The Conversation

Do coal and nuclear need a helping hand? 5 essential reads

Written by Martin LaMonica, Deputy Editor, Environment & Energy Editor, The Conversation

Coal power has long been a mainstay of the electricity system but has lost share as natural gas prices have gone down. John Fowler, CC BY-SA

The following is a roundup of previously published articles.

The U.S. electricity grid, the sprawling network that delivers power to our homes and businesses, is changing rapidly – a point few experts...

Postpartum depression can affect dads – and their hormones may be to blame

Written by Darby Saxbe, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

New fathers can feel low, too.loriZ, CC BY-NC

Postpartum depression has become more visible as celebrity moms including Brooke Shields, Drew Barrymore and Chrissy Teigen have publicly shared their struggles with feeling sad and hopeless after birth. But when a father – Adam Busby, from reality TV show “OutDaughtered” –...

Why students need better protection from loan fraud

Written by Richard Fossey, Professor of Education, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

How can we help the tens of thousands of college students who have been defrauded?SpeedKingz/Shutterstock.com

A college education can set you up for a lifetime – though it can come with a hefty price tag: Some unfortunate students have gotten both a mountain of debt and an education that falls far short of their expectations.

Across the...

For a primer on how to make fun of Nazis, look to Charlie Chaplin

Written by Kevin Hagopian, Senior Lecturer of Media Studies (Cinema Studies), Pennsylvania State University

Charlie Chaplin's character Adenoid Hynkel was a not-so-subtle nod to Adolf Hitler.Wikimedia Commons

White nationalists and neo-Nazis are having their moment. Former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard David Duke is back, yet again, in the media spotlight, while newer figures such as white supremacist Richard Spencer and Christopher Cantwell are...

Can you pass this smell test?

Written by Steven D. Munger, Director, Center for Smell and Taste; Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida

The smell of daffodils is a treat for most people, but some cannot experience the joy because they have lost their sense of smell. Mila Supinskaya Glashchenko/Shutterstock.com

Each of our senses gives us a unique view of our world. Our visual system detects parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, revealing movement, brightness and color, but also a...

I was an Exxon-funded climate scientist

Written by Katharine Hayhoe, Professor and Director, Climate Science Center, Texas Tech University

Exxon funded climate scientists while the bulk of its public-facing advertorials argued the science and cause of climate change was uncertain.AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

ExxonMobil’s deliberate attempts to sow doubt on the reality and urgency of climate change and their donations to front groups to disseminate false information about climate...

Dissecting Conor McGregor's steep odds in boxing showdown

Written by Bill Zimmerman, Lecturer, Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Pennsylvania State University

It seems to happen every few years: a boxing superfight briefly jolts the fringe sport back into the public consciousness.

But the latest mega match-up – between an undefeated boxer coming out of retirement and a celebrated mixed martial arts fighter who has never entered a professional boxing ring – is without precedent.

It’s...

Anti-vaccination beliefs don't follow the usual political polarization

Written by Charles McCoy, Assistant Professor of Sociology, SUNY Plattsburgh

Signs from a protest in 2015 against a California bill that prohibits parents from using a religious exemption as a reason to not vaccinate their children. The bill became law. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

When health officials learned that the 2015 measles outbreak was caused by clusters of unvaccinated children, Americans once more wanted to...

We should serve kids food in school, not shame

Written by Sarah Riggs Stapleton, Assistant Professor, Education Studies, College of Education, University of Oregon

All students deserve a healthy lunch when they go to school.Africa Studio / Shutterstock.com

For the past several years, reports have surfaced about the “shaming” of students for outstanding school meal debts. These students, often from low-income families, are being publicly humiliated because they have unpaid debt in their school meal...

The penny may be worthless, but let's keep it anyway

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Economist and Research Scientist, The Ohio State University

The 16th U.S. president has graced the penny since 1909.AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Governments have long waged a war on cash in an attempt to curb terrorism and tax evasion. Their focus has typically been on eliminating large denominations, like Europe’s €500 bill or India’s 1,000 rupee note.

Two U.S. lawmakers have a much smaller...