The Conversation

5 websites to help educate about the horrors of the Holocaust

Written by Jennifer Rich, Professor of Sociology, Rowan University

Anne Frank House Executive Director Ronald Leopold, left, presents pages of Anne Frank's diary.Bas Czerwinski/AFP via Getty Images

Whenever there’s an analysis or discussion about how much people know about the Holocaust, the focus is often on what they don’t know.

For instance, a 2018 survey of 1,350 people age 18 and older found that...

Biden faces the world: 5 foreign policy experts explain US priorities – and problems – after Trump

Written by Muqtedar Khan, Professor, Islam and Global Affairs, University of Delaware

Can Joe Biden restore U.S. world leadership?Agela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Editor’s note: President Joe Biden inherits from Donald Trump a United States that was simultaneously isolated from the rest of the world and openly hostile toward parts of it. Biden – an internationally minded leader who has longstanding relationships with...

People take better care of public places when they feel like they have a stake in them

Written by Suzanne Shu, John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing, Cornell University

If they run across some trash while they're out paddling, what will they do about it?Marlin Levison/Star Tribune via Getty Images

Takeaways

· People can feel “psychological ownership,” a sense of personal attachment, even for parks and other public places.

· These feelings lead them to see property they don’t own as...

Expert in fluid dynamics explains how to reduce the risk of COVID-19 airborne transmission inside a car

Written by Varghese Mathai, Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Opening all windows, or one front and one rear window, increases the amount of airflow in the car, reducing the risk of airborne transmission.Sisoje/E+ via Getty Images

Editor’s note: Varghese Mathai is a physicist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who studies the flow of fluids and gases. He conducted a study using computational...

The problem with India's 'love jihad' laws

Written by Sumit Ganguly, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and the Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations, Indiana University

Activist protest against 'love jihad' laws being proposed in India.Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party government has put forward several anti-Muslim policies. The latest is a clampdown on what it sees as “love jihad,” the belief that Muslims are seeking...

Death threats and intimidation of public officials signal Trump's autocratic legacy

Written by Shelley Inglis, Executive Director, University of Dayton Human Rights Center, University of Dayton

Rioters storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, seeking to intimidate politicians into overturning the presidential election.AP Photo/John Minchillo

As the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump approaches, federal officials are investigating threats to attack or kill members of Congress. This comes in the wake of the Capitol riot, when...

Intense scrutiny of Chinese-born researchers in the US threatens innovation

Written by Caroline Wagner, Milton & Roslyn Wolf Chair in International Affairs, The Ohio State University

Who should be allowed into U.S. labs and who should be kept out?7postman/E+ via Getty Images

The arrest of MIT engineering professor Gang Chen on Jan. 14 has drawn attention to the role of China in U.S. science and technology system. It’s not the first time suspicions have fallen on a Chinese-born scientist – Chen is a naturalized U.S....

What is an executive order, and why don't presidents use them all the time?

Written by Sharece Thrower, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Vanderbilt University

Modern presidents, including Trump and Obama, have issued far fewer executive orders than their predecessors before World War II.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Just hours after taking the oath of office, President Joe Biden signed nine executive orders – far surpassing every other president’s first day on the job in modern history.

Thes...

How new voters and Black women transformed Georgia's politics

Written by Sharon Austin, Professor of Political Science, University of Florida

Georgia's recent election of three Democrats for national office – one Jewish, one Black and one Catholic – upended over a century of politics openly hostile to minorities.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

In July 1964, Georgia restaurateur Lester Maddox violated the newly passed Civil Rights Act by refusing to serve three Black Georgia...

Incitement to violence is rarely explicit – here are some techniques people use to breed hate

Written by H. Colleen Sinclair, Associate Professor of Social Psychology, Mississippi State University

Dangerous speech is a toxic brew of emotion and age-old tropes.Mihajlo Maricic / iStock via Getty Images Plus

As senators plan for an impeachment trial in which former President Donald Trump is accused of inciting his supporters to mount a deadly insurrection at the Capitol, global concern is growing about threats of violent unrest in multiple...