The Conversation

Why are kids today less patriotic?

Written by Jane Lo, Assistant Professor of Education, Florida State University

Young Americans today are more likely to say that they're dissatisfied with the current state of affairs.LightField Studios/Shutterstock.com

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.

Why are younger people not really patriotic like me?...

Nicolas Bourbaki: The greatest mathematician who never was

Written by David Gunderman, Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder

Bourbaki Congress of 1938.Wikimedia

By many measures, Nicolas Bourbaki ranks among the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century.

Largely unknown today, Bourbaki is likely the last mathematician to master nearly all aspects of the field. A consummate collaborator, he made fundamental contributions to important mathematical fields such as set...

Courts have avoided refereeing between Congress and the president, but Trump may force them to wade in

Written by Kirsten Carlson, Associate Professor of Law and Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science, Wayne State University

Congress and President Trump are engaged in a power struggle that historically has been avoided by the courts.AP/J. Scott Applewhite

President Donald Trump’s refusal to hand over records to Congress and allow executive branch employees to provide information and testimony to Congress during the impeachment battle is the strongest test yet of...

Why it can be hard to stop eating even when you're full: Some foods may be designed that way

Written by Tera Fazzino, Assistant Professor of Psychology; Associate Director of the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, University of Kansas

Bet you can't eat just one.tlindsayg/Shutterstock

All foods are not created equal. Most are palatable, or tasty to eat, which is helpful because we need to eat to survive. For example, a fresh apple is palatable to most people and provides vital nutrients and calories.

But certain foods, such as pizza, potato chips and chocolate chip cookies, are...

What makes Christmas movies so popular

Written by S. Brent Rodriguez-Plate, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Cinema and Media Studies, by special appointment, Hamilton College

A still from the 1946 classic 'It's A Wonderful Life.'National Telefilm Associates

If you are one of those people who will settle in this evening with a hot cup of apple cider to watch a holiday movie, you are not alone. Holiday movies have become firmly embedded in Americans’ winter celebrations.

The New York Times reports a massive increase...

Why the US military usually punishes misconduct but police often close ranks

Written by Dwight Stirling, Lecturer in Law, University of Southern California

NYPD officers turning their backs on New York mayor Bill de Blasio after he remarked on police violence, Jan. 4, 2015.AP Photo/John Minchillo,

Many U.S. military members publicly disavowed President Trump’s decision to pardon Edward Gallagher, the former SEAL commando convicted of killing a teenage detainee in Iraq in 2017.

Gallagher’s...

American influence could take the hit as Putin, Zelenskiy try to make peace in Donbass

Written by Erik C. Nisbet, Associate Professor of Communication, Political Science and Environmental Policy and Co-Director of the Eurasian Security and Governance Program, The Ohio State University

Zelenskiy is facing a tough meeting with Russia's Putin on Dec. 9. Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

President Vladimir Putin of Russia and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, are set to meet Dec. 9 as part of efforts to end conflict in the separatist-controlled territories of Donbass.

Zelenskiy’s electoral victory in April...

Large-scale education tests often come with side effects

Written by Yurou Wang, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Alabama

Big education tests come with serious side effects, research shows.YanLev/Shutterstock.com

When results come out for big education tests like the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which primarily measures 15-year-old students’ knowledge and skills in reading, mathematics and science, the focus is often on which countries...

American influence could take the hit as Putin, Zelenskiy try to make peace in Ukraine

Written by Erik C. Nisbet, Associate Professor of Communication, Political Science and Environmental Policy and Co-Director of the Eurasian Security and Governance Program, The Ohio State University

Zelenskiy is facing a tough meeting with Russia's Putin on Dec. 9. Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

President Vladimir Putin of Russia and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, are set to meet Dec. 9 as part of efforts to end conflict in the separatist-controlled territories of Donbass.

Zelenskiy’s electoral victory in April...

From their balloons, the first aeronauts transformed our view of the world

Written by Jennifer Tucker, Associate Professor of History and Science in Society, Wesleyan University

A lithograph from Gaston Tissandier's balloon travels depicts falling stars.Archive.org

Near the beginning of the new film “The Aeronauts,” a giant gas-filled balloon called the “Mammoth” departs from London’s Vauxhall Gardens and ascends into the clouds, revealing a bird’s eye view of London.

To some moviegoers,...