The Conversation

White men held less than half the board seats on the top 50 Fortune list for the third straight year — but their numbers are rising

Written by Richie Zweigenhaft, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Guilford College

Who gets a seat at the table?AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato

Historically, corporate board rooms have been mostly white and mostly male. Yet the trend started shifting in the 1970s, in part due to gains from the civil rights era and pro-diversity efforts by activists and business groups.

I have been monitoring the degree of diversity in the corporate and...

Colorado ski resorts got some welcome snowfall from Winter Storm Fern, but not enough to turn a dry and warm winter around

Written by Steven R. Fassnacht, Professor of Snow Hydrology, Colorado State University

Colorado ski resorts faced sparse snow conditions in early 2025.Hyoung Chang/Getty Images

Winter Storm Fern brought Colorado’s mountain towns a bit of what they’ve spent weeks hoping for.

It snowed 23 inches (58 centimeters) at the Crested Butte ski resort over the weekend of Jan. 24-25, 2026. Aspen Snowmass got 13 inches (33 cm).

It was...

How fire, people and history shaped the South’s iconic longleaf pine forests

Written by Andrea De Stefano, Assistant Professor of Forestry, Mississippi State University

A land manager examines young longleaf pines, some in their grassy phase, in a private forest in South Carolina.AP Photo/James Pollard

For thousands of years, one tree species defined the cultural and ecological identity of what is now the American South: the longleaf pine. The forest once stretched across 92 million acres from Virginia to Texas,...

Oversalting your sidewalk or driveway harms local streams and potentially even your drinking water – 3 tips to deice responsibly

Written by Steven Goldsmith, Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Villanova University

Conservation organizations recommend using one 12-ounce coffee mug of deicer for every 10 sidewalk squares.Joe Lamberti/Getty Images News via Getty Images

Snow has returned to the Philadelphia region, and along with it the white residues on streets and sidewalks that result from the over-application of deicers such as sodium chloride, or rock salt,...

Can shoes alter your mind? What neuroscience says about foot sensation and focus

Written by Atom Sarkar, Professor of Neurosurgery, Drexel University

Your shoes might not necessarily free your mind.ksana-gribakina/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Athletic footwear has entered a new era of ambition. No longer content to promise just comfort or performance, Nike claims its shoes can activate the brain, heighten sensory awareness and even improve concentration by stimulating the bottom of your feet.

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All foods can fit in a balanced diet – a dietitian explains how flexibility can be healthier than dieting

Written by Charlotte Carlson, Director of the Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center, Colorado State University

There are no 'good' or 'bad' foods when thinking holistically about health.Halfpoint Images/Moment via Getty Images

Eat this, not that. This one food will cure everything. That food is poison. Cut this food out. Try this diet. Don’t eat at these times. Eat this food and you’ll lose weight. With society’s obsession with food,...

NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission to the Moon shows how US space strategy has changed since Apollo – and contrasts with China’s closed program

Written by Michelle L.D. Hanlon, Professor of Air and Space Law, University of Mississippi

As part of the Artemis II mission, humans will fly around the Moon for the first time in decades. Roberto Moiola/Sysaworld via Getty Images

When Apollo 13 looped around the Moon in April 1970, more than 40 million people around the world watched the United States recover from a potential catastrophe. An oxygen tank explosion turned a planned...

Repeated government lying, warned Hannah Arendt, makes it impossible for citizens to think and to judge

Written by Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Frank and Bethine Church Endowed Chair of Public Affairs, Boise State University

Despite evidence to the contrary, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at a Jan. 24, 2026, news conference that Alex Pretti 'came with a weapon ... and attacked' officers, who took action to 'defend their lives.'AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

In Minneapolis, two recent fatal encounters with federal immigration agents have produced not...

Minnesota raises unprecedented constitutional issues in its lawsuit against Trump administration anti-immigrant deployment

Written by Andrea Katz, Associate Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis

Federal immigration officers are seen outside the Bishop Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis on Jan. 12, 2026.AP Photo/Jen Golbeck

A federal judge heard arguments on Jan. 26, 2026, as the state of Minnesota sought a temporary restraining order to stop the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in the state. The...

Groundhogs are lousy forecasters but valuable animal engineers – and an important food source

Written by Steven Sullivan, Director of the Hefner Museum of Natural History, Miami University

Marmot chomping and digging can keep trees at bay and fields flower-filled.DieterMeyrl/E+ via Getty Images

Whether you call him groundhog, woodchuck, whistle-pig or use the full genus and species name, Marmota monax, the nation’s premiere animal weather forecaster has been making headlines as Punxsutawney Phil for decades.

The largest ground...