The Conversation

There's more to health care access than pre-existing conditions

Written by J.B. Silvers, Professor of Health Finance, Weatherhead School of Management & School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University

Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum speaks with health care professionals on Sept. 21, 2018 in Miami. Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo

Health care has been a universal topic of discussion this political season. Candidates from both parties say they are in favor of it, although definitions of “it” vary widely. But what all agree is that...

Independent voters will decide Arizona's historic female Senate race

Written by Gina Woodall, Senior Lecturer at the School of Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State University

Democrat Kyrsten Sinema (left) and Republican Martha McSally are competing to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Jeff Flake. AP Photo/Matt York

Throughout most of U.S. history, races for the Senate have featured two men.

This year is different. Twenty-two women are running for the U.S. senate. Six senatorial contests feature two women competing...

En Estados Unidos, la religión y los refugiados están profundamente conectados

Written by Stephanie J. Nawyn, Associate Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Center for Gender in Global Context, Michigan State University

Concentración organizada por HIAS, un grupo judío que apoya a los refugiados, en el exterior de la Casa Blanca.Ted Eytan/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

Antes de asesinar presuntamente a 11 personas en una sinagoga en Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Robert Bowers atacó verbalmente a lo que creía que era un complot judío para traer...

Felons barred from jury duty: An unjustified punishment

Written by James Binnall, Assistant Professor of Law, Criminology, and Criminal Justice, California State University, Long Beach

Jury duty.Shutterstock

Florida residents will vote on Nov. 6 on an amendment that would restore voting rights to 1 million people in Florida who are currently barred from voting because of a felony conviction.

What many people do not know is that in Florida, those same people are also excluded from ever serving as jurors.

While that’s not on...

College students with disabilities are too often excluded

Written by Christa Bialka, Assistant Professor of Special Education, Villanova University

Colleges and universities have been challenged to create more inclusive environments for disabled students.Monkey Business Images/www.shutterstock.com

AnnCatherine Heigl, a sophomore at George Mason University, recently attempted to join all eight sororities at her school. All eight turned her down.

If you ask her sister, who Tweeted about how the...

How to make meaning in aftermath of Pittsburgh and other violent acts

Written by Joan M. Cook, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University

A makeshift memorial outside the Tree of Life synagogue, Nov. 1, 2018. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

As the last of the funerals were held for the 11 people gunned down at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, many of the survivors, their loved ones and the world are left with terribly heavy hearts. How do we emotionally digest such hatred and...

State cap-and-trade systems offer evidence that carbon pricing can work

Written by Kelly Sims Gallagher, Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy and Director of Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Valero’s Benicia Refinery, less than 40 miles from San Francisco AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

The latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report argues that carbon pollution must be cut to zero by 2050 to avoid devastating levels of climate change.

Achieving that goal will require swiftly transforming the energy, transportation,...

Strict Amazon protections made Brazilian farmers more productive, new research shows

Written by Rachael Garrett, Assistant Professor of the Human Dimensions of Global Change, Boston University

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s new president, will make many decisions during his four-year term, from combating violence to stimulating a stagnant economy.

Those decisions will have large impacts on Brazilians, who remain deeply divided over the controversial election of this far-right populist.

But some of Bolsonaro’s decisions will affect...

Unlike in 2016, there was no spike in misinformation this election cycle

Written by Paul Resnick, Professor of Information, University of Michigan

Social media misinformation rose significantly before the 2016 presidential election.Georgejmclittle/shutterstock.com

A newsy photo of a public figure shows up on your social media feed, with a clickbait-y headline and a provocative comment, all linking to a site with juicy political content. Did you share it?

Somebody did.

It wasn’t a paid ad,...

Pittsburgh trauma surgeon: 'Stop the Bleed' training saved lives after shooting, but stopping the need must be next

Written by Matthew D. Neal, MD FACS, Roberta G. Simmons Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh

A SWAT team arriving at Tree of Life synagogue, Oct. 27, 2018. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

I am a trauma surgeon who cared for many of the critically wounded victims of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. As we raced to find the source of blood loss in one of the most severely injured patients, one of my trauma surgeon partners, a U.S. Army veteran of...