The Conversation

El origen de los cócteles artesanales es la Ley seca

Written by Jeffrey Miller, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, Hospitality Management, Colorado State University

By the end of Prohibition, distilled spirits made up more than 75 percent of alcohol sales.Lando Aviles/Shutterstock.com

Desde hace unos años, Estados Unidos está en medio de un floreciente movimiento de cerveza artesanal y de bebidas espirituosas artesanales. Es fácil olvidar, pues, que la Prohibición fue una vez la ley...

A letter from Beth Daley

Written by Beth Daley, Editor and General Manager

Dear Conversation US reader,

I am thrilled to join this nonprofit journalism organization so singular in our nation’s crowded media landscape.

The Conversation US plays an indispensable role in our democracy by allowing true experts – academics – to explain and analyze the world around us based on their research. They do this with...

Purdue Pharma taps a Gilded Age history of pharmaceutical fraud

Written by Jonathan S. Jones, PhD Candidate in History, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Classified advertisement for Leslie Keeley's Gold Cure.ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune, July 21, 1884

Newly unsealed documents from a lawsuit by the state of Massachusetts allege that Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin and other addictive opioids, actively sniffed out new, sinister ways to cash in on the opioid crisis.

Despite years...

Abortions rise worldwide when US cuts funding to women's health clinics, study finds

Written by Yana Rodgers, Professor of Labor Studies, Rutgers University

A billboard built by sex education advocates outside Mexico's National Population Council office, in Mexico City, warns that 'being a mother is not child's play.' (May 29, 2014) AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

Fulfilling Republican efforts to “defund Planned Parenthood,” the Trump administration announced on Feb. 22 it would end federal...

Teacher unions say they're fighting for students and schools – what they really want is more members

Written by Bradley D. Marianno, Assistant Professor of Educational Policy & Leadership, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Teachers, students and supporters rally in front of City Hall in Oakland, Calif., in February. Jeff Chiu/AP

When schoolteachers in Los Angeles went on a weeklong strike in January, the head of the local teachers union described it as a “battle for the soul of public education.” When Denver public school teachers went on a three-day...

Netanyahu’s hardline foreign policies may outlast his tenure

Written by David Mednicoff, Chair, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may soon exit the political stage.Reuters/ Ammar Awad

The upcoming indictment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could end the long-serving conservative politician’s career. But even an abrupt exit would leave his hawkish policies in the Middle East intact.

The most serious allegation the...

5 ways life would be better if it were always daylight saving time

Written by Steve Calandrillo, Jeffrey & Susan Brotman Professor of Law, University of Washington

It's almost time to 'spring forward.'Pair Srinrat/shutterstock.com

In my research on daylight saving time, I have found that Americans don’t like it when Congress messes with their clocks.

In an effort to avoid the biannual clock switch in spring and fall, some well-intended critics of DST have made the mistake of suggesting that the...

Fyre debacle shows how smaller acts can get burned in modern music festival economy

Written by Jonathan Wynn, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Festivals can offer great exposure for smaller acts, but the competition for slots is fierce.dwphotos/Shutterstock.com

The Fyre documentaries on Hulu and Netflix gave a behind-the-scenes look into an ill-planned music festival and its aftermath.

Both films tell the story of how co-producers Billy McFarland and Ja Rule convinced investors and...

Lightweight of periodic table plays big role in life on Earth

Written by Nicholas Leadbeater, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Connecticut

The Periodic Table of the ElementsPanimoni/Shutterstock.com

Although hydrogen is the lightweight of the chemical elements, it packs a real punch when it comes to its role in life and its potential as a solution to some of the world’s challenges. As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the periodic table, it seems reasonable to tip our hat to...

EPA's plan to regulate chemical contaminants in drinking water is a drop in the bucket

Written by Laurel Schaider, Visiting Scientist, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University

Hoosick Fall, N.Y. is one of many U.S. communities whose drinking water has been contaminated with PFOA or PFOS.AP Photo/Mike Groll, File

After more than a year of community meetings and deliberations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in February 2019 that it would begin the process of regulating two drinking water contaminants,...