The Conversation

Does empathy have limits? Depends on whom you ask

Written by C. Daryl Cameron, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Research Associate in the Rock Ethics Institute, Pennsylvania State University

Why do we lack empathy in certain situations?PROFrancisco Schmidt, CC BY-NC

Is it possible to run out of empathy?

That’s the question many are asking in the wake of the U.S. presidential election. Thousands have marched on streets and airports to encourage others to expand their empathy for women, minorities and refugees. Others have argued...

Can Ben Carson use the power of HUD to make America happier?

Written by Justin Hollander, Associate Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University

Ben Carson laughs, Jan. 12, 2017. AP Photo/Zach Gibson

With the full Senate scheduled to vote on Ben Carson’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, it is worth considering one question that must be on Carson’s mind: Is HUD working?

There can be no question that HUD has enormous impact. With an annual...

Trump's address to Congress: Expert reaction

Written by Jordan Tama, Assistant Professor of International Relations, American University School of International Service

Editor’s note: President Donald Trump gave his first address to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 28. The speech featured policy ideas that appealed to Republicans, and others that sounded more Democratic. We asked scholars to react to the substance of the speech and evaluate its tone for hints of bipartisanship.

Is there any hope for...

Edible marijuana: What we need to know

Written by Margie Skeer, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University

Smaller-dose pot-infused brownies are divided and packaged at The Growing Kitchen in Boulder, Co. AP Photo/Brennan Linsley

Marijuana-infused foods – often called edibles – are becoming more and more popular in states such as Colorado, where recreational marijuana is sold.

In the first quarter of 2014, the first year recreational sales...

Dealing with hate: Can America's truth and reconciliation commissions help?

Written by Joshua F.J. Inwood, Associate Professor of Geography Senior Research Associate in the Rock Ethics Institute, Pennsylvania State University

Recent vandalism in Jewish cemeteries in St. Louis and Philadelphia illustrates the all too real problem of hate crime faced by many communities in the United States.

Just this February, the Southern Poverty Law Center found that for the second year in a row the number of hate groups in the United States has been growing – up from 892 in 2015...

Japan's gender-bending history

Written by Jennifer Robertson, Professor of Anthropology and Art History, University of Michigan

Genking, a male-born Japanese TV personality and 'genderless' pioneer. _genking_/Instagram

I’m an anthropologist who grew up in Japan and has lived there, off and on, for 22 years. Yet every visit to Tokyo’s Harajuku District still surprises me. In the eye-catching styles modeled by fashion-conscious young adults, there’s a...

Reprintable paper becomes a reality

Written by Yadong Yin, Professor of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside

Achievement unlocked: Rewritable paper.Yadong Yin, CC BY-ND

Since its invention around 100 B.C. in China, paper as a material for spreading information has greatly contributed to the development and spread of civilization. Even in today’s information age, with electronic media omnipresent in homes, offices and even our pockets, paper still...

Donald Trump and Andrew Jackson: More in common than just populism

Written by Billy J. Stratton, Professor of contemporary American literature and culture; Native American studies, University of Denver

At President Donald Trump’s request, a portrait of former President Andrew Jackson now hangs in the Oval Office. Commentators have cast Trump’s populist appeal and inaugural address as “Jacksonian,” while others have tried to emphasize their major differences. One writer lauded Jackson as “the president who, more than...

Culling sharks won't protect surfers

Written by George Burgess, Director, Florida Program for Shark Research and Coordinator of Museum Operations, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida

In sharks' territory.Warm Winds Surf Shop/Flickr, CC BY

The warm and productive waters of La Réunion, an island east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, are home to many types of tropical sea life, including apex predators such as sharks. Eight fatal shark attacks on humans have occurred there since 2011. After a body boarder was killed by a...

How the NEA's measly millions keep America's museums alive

Written by Robert Ekelund, Eminent Scholar and Professor of Economics Emeritus, Auburn University

Some politicians have never made a secret of their desire to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as its companion agency the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

Each of these agencies have traditionally been regarded as bastions of “liberalism,” making them...