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Why don’t more politicians retire? A medical anthropologist explains how the US could benefit from a mandatory retirement age

  • Written by Matthew J. Wolf-Meyer, Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
imageTwo-thirds of U.S. senators and nearly half of House lawmakers are eligible for full retirement benefits.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are hardly the only examples of politicians who work well into their golden years. Members of the baby-boom generation – Americans born between 1946 and...

Read more: Why don’t more politicians retire? A medical anthropologist explains how the US could benefit from...

Could we use volcanoes to make electricity?

  • Written by David Kitchen, Associate Professor of Geology, University of Richmond
imageLava spatters from a vent at Kilauea in Hawaii during an eruption in September 2023.M. Patrick, USGS, via NPS, CC BY-NDimage

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Could we use volcanoes to make electricity? – Lawrence, age 7,...

Read more: Could we use volcanoes to make electricity?

Ancient Rome had ways to counter the urban heat island effect – how history’s lessons apply to cities today

  • Written by Brian Stone Jr., Professor of Environmental Planning, Georgia Institute of Technology
imageTrees are one way to cool down a city. Architects in ancient Rome also designed buildings with porticos for shade and air flow. Laszlo Szirtesi/Getty Images

As intense heat breaks records around the world, a little-reported fact offers some hope for cooling down cities: Under even the most intense periods of extreme heat, some city blocks never...

Read more: Ancient Rome had ways to counter the urban heat island effect – how history’s lessons apply to...

Astronomers have warned against colonial practices in the space industry − a philosopher of science explains how the industry could explore other planets without exploiting them

  • Written by Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Dean of Social Sciences, Professor of Religion and Science and Technology Studies, Wesleyan University
imageConsidering regulation for the space industry now could prevent the proliferation of colonial practices later. gremlin/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The past decade has seen a rapid expansion of the commercial space industry. Rival nations are competing for prime military and economic positions beyond the Earth. Public and private entities are clamor...

Read more: Astronomers have warned against colonial practices in the space industry − a philosopher of...

Anthropology students present their research in poetry, plays and op-eds in this course

  • Written by Roxanne Varzi, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine
imageAllowing students to use different forms of media can help with class presentations.Kentaroo Tryman/Maskot via Getty Imagesimage

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

Multimodal Anthropology

What prompted the idea for the course?

“Multimodal”...

Read more: Anthropology students present their research in poetry, plays and op-eds in this course

Who is the ‘Laughing Buddha’? A scholar of East Asian Buddhism explains

  • Written by Megan Bryson, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee
imagePorcelain 'Laughing Buddha' image, China, 17th-18th century.Metropolitan Museum of Art

With his delighted expression, round belly, bald head and monastic robes, the “Laughing Buddha” is instantly identifiable. However, astute observers might wonder why this buddha does not look like the historical Buddha, who lived in India about 2,500...

Read more: Who is the ‘Laughing Buddha’? A scholar of East Asian Buddhism explains

Banana apocalypse, part 2 – a genomicist explains the tricky genetics of the fungus devastating bananas worldwide

  • Written by Li-Jun Ma, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UMass Amherst
image_Fusarium oxysporum_ spores can remain hardy in soil for decades.Andrii Volosheniuk/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Did you know that the bananas you eat today are not the same type as the ones people were eating a few generations ago? The banana you might have had with your breakfast today is a variety called the Cavendish banana, while the one that...

Read more: Banana apocalypse, part 2 – a genomicist explains the tricky genetics of the fungus devastating...

US voters say they’re ready for a woman president − but sexist attitudes still go along with opposition to Harris

  • Written by Adam Eichen, PhD Student, Political Science, UMass Amherst
imageCould Americans' sexism tank yet another woman's quest for the U.S. presidency?AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Since President Joe Biden exited the presidential race on July 21, 2024, and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris’ campaign has generated widespread enthusiasm and attention. She quickly...

Read more: US voters say they’re ready for a woman president − but sexist attitudes still go along with...

Editing fetal genomes is on the horizon − a medical anthropologist explains why ethical discussions with the target communities should happen sooner rather than later

  • Written by Julia Brown, Assistant Professor of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
imageThe development of gene-editing technology has led to many ethical questions. PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock via Getty Images Plus

With their primary goal to advance scientific knowledge, most scientists are not trained or incentivized to think through the societal implications of the technologies they are developing. Even in genomic medicine, which is...

Read more: Editing fetal genomes is on the horizon − a medical anthropologist explains why ethical...

His crayon is purple – but is Harold a Black boy?

  • Written by Philip Nel, University Distinguished Professor of English, Kansas State University
imagePrior to 1998, Harold of 'Harold and the Purple Crayon' was depicted as racially ambiguous.Harper & Brothers, 1955

Is Crockett Johnson’s Harold, of “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” a child of color?

If you’ve bought any of the “Harold” books published in the past 25 years, or saw the new movie starring Zachary...

Read more: His crayon is purple – but is Harold a Black boy?

More Articles ...

  1. Most young voters support Kamala Harris − but that doesn’t guarantee they will show up at the polls
  2. Complicated app settings are a threat to user privacy
  3. West Nile virus season returns − a medical epidemiologist explains how it’s transmitted and how you can avoid it
  4. Hard-to-treat traumas and painful memories may be treatable with EMDR – a trauma therapist explains why it is gaining popularity
  5. US has its first national strategy to reduce plastic pollution − here are 3 strong points and a key issue to watch
  6. US military presence in Syria carries substantial risks, but so does complete withdrawal
  7. What is mpox? A microbiologist explains what’s known about this smallpox cousin
  8. In praise of the weird
  9. Catholics are debating whether to remove paintings by a priest accused of abusing women − but let’s not confuse the artist and the art, writes an art historian
  10. Real-time crime centers are transforming policing – a criminologist explains how these advanced surveillance systems work
  11. Chicagoans watch films of the violent 1968 convention protests to get ready for the Democratic convention
  12. Hispanic women are less likely to get PrEP treatment − new intervention could change that
  13. Raising the retirement age won’t defuse China’s demographic time bomb – but mass immigration might
  14. Trees compete for space, light and resources, and those clashes can leave battle scars
  15. Students with mental health struggles linked to absenteeism and lower grades, showing clear need for more in-school support
  16. Local elections are less partisan because voters will cross party lines when issues hit close to home
  17. Kamala Harris’ sudden political rise echoes that of another female politician, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern
  18. How back-to-back hurricanes set off a year of compounding disasters for one city − and alarm bells about risks in a warming world
  19. 3 years after fall of Kabul, US Congress has still not acted to secure future of more than 70,000 Afghan evacuees in US
  20. Ukraine’s cross-border incursion challenges Moscow’s war narrative – but will it shift Russian opinion?
  21. Historians diving for balloons and hoping for hot dish: What Smithsonian curators will be doing at the Democratic National Convention
  22. Offensive names dot the American street map − a new app provides a way to track them
  23. Americans love free speech, survey finds − until they realize everyone else has it, too
  24. Fluid keeps your brain from crushing itself and shields your spine from shock – a neurologist explains what happens when it stops working
  25. Future lawyers learn key lessons from studying poetry in parks in this course
  26. Philly schools are in disrepair − the municipal bond market is 1 big reason
  27. 3 of Jane Austen’s 6 brothers engaged in antislavery activism − new research offers more clues about her own views
  28. Kamala, a common name in India, is associated with several deities and is a symbol of wisdom
  29. LGBTQ people have a troubled relationship with police − new survey shows high rates of harassment, abuse and distrust
  30. Even fictional presidents don’t look like Kamala Harris − although Black men and white women have been represented in the Oval Office
  31. SpaceX’s Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump for president – what this could mean for US space policy
  32. Hotel guests are getting used to refillable shampoos and less housekeeping, study suggests
  33. International students will offer a big boost to the US economy this back-to-school season
  34. How Ohio schools reduced chronic absenteeism
  35. Wildfires don’t just burn farmland − they can contaminate the water farmers use to irrigate crops and support livestock
  36. JD Vance is no pauper − he’s a classic example of ‘poornography,’ in which the rich try to speak on behalf of the poor
  37. Mammary glands in a dish − what miniature organs reveal about evolution, lactation, regeneration and breast cancer
  38. FDA rejects MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD treatment – a drug researcher explains the challenges psychedelics face
  39. Dementia risk factors identified in new global report are all preventable – addressing them could reduce dementia rates by 45%
  40. 3 strategies to help college students pick the right major the first time around and avoid some big hassles
  41. A bipartisan data-privacy law could backfire on small businesses − 2 marketing professors explain why
  42. New storm is headed for the Caribbean: What meteorologists look for in early signs of a future hurricane
  43. Birth of a hurricane: What meteorologists look for as they hunt for early signs of a tropical cyclone forming
  44. At its core, life is all about play − just look at the animal kingdom
  45. Could dinosaurs still exist somewhere in the world? A paleontologist explains
  46. Why is an ultimate goal called a ‘Holy Grail?’
  47. If you want Americans to pay attention to climate change, just call it climate change
  48. Wagner Group setback in Mali challenges Moscow’s strategy in Africa and the region’s faith in Russian mercenaries
  49. A packed Baltimore trolley illustrates the ups and downs of US public transit
  50. Rat poison is moving up through food chains, threatening carnivores around the world