The Conversation

Surprise medical bills increase costs for everyone, not just for the people who get them

Written by Erin Duffy, Post-doctoral research fellow, University of Southern California

About 12% of insurers’ U.S. spending on in- and out-of-network medical care goes to six types of providers that commonly submit surprise bills.Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Surprise medical billing is one of the most urgent topics in health care.

Too often after a hospital procedure or visit to an emergency room...

How 3 prior pandemics triggered massive societal shifts

Written by Andrew Latham, Professor of Political Science, Macalester College

A 19th-century engraving depicts the Angel of Death descending on Rome during the Antonine plague.J.G. Levasseur/Wellcome Collection, CC BY

Before March of this year, few probably thought disease could be a significant driver of human history.

Not so anymore. People are beginning to understand that the little changes COVID-19 has already ushered in...

Could a few state legislatures choose the next president?

Written by Austin Sarat, Associate Provost and Associate Dean of the Faculty and Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

The Florida legislature could play a role in deciding the 2020 presidential election.AP Photo/Steve Cannon

State legislatures could face legal and perhaps even state constitutional crises after Election Day, if they’re pressured to change how they traditionally allocate electoral votes.

Recent media reports indicate that Trump’s campaign...

Mitch McConnell's legacy is a conservative Supreme Court shaped by his calculated audacity

Written by Al Cross, Director and Professor, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, University of Kentucky

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with reporters, July 30, 2020. Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Unless Democrats win both the White House and the Senate in November, abolish the filibuster and expand the Supreme Court, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is about to finish his project of remaking the federal judiciary from top to bottom.

The impact of...

Will German Americans again put Donald Trump over the top in the presidential election?

Written by Per Urlaub, Associate Dean of the Language Schools and Associate College Professor, Middlebury

Trump campaigning for votes in Pittsburgh in late September 2020.Evan Vucci/AP

German Americans paved Donald Trump’s road into the White House in 2016 through Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

This ethnic group barely receives attention in American media and politics.

The Midwest, home to many German Americans, is a...

The 737 MAX is ready to fly again, but plane certification still needs to be fixed – here's how

Written by Ronnie R. Gipson Jr., Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, University of Memphis

The Boeing 737 MAX is expected to take to the skies again following a review of the MCAS system which was responsible for two crashes in 2019.Jason Redmond / Getty Images

After being grounded in March 2019 following two fatal crashes, the Boeing 737 MAX is expected to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly again later this fall....

Want to solve society's most urgent problems? Cash prizes can spur breakthroughs

Written by Luciano Kay, Research Associate at the Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research, University of California, Santa Barbara

Many prizes that aim to spur innovation are winner-take-all.VCG for 2019 RoboMaster Robotics Competition Final Tournament via Getty Images

Innovation is a critical part of tackling problems in areas as diverse as transportation, housing, public health and energy. But the scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs who might generate creative solutions...

One small part of a human antibody has the potential to work as a drug for both prevention and therapy of COVID-19

Written by Dimiter Stanchev Dimitrov, Professor of Medicine and Director, Center for Antibody Therapeutics, University of Pittsburgh

This antibody adopts a Y-shape. The arms of the Y make up the part of the antibody that binds to the target. ALFRED PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Although a vaccine could be the ultimate solution to curb the COVID-19 pandemic and stop future ones, it will not be 100% effective. If it is anything like the flu vaccine, it will most likely be slightly...

The world's southernmost tree hangs on in one of the windiest places on Earth – but climate change is shifting those winds

Written by Brian Buma, Assistant Professor of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver

On Isla Hornos, Magellan's beech trees grow in wind-protected nooks and crannies. Andres Holz, CC BY-ND

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

In 2019, my research team and I found the world’s southernmost tree on an island at the edge of South America. The diminutive tree is 42 years old, stretches...

Trump's encouragement of GOP poll watchers echoes an old tactic of voter intimidation

Written by Mark Krasovic, Associate Professor of History and American Studies, Rutgers University Newark

President Trump during the Sept. 29, 2020 debate with Joe Biden.Olivier Douliery/Pool via AP

During the first presidential debate, Donald Trump was asked by moderator Chris Wallace if he would “urge” his followers to remain calm during a prolonged vote-counting period after the election, if the winner were unclear.

“I am urging my...