The Conversation

The US nuclear arsenal: A quick overview

Written by Jeffrey Fields, Associate Professor of the Practice of International Relations, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Warhead-containing nose cone of an inert Minuteman 3 missile.AP Photo/Charlie Riede

Meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on June 12, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un committed to “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

I spent many years working on nuclear nonproliferation at the Department of Defense, the State...

Climate change will make rice less nutritious, putting millions of the world's poor at risk

Written by Kristie Ebi, Professor of Global Health and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington

Rice farmer in Longsheng, China.kevincure, CC BY

Rice is the primary food source for more than 3 billion people around the world. Many are unable to afford a diverse and nutritious diet that includes complete protein, grains, fruits and vegetables. They rely heavily on more affordable cereal crops, including rice, for most of their calories.

My...

Anthony Bourdain's window into Africa

Written by Jacob Henry, PhD Student in Geography, University of Hawaii

In Season 3 of 'Parts Unknown,' Anthony Bourdain took viewers to Tanzania.CNN

Anthony Bourdain might have been a celebrity chef, but viewers of his Emmy Award-winning travel show, “Parts Unknown,” didn’t tune in for curry and noodle recipes.

Cooking was simply the conceit Bourdain used to have a conversation about the culture,...

How to choose a World Cup team when the US isn't contending

Written by Francisco Javier López Frías, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University

Fans hold banners and cheer, as the U.S. team takes the field for a World Cup qualifying soccer match against Panama, Oct. 6, 2017, in Orlando, Fla.AP Photo/John Raoux

After the U.S. men’s soccer team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the question about which team to root for has become commonplace among American soccer fans. To help...

Some want to get rid of college majors – here's how that could go wrong

Written by Matthew J. Mayhew, William Ray and Marie Adamson Flesher Professor of Educational Administration, The Ohio State University

Though criticized as outdated, college majors still serve a vital function, a scholar argues.Nerthus/www.shutterstock.com

Should college majors be a thing of the past?

That idea received a fresh airing when author Jeffrey Selingo suggested recently that it’s “time to end college majors as we know them.”

As a researcher who studies...

Do abused women need asylum? 4 essential reads

Written by Catesby Holmes, Global Affairs Editor, The Conversation US

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on June 11 reversed an appeals court ruling that granted asylum to a Salvadoran woman who had fled sexual, emotional and physical abuse back home, upending nearly a decade of legal precedent about who should qualify as a refugee.

In 2009, the Obama administration determined that foreign women who suffer severe sexual...

Summit with Kim is boosting Trump's confidence – that might not be a good thing

Written by Stephen Benedict Dyson, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Connecticut

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands.AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Moments after President Donald Trump shook North Korean leader Kim Jung Un’s hand for the first time, Trump pronounced: “We will have a terrific relationship.”

Trump’s snap judgment fulfilled his prediction before the June 12...

Is Venezuela's president afraid of a coup d'etat?

Written by Marco Aponte-Moreno, Assistant Professor of Global Business, St Mary's College of California

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced the release of 39 political prisoners on June 1, 2018, as a sign of his administration's "goodwill."AP Photo/Fernando Llano

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab announced on June 11 that the government would release more political prisoners, the third such group offered clemency since President...

Mind molding psychedelic drugs could treat depression, and other mental illnesses

Written by David E. Olson, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry; Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine; Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis

By agsandrew/shutterstock.com

It seems that psychedelics do more than simply alter perception. According to the latest research from my colleagues and me, they change the structures of neurons themselves.

My research group has been studying the effects of psychedelics on neuronal structure and function, and we found that these compounds cause...

Could science diplomacy be the key to stabilizing international relations?

Written by Paul Arthur Berkman, Director of the Science Diplomacy Center and Professor of Practice in Science Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

A different kind of international dialogue.Kyle Glenn on Unsplash, CC BY

It’s no secret that United States–Russia relations are currently rife with tension and mistrust. The news is full of reports of Russia meddling in U.S. elections, seeding U.S. media with fake news, supporting the Syrian regime and so on.

The relationship between...