The Conversation

Jimmy Hoffa disappeared – and then his legacy took on a life of its own

Written by David Scott Witwer, Professor of American Studies, Pennsylvania State University

Jimmy Hoffa waves to delegates at the opening of the 1957 Teamsters Union convention in Miami Beach, Florida.AP Photo

On July 30, 1975, Jimmy Hoffa, the former president of the Teamsters Union, disappeared.

He’d gone to a restaurant in suburban Detroit apparently expecting to meet a couple of mafia figures whom he had known for decades....

Medical errors still harm too many people but there are glimpses of real change

Written by Michael L. Millenson, Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University

The U.S. is nowhere near the goal, set 20 years ago, of cutting medical errors in half. Thaiview/Shutterstock.com

In late November 1999, a TV producer called me about an alarming report that 44,000 to 98,000 Americans were being killed each year by preventable errors in hospitals and another 1 million were being injured.

Could that be true? Based on...

How to tell if your digital addiction is ruining your life

Written by Terri R. Kurtzberg, Associate Professor of Management and Global Business , Rutgers University Newark

Some people fear we're interacting more with our phones at the expense of our loved ones.Ana Blazic Pavlovic/Shutterstock.com

The fear that digital distractions are ruining our lives and friendships is widespread.

To be sure, digital addiction is real. Consider the 2,600 times we touch our phones every day, our panic when we temporarily misplace a...

Diabetic foot wounds kill millions, but high-tech solutions and teamwork are making a difference

Written by David G. Armstrong, Professor of Surgery, University of Southern California

A man who has a prosthetic leg sits in a wheelchair. With better care, the need for amputations could be lessened. Katy Pack/Shutterstock.com

What if someone told you that there’s a disease you could catch where you couldn’t feel any symptoms coming on? And that this occurs every 1.2 seconds somewhere in the world?

What if you were...

Political hashtags like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter make people less likely to believe the news

Written by Eugenia Ha Rim Rho, Ph.D. Candidate in Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine

News outlets sometimes use hashtags to promote their stories.13_Phunkod/Shutterstock.com

Whether you’re a conservative or a liberal, you have most likely come across a political hashtag in an article, a tweet or a personal story shared on Facebook.

A hashtag is a functional tag widely used in search engines and social networking services that...

Why a measured transition to electric vehicles would benefit the US

Written by David M. Hart, Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University

Manufacturing electric vehicles requires less labor and could disrupt the auto workforce.Carlos Osorio/AP Photo

Climate plans are the order of the day in the presidential primary campaign because carbon pollution is a global threat of unique proportions. But it’s worth asking whether candidates’ plans are based in the reality of the...

5 years after Islamic State massacre, an Iraqi minority is transformed by trauma

Written by Tutku Ayhan, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Central Florida

Dilbar Ali Ravu, 10, is kissed by his aunt, Dalal Ravu, as Yazidi children are reunited with their families in Iraq after five years of captivity with the Islamic State group, March 2, 2019.AP Photo/Philip Issa, File

It’s been five years since the Islamic State killed 3,100 Yazidi people in Iraq – mostly men and the elderly –...

Syria military presence risks US credibility with world community

Written by David Banks, Professorial Lecturer of International Politics, American University School of International Service

President Donald Trump has rapidly, and without warning to allies or even his own officials, shifted U.S. foreign policy in Syria.AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

President Donald Trump’s decisions to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria – and then to send them back into action – has raised new concerns around the world about the...

Contrary to recent reports, Jupiter's Great Red Spot is not in danger of disappearing

Written by Philip Marcus, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

Measuring in at 10,159 miles (16,350 kilometers) in width (as of April 3, 2017) Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is 1.3 times as wide as Earth. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Christopher Go

In the last 10 years, but in the last five months in particular, the press has reported dire warnings that the Great Red Spot of Jupiter is dying. However, some...

Thank fungi for cheese, wine and beer this holiday season

Written by Antonis Rokas, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences and Professor of Biological Sciences and Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University

These foods are all dependent on microorganisms for their distinctive flavor.margouillat photo/Shutterstock.com

It’s hard to imagine a holiday table without bread, meat, vegetables, wine, beer or a board of French cheeses for those with more adventurous palates. Savoring these delicacies with family and friends is part of what makes the...