The Conversation

Naming and categorizing objects is part of how young kids develop executive function skills – new research

Written by Aaron Buss, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Tennessee

Understanding how young kids develop executive function could be key to teaching children these skills in the future.University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Parents of young children probably recognize the hectic mornings filled with reminding the kids to eat breakfast, brush their teeth and put on their shoes – and hurry up, you’re gonna be...

Suicide-by-chatbot puts Big Tech in the product liability hot seat

Written by Brian Downing, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Mississippi

AI companies are finding that chatbots don't have the same liability shield that internet platforms do.Westend61 via Getty Images

It is a sad fact of online life that users search for information about suicide. In the earliest days of the internet, bulletin boards featured suicide discussion groups. To this day, Google hosts archives of these...

Antisemitism on campus is a real problem − but headlines and government-proposed solutions don’t match the experience of most Jewish students

Written by Graham Wright, Associate Research Scientist, Maurice & Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis University

While most students and faculty in the U.S. don't experience widespread antisemitism, it remains a major problem for those who do. Nikita Payusov/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

It’s been nearly two years since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent start of the Israel-Hamas war – and still, antisemitism...

New website tracks how Pennsylvania’s $2.2B in opioid settlement funds is being spent

Written by Jonathan Larsen, Legal Technology Manager, Beasley School of Law Center for Public Health Law Research, Temple University

There were about 3,330 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania in 2024, down from over 4,700 in 2023. Frazao Studio Latino/E+ Collection via Getty Images

Pennsylvania is due to receive US$2.2 billion dollars from the national opioid settlements, and a new database shows the public where that money is going.

Starting in 2021, a national, bipartisan coalition...

The president as partisan warrior: Trump’s rejection of traditional presidential statesmanship

Written by Julia R. Azari, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Marquette University

After taking control of the board earlier in the year, President Donald Trump announced on Aug. 13, 2025, the nominees of the annual Kennedy Center Honors.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

In a classic work on the modern presidency originally published in 1960, political scientist Richard Neustadt wrote that the American public “expects the man in...

More Americans meet criteria for high blood pressure under new guidelines

Written by William Cornwell, Associate Professor of Cardiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Under the new guidelines, more Americans qualify as having high blood pressure. Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Nearly half of all Americans have high blood pressure – a condition called hypertension.

Hypertension is the No. 1 risk factor for heart disease and stroke. In addition, hypertension increases risk of dementia and...

Nuclear in your backyard? Tiny reactors could one day power towns and campuses – but community input will be key

Written by Aditi Verma, Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan

Factories could one day produce and ship small nuclear reactors across the country. U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy

You might imagine nuclear power plants as behemoth facilities spanning hundreds of acres. Nuclear microreactors, by contrast, could sit on land the size of a football field and power a whole town.

However, after...

US touts collaborative plan to tackle Mexico’s drug cartels – but initiative is met with denial and mistrust south of the border

Written by Aileen Teague, Assistant Professor, Department of International Affairs, Texas A&M University

Members of the Mexican army drive on a road after an anti-cartel operation in Sinaloa state, Mexico, in 2023.Juan Carlos Cruz/AFP via Getty Images

A new plan to dismantle cartel-run drug-smuggling corridors along the U.S. southern border was announced by the U.S. administration in mid-August 2025 to great fanfare.

“Project Portero”...

Sourdough and submission in the name of God: How tradwife content fuses femininity with anti-feminist ideas

Written by Arie Perliger, Director of Security Studies and Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell

Tradwives' content, from recipes to makeup tips, often appeals to a wider audience than their views on religion, politics and gender.shironosov/iStock via Getty Images Plus

When people think about online misogyny, they probably envision forums and video game chat rooms filled with young men using lewd language, promoting sexist stereotypes and...

How the spiritual sound of the shofar shapes the Jewish new year – a Jewish studies scholar explains

Written by Sarah Pessin, Professor of Philosophy, University of Denver

Mark Lipof blows a shofar during the lead-up to Yom Kippur at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Mass., in 2010.Michael Fein/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

It’s the Jewish High Holiday season, and Jews the world over are preparing to visit their local synagogues – for community, for prayer, and to hear the arresting,...