The Conversation

Believe it or not, there was a time when the US government built beautiful homes for working-class Americans to deal with a housing crisis

Written by Eran Ben-Joseph, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

The U.S. Housing Corporation built nearly 300 homes in Bremerton, Wash., during World War I.National Archives

In 1918, as World War I intensified overseas, the U.S. government embarked on a radical experiment: It quietly became the nation’s largest housing developer, designing and constructing more than 80 new communities across 26 states in...

In what order did the planets in our solar system form?

Written by Christopher Palma, Teaching Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State

An artistic rendition of our solar system, including the Sun and eight planets.vjanez/iStock via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Are planets in the solar system that are closer to the Sun older than the ones...

H-bomb creator Richard Garwin was a giant in science, technology and policy

Written by Matthew Bunn, Professor of the Practice of Energy, National Security, and Foreign Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Richard Garwin at the White House on Nov. 22, 2016.AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Richard Garwin, who died on May 13, 2025, at the age of 97, was sometimes called “the most influential scientist you’ve never heard of.” He got his Ph.D. in physics at 21 under Enrico Fermi...

Landing on the Moon is an incredibly difficult feat − 2025 has brought successes and shortfalls for companies and space agencies

Written by Zhenbo Wang, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Tennessee

Several missions have already attempted to land on the lunar surface in 2025, with more to come. AP Photo

Half a century after the Apollo astronauts left the last bootprints in lunar dust, the Moon has once again become a destination of fierce ambition and delicate engineering.

This time, it’s not just superpowers racing to plant flags, but...

Touch can comfort and heal, but also harm − a psychologist explains why gestures don’t always land as intended

Written by Brian N. Chin, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Trinity College

Touch is not always received the way it's intended.Olga Pankova/Moment via Getty Images

A hug from a friend. A squeeze of the hand. A steady arm around your shoulders. Many of us are taught to think of touch as comforting – an instinctive way to offer or receive comfort and express a sense of connection.

But comfort is not always the outcome.

Fo...

Why we fall for fake health information – and how it spreads faster than facts

Written by Angshuman K. Kashyap, PhD candidate in Health Communication, University of Maryland

Should you share that health-related Instagram post?Catherine McQueen/Moment via Getty Images

In today’s digital world, people routinely turn to the internet for health or medical information. In addition to actively searching online, they often come across health-related information on social media or receive it through emails or messages...

Cultivating obedience: Using the Justice Department to attack former officials consolidates power and deters dissent

Written by Joe Wright, Professor of Political Science, Penn State

Miles Taylor, center, a Homeland Security official during the first Trump administration, wrote an op-ed in September 2018 that criticized Trump.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

During President Donald Trump’s first three months in office, his administration has targeted dozens of former officials who criticized him or opposed his agenda.

In April 2025,...

New chancellor, old constraints: Germany’s Friedrich Merz will have a hard time freeing the country from its self-imposed shackles

Written by Mark I. Vail, Worrell Chair of Politics and International Affairs, Wake Forest University

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has had an uncertain start to his tenure.John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images

Friedrich Merz received a rude shock on the morning of May 6, 2025, as he prepared to lose the “in-waiting” qualifier from his title as German chancellor.

After weeks of negotiations following February’s federal election,...

Trump’s vision for Air Force One will turn it from the ‘Flying White House’ to a ‘palace in the sky’

Written by Janet Bednarek, Professor of History, University of Dayton

Former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy helped design Air Force One's color scheme, which has been used since her husband's presidency.Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images

Since President Donald Trump excitedly announced that he would be accepting a US$400 million plane from the Qatari government to serve as the next Air Force One, even members of his own...

‘Manu jumping’: The physics behind making humongous splashes in the pool

Written by Pankaj Rohilla, Postdoctoral Fellow in Fluid Dynamics, Georgia Institute of Technology

Maybe you've unknowingly tried to do a manu jump.Isabel Pavia/Moment via Getty Images

Whether diving off docks, cannonballing into lakes or leaping off the high board, there’s nothing quite like the joy of jumping into water.

Olympic divers turned this natural act into a sophisticated science, with the goal of making a splash as small as...