The Conversation

Are solar and wind really killing coal, nuclear and grid reliability?

Written by Joshua D. Rhodes, Postdoctoral Researcher of Energy, University of Texas at Austin

Lessons from the Lone Star State: A surge in wind power on the Texas grid didn't cause reliability problems (and brought down electricity prices) because regulators improved the efficiency of wholesale electricity markets.Sarah Fields Photography/Shutterstock.com

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry in April requested a study to assess the effect of...

The forgotten origins of the modern gay rights movement in WWI

Written by Laurie Marhoefer, Assistant Professor of History, University of Washington

German infantrymen aim machine guns from a trench near the Vistula River in 1916. AP-Photo

One of the World War I’s most enduring legacies is largely forgotten: It sparked the modern gay rights movement.

Gay soldiers who survived the bloodletting returned home convinced their governments owed them something – full citizenship. Especially...

What the 1970 Kent State shootings tell us about universities then and now

Written by John Grabowski, Krieger-Mueller Joint Professor in History, Case Western Reserve University

Banners on the campus of Kent State University commemorating the anniversary of the May 4 shootings.AP Photo/Jeff Glidden

In 1997, a student I taught while I was a Fulbright scholar in Turkey came to visit our home in Cleveland. Asked what sites he might want to visit, he immediately suggested nearby Kent State. On May 4, 1970, students protesting...

Christian sex advice websites offer a peek into evangelical politics

Written by Kelsy Burke, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Adam and Eve, created by Albrecht Dürer, 1471-1528.Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

On May 4, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that allows churches and religious leaders to explicitly endorse or oppose a political candidate without penalty to their nonprofit, tax-exempt status....

Global ransomware attack reinforces message of Trump's new cybersecurity order

Written by Frank J. Cilluffo, Director, Center for Cyber and Homeland Security, George Washington University

Locking down the federal government.NicoElNico via shutterstock.com

A cyberattack is sweeping the world, infecting thousands of computers and demanding their owners pay a ransom or risk losing all their data. The threat, which has affected the FedEx shipping company, several hospitals in the UK, a major Spanish telecommunications company, and many...

Why dads can't be the dads they want to be

Written by Kevin Shafer, Associate Professor of Sociology; Faculty Affiliate in Social Work, Brigham Young University

It's about more than gender dynamics: Do social institutions get in the way of dads being dads?Reginald Williams / Pexels, FAL

In most families, mothers and fathers both work hard. Pew Research recently reported that moms and dads in the U.S. work essentially equal hours when paid work hours are combined with household chores and child care hours.

Pe...

Trump will likely win reelection in 2020

Written by Musa al-Gharbi, Paul F. Lazarsfeld Fellow in Sociology, Columbia University

Trump seen through a TV camera's viewfinder in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on April 29, 2017.AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Most Americans don’t like Trump.

Trump will most likely be reelected in 2020.

How can both of these statements be true? Here’s how:

Even when people are unhappy with a state of affairs, they are usually disinclined to...

Social media helps officials spot public health threats – but only for the rich?

Written by Elaine Nsoesie, Assistant Professor of Global Health, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington

Capturing the moment for the internet.astarot/shutterstock.com

Think of the last time you had food poisoning. Did you tweet about it? Did you Google your symptoms? Or did you write an angry review on Yelp?

Every day, people use the internet to seek and share health information. This opens up exciting new ways for scientists to study the health of a...

Comey's firing may end other investigations into 2016 election

Written by Clark D. Cunningham, W. Lee Burge Chair in Law & Ethics; Director, National Institute for Teaching Ethics & Professionalism, Georgia State University

Will the inquiries continue?AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

There is widespread concern that President Donald Trump’s May 9 firing of FBI Director James Comey is an attempt to stop or delay the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the November 2016 presidential election. But little attention has been given to the relationship...

Census director's resignation could affect control of Congress after 2020

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

Will the next director ensure everyone is counted? Crowd of people via www.shutterstock.com

John H. Thompson, the director of the U.S. Census Bureau, just resigned amid a funding fight over the 2020 Census.

Since it comes at the same time that the president fired the director of the FBI, why should anyone care about the resignation of just another...