harris used her first speech as the United States’ first female vice president-elect to commemorate women’s political achievements. Her victory comes one...

Progressive prosecutors scored big wins in 2020 elections, boosting a nationwide trend

Written by Caren Morrison, Associate Professor of Law, Georgia State University

Despite criticism during her first term, progressive prosecutor Kim Foxx won reelection as Cook County state's attorney by a 14-point margin.Scott Olson/Getty Images

Despite the broad political polarization in the United States, the 2020 election confirmed a clear movement across both red and blue America: the gains made by reform-minded prosecutors...

Election spending in 2020 doubled to $14 billion – 3 takeaways from a campaign finance expert

Written by Robert Boatright, Professor of Political Science, Clark University

During the first debate, Trump accused Biden of corruption. Olivier Douliery/Pool via AP

Individuals and companies spent a record US$14 billion trying to get politicians elected in 2020, according to the latest estimate, more than double the $6.5 billion expended in 2016.

What do donors get for parting with all that cash?

Some of those who put...

How mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna work, why they're a breakthrough and why they need to be kept so cold

Written by Sanjay Mishra, Project Coordinator & Staff Scientist, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University

Moderna's new mRNA vaccine is almost 94.5% effective in large-scale trials.JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

As the weather cools, the number of infections of the COVID-19 pandemic are rising sharply. Hamstrung by pandemic fatigue, economic constraints and political discord, public health officials have struggled to control the surging pandemic....

A brief history of presidents snubbing their successors – and why the founders favored civility instead

Written by Maurizio Valsania, Professor of American History, Università di Torino

Republican nominee Gov. Mike Pence and Democratic nominee Sen. Tim Kaine stand after the vice-presidential debate in Farmville, Va., Oct. 4, 2016.Joe Raedle/Pool via AP

It’s beyond dispute: Donald Trump won’t go down in history as a model of civility. Examples of his bad manners abound. When he gave his first inaugural speech, the...

CBD sales are soaring, but evidence is still slim that the cannabis derivative makes a difference for anxiety or pain

Written by Hilary A. Marusak, Assistant Professor, Wayne State University

Hundreds of CBD products – including gummies – are now on the market.Frederic J. Brown via Getty Images

Many people have turned to cannabis and its derivatives as they search for pandemic relief, and one of the most widely available ones is CBD. It is also legal. You can buy oils, tinctures, capsules, gummies, cosmetics and even toilet...

Nearly two-thirds of older Black Americans can't afford to live alone without help – and it's even tougher for Latinos

Written by Jan Mutchler, Professor, Department of Gerontology, McCormack Graduate School Director, Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, Gerontology Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston

When budgets get tight, health care can suffer.Willie B. Thomas via Getty Images

Older Americans who want to live independently face serious economic challenges. Half who live alone don’t have enough income to afford even a bare-bones budget in their home communities, and nearly 1 in 4 couples face the same problem.

Those numbers add up to at...