The Conversation

Getting ready for hurricane season: 4 essential reads

Written by Jennifer Weeks, Environment + Energy Editor, The Conversation

Debris in a boatyard in Mexico Beach, Fla., on Oct. 11, 2018, after Hurricane Michael heavily damaged the town.AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File

The official Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1, even as many communities are still recovering from a destructive year in 2018. Hurricane Florence swamped much of the Carolinas in September, followed...

Women take a hit for reporting sexual harassment, but #MeToo may be changing that

Written by Chloe Grace Hart, PhD Candidate in Sociology, Stanford University

A cultural shift may be underway that reporting sexual harassment won't necessarily impede a woman's career advancement.fizkes/Shutterstock.com

An unprecedented number of women have come forward to share stories of workplace sexual harassment since the #MeToo movement gained momentum in late 2017.

Yet their allegations are not always well received....

Misreading the story of climate change and the Maya

Written by Kenneth Seligson, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, California State University, Dominguez Hills

Stucco frieze from Placeres, Campeche, Mexico, Early Classic period, c. 250-600 AD.Wolfgang Sauber/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

Carbon dioxide concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere have reached 415 parts per million – a level that last occurred more than three million years ago, long before the evolution of humans. This news adds to growing...

How millennials are affecting the price of your home

Written by Jimmie Lenz, Clinical Assistant Professor of Finance, University of South Carolina

Millennials are less likely to own a home than previous generations were at the same age.Andy Dean Photography/shutterstock.com

It used to be that everyone wanted to buy a home, seeking pleasure and security, as well as the potential for future wealth.

But younger Americans are buying homes far less often than their elders’ generations did,...

What your ability to engage with stories says about your real-life relationships

Written by Nathan Silver, PhD Student in Communication, The Ohio State University

Some have any easier time than others connecting with fictional worlds and characters.zhuda/Shutterstock.com

The best TV shows and films don’t simply distract from the drudgery of everyday life. They’re places to vicariously get to know different people, and learn from their relationships and experiences.

Media scholars like ourselves...

There is more than one religious view on abortion - here's what Jewish texts say

Written by Rachel Mikva, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, Chicago Theological Seminary

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey discusses a bill that would virtually outlaw abortion in the state.AP Photo/Blake Paterson

Alabama’s governor signed a bill this week that criminalizes nearly all abortions, threatening providers with a felony conviction and up to 99 years in prison.

It is one of numerous efforts across the United States to restrict...

New autism research on single neurons suggests signaling problems in brain circuits

Written by Dmitry Velmeshev, Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, San Francisco

Artist impression of neurons communicating in the brain. whitehoune/Shutterstock.com

Autism affects at least 2% of children in the United States – an estimated 1 in 59. This is challenging for both the patients and their parents or caregivers. What’s worse is that today there is no medical treatment for autism. That is in large part...

States – not just Congress – should unlock student financial aid for people in prison

Written by Bradley D. Custer, Ph.D. Candidate, Michigan State University

Many states prohibit people from receiving state financial aid for college in prison.Mike Dotta from www.shutterstock.com

When it comes to higher education in prison, much of the media and advocacy focus is on trying to get Congress to lift a longstanding ban on giving Pell Grants to people serving time.

While a bipartisan effort to restore Pell...

Phage therapy to prevent cholera infections – and possibly those caused by other deadly bacteria

Written by Andrew Camilli, Professor of Molecular Biology & Microbiology, Tufts University

Viruses attack and infect a bacterium.Design_Cells/Shutterstock.com

In the latest of a string of high-profile cases in the U.S., a cocktail of bacteria-killing viruses successfully treated a cystic fibrosis patient suffering from a deadly infection caused by a pathogen that was resistant to multiple forms of antibiotics.

Curing infections is...

What's behind the belief in a soulmate?

Written by Bradley Onishi, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Skidmore College

Many people believe in the idea of a soulmate - one person who will make us whole and happy.fizkes

The United States appears to be in a romantic slump. Marriage rates have plummeted over the last decade. And compared to previous generations, young single people today are perhaps spending more time on social media than actual dating. They are also...