The Conversation

As Brazil tilts rightward, Lula's leftist legacy of lifting the poor is at risk

Written by Terry L. McCoy, Professor Emeritus of Latin American Studies and Political Science, University of Florida

The Brazilian senate’s impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in August ended about 13 years of center-left government by the Workers Party (PT). Then in September, a federal judge dealt the party and its legacy an equally devastating blow when he indicted her predecessor and party icon, Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva, on...

Why insurance companies control your medical care

Written by Christy Ford Chapin, Visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University and Assistant Professor of History, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

It’s that time of year again. Insurance companies that participate in the Affordable Care Act’s state health exchanges are signaling that prices will rise dramatically this fall.

And if insurance costs aren’t enough of a crisis, researchers are highlighting deficiencies in health care quality, such as unnecessary tests and...

Science is key to U.S. standing, but presidential candidates largely ignore it

Written by Bernadette Gray-Little, Chancellor, University of Kansas

Aside from Hillary Clinton’s brief mentions of the need to focus on developing technology and clean energy jobs and addressing climate change, science issues were absent from the first presidential debate.

Unfortunately, this is indicative of how things have gone throughout the 2016 campaign. Amid all the talk from our leading presidential...

The irony of the Anthropocene: People dominate a planet beyond our control

Written by Nicholas C. Kawa, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, The Ohio State University

We've left our mark on the planet in many ways.NASA, CC BY

It’s becoming increasingly commonplace to suggest that humans now dominate the planet. Earlier this year the Anthropocene Working Group officially proposed that we live in a new geological epoch, one characterized by humanity’s far-reaching impacts on Earth.

Many researchers see...

Why the Kaine vs. Pence vice presidential debate matters

Written by Kyle C. Kopko, Associate Professor of Political Science, Elizabethtown College

Tim Kaine and Mike Pence both have been described as boring.

Many Americans still don’t know who they are, and they share their parties’ tickets with two of the most controversial and unpopular presidential candidates in modern political history. So, it’s a safe bet that their first and only debate on Tuesday night will not draw...

Is changing one's race a sign of mental health problems?

Written by Whitney Laster Pirtle, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of California, Merced

Rachel Dolezal

Rachel Dolezal was born to white parents and raised as a white child, but privately “transitioned” to a self-identified black woman after attending (and suing) the historically black Howard University. She first made headlines last year when she was outed as white by a local Spokane news reporter. She was in the news...

What it means to be black in the American educational system

Written by Kevin O'Neal Cokley, Professor of Educational Psychology and African and African Diaspora Studies, University of Texas at Austin

What do black Americans experience in the school system?masshighered, CC BY-NC

Many people still think that racism is no longer a problem in America. After the election of President Obama, academic John McWhorter argued that racism in America is, for all intents and purposes, dead. The prominent conservative scholar and African-American economist...

We're failing to solve the world's 'wicked problems.' Here's a better approach

Written by Stephan Manning, Associate Professor of Management, University of Massachusetts Boston

Migrants at the Greek-Macedonian border earlier this year: Is there a better way to deal with seemingly intractable problems? Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters

We live in a world burdened by large-scale problems that refuse to go away: the refugee crisis; terrorism; rising sea levels; frequent floods, droughts and wildfires; not to mention persistent...

Can Trump create millions of jobs? Don't bet on it

Written by Jonathan Lipson, Professor of Law, Temple University

Donald Trump claims he should be president in part because he has succeeded at creating jobs and businesses.

While the foundation of his business empire was in New York real estate and construction – thanks to “a million-dollar loan” from his father – he spent about 25 years owning and/or managing casinos in Atlantic City,...

Why Bruce Springsteen's depression revelation matters

Written by Alex Lubet, Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music, University of Minnesota

E Street lead guitarist Steve Van Zandt once said Bruce Springsteen never took drugs because he was afraid he might reprise his father’s depression. It turns out that Springsteen was suffering from mental illness all along.

Much of the buzz surrounding Bruce Springsteen’s new memoir “Born to Run” has been about the rock...