The Conversation

How the Catholic Church’s hierarchy makes it difficult to punish sexual abusers

Written by Mathew Schmalz, Associate Professor of Religion, College of the Holy Cross

Cardinal Bernard Law in Rome in 2011AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

Cardinal Bernard Law died on Wednesday, Dec. 20, in Rome. Law was Archbishop of Boston, a position of prestige in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. He had wide political connections, including with the Bush family. He publicly denounced Catholic politicians who supported...

H.G. Wells vs. George Orwell: Their debate whether science is humanity’s best hope continues today

Written by Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University

'Man Combating Ignorance' – what's science's role?Century of Progress Records, 1927-1952, University of Illinois at Chicago Library, CC BY-NC-ND

In the midst of contemporary science’s stunning discoveries and innovations – for example, 2017 alone brought the editing of a human embryo’s genes, the location of an eighth...

Will Americans finally start fighting back against tax cuts for the rich?

Written by Stephanie Leiser, Lecturer in Public Policy, University of Michigan

The 60 percent of Americans who believe that the GOP tax package will mostly help the wealthiest among us are right, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center.

But will widespread disapproval translate into political costs or electoral losses for Republicans? Will Americans decide they are finally fed up with over half a century of soaring...

Disney's potential 21st Century Fox merger continues troubling trend of media consolidation

Written by Margot Susca, Professorial Lecturer, American University School of Communication

Do we really want one conglomerate to control so much of the media landscape?Sergsta/Shutterstock.com

In the U.S., only a handful of media companies control what children and adults watch and read.

Now that number could get even smaller.

The proposed US$52.4 billion merger of Disney and 21st Century Fox would merge the first and third largest film...

The pall that the tax package is casting over charities

Written by Patrick Rooney, Executive Associate Dean for Academic Programs, Professor of Economics and Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

Changes to the tax code may strike a blow to the charitable world.Shutter OK/Shutterstock.com

The tax-code overhaul that Republican lawmakers approved and Trump is expected to sign into law will raise the price of charitable giving for millions of Americans, surely reducing how much money the nation gives.

As an economist and a scholar of...

The pall that the tax law is casting over charities

Written by Patrick Rooney, Executive Associate Dean for Academic Programs, Professor of Economics and Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

Changes to the tax code may strike a blow to the charitable world.Shutter OK/Shutterstock.com

The tax-code overhaul that Republican lawmakers approved and Trump signed into law will raise the price of charitable giving for millions of Americans, surely reducing how much money the nation gives.

As an economist and a scholar of philanthropy who...

What the 'California Dream' means to indigenous peoples

Written by Olivia Chilcote, Assistant Professor Department of American Indian Studies, San Diego State University

The California Dream is a myth for many California Indian peoples and tribes.

Since settlers arrived, California Indians’ reality has largely been one of land dispossession, cultural assimilation and even genocide.

If California Indians were to design their own dream it would place decolonization at its core. Decolonization is the undoing of...

Better ways to foster solar innovation and save jobs

Written by Edward Barbier, Professor of Economics, Colorado State University

Most of the growing number of jobs in the solar industry have more to do with maintaining and installing panels than manufacturing them.only_kim/Shutterstock.com

The U.S. solar industry is nervously awaiting President Donald Trump’s decision whether to impose punitive duties on imported solar panels and related equipment or even restrict some...

Who forced the cigarette companies to run those anti-smoking ads?

Written by Stanton Glantz, Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Judge Gladys Kessler's ruling in 2006 was the basis for tobacco companies' corrective statements now airing on TV and placed in newspapers.Tobacco Free Kids, CC BY-SA

You may have seen ads run by the big cigarette companies listing the dangers of smoking and that they manipulated cigarettes to make them more addictive.

The path to the...

Sí o sí, se celebra la Navidad en Puerto Rico

Written by Evelyn Milagros Rodriguez, Research, Reference and Special Collections Librarian, University of Puerto Rico - Humacao

Muchas partes de Puerto Rico siguen impactadas por Huracán María pero el pueblo se prepara para la Navidad.Lorie Shaull/flickr, CC BY-SA

Read in English.

Es un dicho popular que Puerto Rico celebra la “Navidad más larga del mundo”.

Los puertorriqueños comenzamos nuestros preparativos navideños desde el...