The Conversation

Is warming in the Arctic behind this year's crazy winter weather?

Written by Jennifer Francis, Research Professor, Rutgers University

Seriously cold: The 'bomb cyclone' freezes a fountain in New York City.AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

Damage from extreme weather events during 2017 racked up the biggest-ever bills for the U.S. Most of these events involved conditions that align intuitively with global warming: heat records, drought, wildfires, coastal flooding, hurricane damage and heavy...

Turning power over to states won't improve protection for endangered species

Written by Alejandro E. Camacho, Professor of Law and Director, Center for Land Environment, and Natural Resources, University of California, Irvine

Utah prairie dog, Bryce Canyon National Park.Donald Hobern, CC BY

Since the Endangered Species Act became law in 1973, the U.S. government has played a critical role in protecting endangered and threatened species. But while the law is overwhelmingly popular with the American public, critics in Congress are proposing to significantly reduce federal...

Autonomous vehicles could help millions of people catch up on sleep, TV and work

Written by Eric Williams, Associate Professor of Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology

There's lots to do when a car is driving itself.maximl/Shutterstock.com

What would you do if you could magically reclaim all the time you spend behind the wheel of a car? Ultimately that’s what a future filled with autonomous vehicles is promising.

There are many questions about what autonomous vehicles will be able to do, how reliable...

For black celebrities like Oprah, it's impossible to be apolitical

Written by Lauren Rebecca Sklaroff, Associate Professor of History, University of South Carolina

Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey appear during a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Dec. 8, 2007.AP Photo/Paul Sancya

Oprah Winfrey’s rousing Golden Globe speech has many speculating whether the media mogul will become a presidential candidate in 2020, with some pundits questioning the merits of another “celebrity” president.

But to...

The 'greatest pandemic in history' was 100 years ago – but many of us still get the basic facts wrong

Written by Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University

Influenza victims crowd into an emergency hospital near Fort Riley, Kansas in 1918.AP Photo/National Museum of Health

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the great influenza pandemic of 1918. Between 50 and 100 million people are thought to have died, representing as much as 5 percent of the world’s population. Half a billion people were...

When sexual assault victims speak out, their institutions often betray them

Written by Jennifer J. Freyd, Professor of Psychology, University of Oregon

Institutional betrayal can lead to real psychological and physical harm.Aimorn1992/shutterstock.com

A 27-year-old medical resident in general surgery is sexually harassed by two men – the chief resident and a staff physician at the hospital. She feels trapped. When one of the men’s actions escalates to assault, she struggles to find the...

Targeting hidden roots of workplace harassment is key to fulfilling Oprah's promise to girls

Written by Elizabeth C. Tippett, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Oregon

The #MeToo movement was on full display at this year’s Golden Globes, where stars wore black to show solidarity. Among them was Oprah Winfrey, who, in accepting a lifetime achievement award, paid tribute to the women who dared tell their truth, assuring “all the girls watching” that “a new day is on the horizon.”

While...

More colleges than ever have test-optional admissions policies — and that's a good thing

Written by Joseph Soares, Professor of Sociology, Wake Forest University

The number of colleges and universities with test-optional admissions policies recently topped 1,000 -- a milestone that one expert says is a welcome trend.Shutterstock.com

Back in the 1980s, Bates College and Bowdoin College were nearly the only liberal arts colleges not to require applicants to submit SAT or ACT test scores.

On Jan. 10, FairTest,...

MLK's vision of love as a moral imperative still matters

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

2017 was a year of increased conflict in the United States. Many diverse communities were forced to confront a range of challenges related to anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia and anti-immigrant feelings. These challenges strike at the heart of what it means to live in a multicultural, democratic society.

Yet, it is not the first time America has...

Defanged regulations have big media licking their chops

Written by Amanda Lotz, Fellow at the Peabody Media Center and Professor of Media Studies, University of Michigan

Consolidation is happening at a rapid pace. But who will bear the brunt of the costs?Khakimullin Aleksandr/Shutterstock.com

The year 2017 ended with a flurry of news affecting all aspects of the media industry. A shift in net neutrality policy and Disney’s planned purchase of several Fox assets capped a year that also witnessed the pending...