The Conversation

The opioid epidemic in 6 essential reads

Written by Jessie Schanzle, Desk Editor, Health and Medicine, The Conversation

Drug related deaths are on the rise, but federal funds to programs that mitigate drug abuse are being cut in 2018.Me/flickr, CC BY

Editor’s note: The following is a roundup of archival stories related to opioids.

The opioid crisis appears to be getting worse, not better.

According to The New York Times, drug deaths are rising faster than ever,...

Is there structural racism on the internet?

Written by Charlton McIlwain, Associate Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University

Do people use the internet in ways that disadvantage nonwhites?magic pictures/shutterstock.com

The racial inequalities afflicting Americans and our society today are in many ways a result of the result of spatial segregation. White people and nonwhite people tend to live in different neighborhoods, go to different schools and have dramatically...

When is a leak ethical?

Written by Cassandra Burke Robertson, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Professional Ethics, Case Western Reserve University

News leak image via www.shutterstock.com

Twenty-five-year-old Reality Leigh Winner remains in jail after a federal judge denied her bail in a case where she is alleged to have sent classified information to the media. Winner faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Winner’s prosecution comes at a time when the Trump administration has been...

George H.W. Bush: America's last foreign policy president

Written by James Goldgeier, Dean of the School of International Service, American University School of International Service

Unlike every president who followed him, George H.W. Bush had a background in foreign policy. In 1972, Bush was serving as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. AP Photo/Dave Pickoff

George H.W. Bush, who turns 93 today, was the last person elected president of the United States with any prior foreign policy experience.

He entered office with one of the...

Puerto Rico votes on statehood: Polls and protests

Written by Jossianna Arroyo-Martínez, Chair/Professor of Latin American and Caribbean Literatures and Cultures, Depts. Spanish and Portuguese, African and African Diaspora Studies, University of Texas at Austin

Will the vote matter?

Charles R. Venator-Santiago, University of Connecticut

The 2017 Plebiscite for the Immediate Decolonization of Puerto Rico was held on June 11. This is the fifth vote on the political status of Puerto Rico since the United States annexed the island in 1898.

Only 23 percent of the 2,260,804 registered Puerto Rican voters participa...

How Obamacare may morph into Medicaid

Written by JB Silvers, Professor of Health Finance, Case Western Reserve University

The slow-motion consideration by Congress and the president to change the Affordable Care Act is likely to produce surprising results. The insurance market does not go into suspended animation while Washington debates.

In fact, starting this month, insurers face a series of filing deadlines that will determine what comes next for health insurance...

Statehood for Puerto Rico? Lessons from the last time the US added a star to its flag

Written by David Stebenne, Professor of History and Law Faculty, The Ohio State University

San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nov. 3, 2012. AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo

On June 11, Puerto Ricans will vote on statehood.

Even if Puerto Rico votes “yes,” Congress must still pass a law in order to change the island’s legal status from that of a commonwealth to a state. Congress, however, seems likely to drag its feet. That’s what...

How populism explains May's stunning UK election upset: Experts react

Written by Terrence Guay, Clinical Professor of International Business, Pennsylvania State University

Corbyn may not have won enough seats to take over Parliament, but he dealt May a serious blow nonetheless. AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

Editor’s note: U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s election gamble failed badly as her Conservatives lost 12 seats, leaving them with 318, shy of a majority. It was a stunning loss for a party earlier...

Puerto Rico votes on statehood – fifth time's the charm?

Written by Charles R. Venator-Santiago, Associate Professor of Political Science and El Instituto, University of Connecticut

Puerto Rican citizen gestures during political rally in 2012. AP/Ricardo Arduengo

On June 11, Puerto Ricans will have an opportunity to vote in a nonbinding plebiscite to determine Puerto Rico’s political status.

Local voters will choose among three options: statehood, independence or territorial autonomy – or keeping the status quo.

There...

Tourette syndrome: Finally, something to shout about

Written by Michael Okun, Professor of Neurology, University of Florida

Campers at Twitch and Shout, a camp for teenagers with Tourette, in Winder, Georgia, say goodbye in this 2014 file photo. David Goldman/AP

Tourette syndrome is a mysterious medical curiosity that has puzzled doctors for more than a century. People who have it suffer from tics and other behavioral problems, such as obsessive compulsive traits and...