The Conversation

Neil Gorsuch and the First Amendment: Questions the Senate Judiciary Committee should ask

Written by Clay Calvert, Brechner Eminent Scholar in Mass Communication, University of Florida

Gorsuch meets with Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga. on Friday, Feb. 10, 2017. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for United States Supreme Court justice nominee Neil Gorsuch are fast approaching.

It’s time to consider some key questions about First Amendment speech rights the senators should ask during the...

Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend

Written by Frank T. McAndrew, Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology, Knox College

Dogs are a huge part of their owners' routines – which makes their loss even more jarring.'Silhouette' via www.shutterstock.com

Recently, my wife and I went through one of the more excruciating experiences of our lives – the euthanasia of our beloved dog, Murphy. I remember making eye contact with Murphy moments before she took her last...

Now under attack, EPA's work on climate change has been going on for decades

Written by Greg Dotson, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Oregon

The current EPA administrator says the agency should prioritize clean air and clean water, rather than deal with greenhouse gases. billy_wilson/flickr, CC BY-NC

The Trump administration intends to roll back two pillars of the Obama administration’s climate policy – regulations to limit carbon emissions from vehicles and power plants.

Und...

Why we should not know our own passwords

Written by Megan Squire, Professor of Computing Sciences, Elon University

What if even you didn't know your own password?Password via shutterstock.com

Since 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have been allowed to search electronic devices carried by citizens or noncitizens as they cross the border into the United States from other countries. More recently, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly suggested...

Is the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization?

Written by Terje Ostebo, Director of the Center for Global Islamic Studies and associate professor in the Department of Religion and the Center for African Studies, University of Florida

A member of the Muslim Brotherhood during Egypt's Freedom and Justice Party convention.Lilian Wagdy, CC BY

The Trump administration as well as Republican lawmakers are seeking to introduce legislation that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).

Many are questioning this move. The fact is that the Muslim...

Six years after Fukushima, much of Japan has lost faith in nuclear power

Written by Tatsujiro Suzuki, Professor and Director, Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University

Anti-nuclear demonstration in front of the Japanese Diet, June 22, 2012.Matthias Lambrecht/Flickr, CC BY-NC

Six years have passed since the Fukushima nuclear disaster on March 11, 2011, but Japan is still dealing with its impacts. Decommissioning the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant poses unprecedented technical challenges. More than 100,000...

If men are favored in our society, why do they die younger than women?

Written by Shervin Assari, Research Investigator of Psychiatry and Public Health, University of Michigan

Older man having chest pain, which could signal a heart attack.From www.shutterstock.com

Women experience higher stress, more chronic disease, more depression, more anxiety and are more likely to be victims of violence. Women earn less than men, and in many countries they don’t have the same human rights as men.

Despite the social inequality w...

House plan to replace Obamacare 'has Republican DNA,' especially regarding mandate

Written by Geoffrey Joyce, Chair & Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical & Health Economics, University of Southern California

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, left, joined by Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., holds up a copy of the original Affordable Care Act bill during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Wed., March 8, 2017. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Among Obamacare’s many provisions, none was more galling to Republicans than the individual mandate, which...

From the mundane to the divine, some of the best-designed products of all time

Written by Catherine Anderson, Assistant Professor of Interior Architecture and Design, George Washington University

Poul Henningsen's Artichoke Lamp, viewed from below at London's Park Plaza Hotel.Doc Searls/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

A well-designed product equally elevates form and function. It is pleasing to look at, easy to use and solves a common problem.

We reached out to five design professors and posed the following question: What’s the...

Largest deportation campaign in US history is no match for Trump's plan

Written by Kelly Lytle Hernandez, Associate Professor, History and African-American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

Border Patrol officers detaining immigrants in a field after a few local raids.U.S. Border Patrol Museum

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump vowed that if he was elected president, he would resurrect Operation Wetback of 1954. Operation Wetback, the story goes, was the single largest deportation campaign in U.S. history, resulting in more than one...