The Conversation

Funding for refugees has long been politicized − punitive action against UNRWA and Palestinians fits that pattern

Written by Nicholas R. Micinski, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, University of Maine

Palestinians await the distribution of UNRWA flour.Abed Zagout/Anadolu via Getty Images

At least a dozen countries, including the U.S., have suspended funding to the UNRWA, the United Nations agency responsible for delivering aid to Palestinian refugees.

This follows allegations made by Israel that 12 UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7,...

Are social media apps ‘dangerous products’? 2 scholars explain how the companies rely on young users but fail to protect them

Written by Joan Donovan, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media Studies, Boston University

The CEOs of Discord, Snap, TikTok, X and Meta prepare to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 31, 2024.Alex Wong/Getty Images

“You have blood on your hands.”

“I’m sorry for everything you have all been through.”

These quotes, the first from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaking to Meta CEO Mark...

Republicans and Democrats consider each other immoral – even when treated fairly and kindly by the opposition

Written by Phillip McGarry, Ph.D. Candidate in Experimental Psychology, University of Tennessee

How a political opponent acted didn't change participants' harsh moral judgments.wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images

Both Republicans and Democrats regarded people with opposing political views as less moral than people in their own party, even when their political opposites acted fairly or kindly toward them, according to experiments my colleagues and I...

AI can help − and hurt − student creativity

Written by Sabrina Habib, Associate Professor, University of South Carolina

Teachers across the country are grappling with whether to view AI tools like ChatGPT as friend or foe in the classroom. My research shows that the answer isn’t always simple. It can be both.

Teaching students to be creative thinkers rather than rely on AI for answers is the key to answering this question. That’s what my team and I found...

The last days of Woodrow Wilson

Written by Thomas Doherty, Professor of American Studies, Brandeis University

The funeral of former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 6, 1924. Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The White House bulletin on the health of Woodrow Wilson was alarming.

“The president is a very sick man,” announced Wilson’s personal physician, Rear Admiral Cary T. Grayson, on Oct. 2, 1919. He and a...

Why treason is a key topic in Trump’s 14th Amendment appeal to the Supreme Court

Written by Mark A. Graber, University System of Maryland Regents Professor of Law, University of Maryland

Donald Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021, are key to questions about his eligibility to hold office.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

As oral arguments approach in former President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court appeal of a Colorado Supreme Court decision, many friend-of-the-court briefs in the case bring up a subject not much found in public...

Supreme Court word-count limits for lawyers, explained in 1,026 words

Written by Derek H. Kiernan-Johnson, Teaching Professor of Law, University of Colorado Boulder

Lawyers write too much. That's why the Supreme Court and other U.S. courts impose word limits on them.siraanamwong/ iStock / Getty Images Plus

The dispute over former President Donald Trump’s eligibility to appear on the Colorado ballot will come to a head on Feb. 8, 2024, when the U.S. Supreme Court holds oral arguments in the case. Dozens...

Norman Jewison’s ‘Rollerball’ depicted a world in which corporations controlled all information – is this dystopian vision becoming reality?

Written by Matthew Jordan, Associate Professor of Media Studies, Penn State

Jonathan E., played by James Caan, competes as the owners watch from the stands.MGM

If the films of Norman Jewison, who died on Jan. 22, 2024, had a unifying theme, it was how his characters searched for meaning and questioned the rules of their worlds.

No matter the genre of the scores of films he directed – from “In the Heat of the...

Suicide has reached epidemic proportions in the US − yet medical students still don’t receive adequate training to treat suicidal patients

Written by Rodolfo Bonnin, Assistant Dean for Institutional Knowledge Management and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Florida International University

Every year, more than 12 million Americans have suicidal thoughts.Djavan Rodriguez/Moment via Getty Images

Suicide in the U.S. is a societal epidemic and a staggering public health crisis that demands attention from medical experts.

In 2021, someone in the U.S. died by suicide every 11 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and...

With the economy looking bright enough, the Federal Reserve seems content to play the waiting game

Written by Christopher Decker, Professor of Economics, University of Nebraska Omaha

When will Fed Chair Jerome Powell lower the curtains on the inflation battle?AP Photo/Alex Brandon

If there’s one thing you can say about Fed policymakers, it’s that they don’t make decisions on a whim. When the Federal Open Market Committee met on Jan. 31, 2024, it held interest rates steady – as most observers expected....