The Conversation

From a new flagship space telescope to lunar exploration, global cooperation – and competition – will make 2026 an exciting year for space

Written by Grant Tremblay, Federal Astrophysicist and External Relations Lead at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Smithsonian Institution

The U.S. is planning a crewed flight around the Moon in 2026. AP Photo

In 2026, astronauts will travel around the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era, powerful new space telescopes will prepare to survey billions of galaxies, and multiple nations will launch missions aimed at finding habitable worlds, water on the Moon and clues to how our...

The ‘drug threat’ that justified the US ouster of Maduro won’t be fixed by his arrest

Written by Eduardo Gamarra, Professor of Politics and International Relations, Florida International University

This isn't going to stop in the U.S. just because Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was arrested.Floris Leeuwenberg, Corbis Documentary/Getty Images

Donald Trump has flagged Venezuelan drug trafficking as a key reason for the U.S. military operation on Jan. 3, 2026, that captured President Nicolás Maduro and whisked him to New York...

South Florida’s Brightline has highlighted an old problem – every year for the past decade, 900 pedestrians were killed by trains

Written by Ian Savage, Professor of Economics, Northwestern University

High-speed passenger trains like Florida's Brightline travel through dense neighborhoods, increasing the likelihood of accidents involving pedestrians.Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

In 2018, high-speed passenger trains branded as Brightline started running along the formerly freight-only Florida East Coast Railway. Initial service from Miami to...

Iran’s protests have spread across provinces, despite skepticism and concern among ethnic groups

Written by Shukriya Bradost, Ph.D. Researcher, International Security and Foreign Policy, Virginia Tech

Protester in Punak, Tehran on Jan. 10, 2026.Author-obtained image., CC BY

When Iran’s ongoing protests began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar on Dec. 28 2025, the government initially treated them as manageable and temporary.

Bazaar merchants have historically been among the most conservative social groups in Iran, deeply embedded in the...

Why unlocking Venezuelan oil won’t mean much for US energy prices

Written by Amy Myers Jaffe, Director, Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab, and Research Professor, New York University; Tufts University

A sculpture of a hand holding an oil rig stands outside the headquarters of Venezuela's national oil company. Pedro Mattey/AFP via Getty Images

In the wake of U.S. forces’ arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is taking over Venezuelan oil production.

In addition, the U.S. has...

Martin Luther King Jr. was ahead of his time in pushing for universal basic income

Written by Tarah Williams, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Allegheny College

Martin Luther King Jr. became involved not just in fights over racial equality but also economic hardship.Ted S. Warren/AP

Each year on the holiday that bears his name, Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for his immense contributions to the struggle for racial equality. What is less often remembered but equally important is that King saw the...

Rural areas have darker skies but fewer resources for students interested in astronomy – telescopes in schools can help

Written by Emma Marcucci, Executive Director of STARS, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Smithsonian Institution

Observing the night sky can get kids interested in astronomy and STEM careers. Jeremy Thomas/Unsplash

The night sky has long sparked wonder and curiosity. Early civilizations studied the stars and tracked celestial events, predicted eclipses and used their observations to construct calendars, develop maps and formulate religious rituals.

Scholars...

Research institutions tout the value of scholarship that crosses disciplines – but academia pushes interdisciplinary researchers out

Written by Bruce Weinberg, Professor of Economics, The Ohio State University

Interdisciplinary researchers are trained to conduct work that crosses between fields. PixelsEffect/E+ via Getty Images

The most exciting landmark scientific achievements don’t happen without researchers sharing and collaborating with others outside their field. When people first landed on the Moon in 1969, Neil Armstrong’s first...

From flammable neighborhoods to moral hazards, fire insurance maps capture early US cities and the landscape of discrimination

Written by Jack Swab, Assistant Professor Department of Geography & Sustainability, University of Tennessee

1909 Sanborn map of Suffolk County in Boston, Mass.Library of Congress

Imagine a map that allows you to see what your neighborhood looked like a century ago in immense detail. What you’re thinking of is probably very much like the fire insurance maps produced from the 1860s to the 1970s for insurance companies to identify potential fire risks....

Viruses aren’t all bad: In the ocean, some help fuel the food web – a new study shows how

Written by Steven Wilhelm, Professor of Microbiology, University of Tennessee

A research ship sails in the Atlantic Ocean, where scientists are studying the roles of marine viruses.SW Wilhelm

Virus. The word evokes images of illness and fears of outbreaks. Yet, in the oceans, not all viruses are bad news.

Some play a helpful, even critical, role in sustaining marine life.

In a new study, we and an international team of...