The Conversation

Why it's hard to 'just get over it' for people who have been traumatized

Written by Joan Cook, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University

A protester at a December speech by an alt-right speaker on the Texas A&M campus. David Phillip/AP

People’s past, present and future are interconnected, and so is our country’s. Being willing to consider the connection between historical trauma and present-day experiences and distress is essential on a personal level – and...

How a major immigration raid affected infant health

Written by Nicole L. Novak, Postdoctoral Fellow, Population Studies Center, University of Michigan

Former Agriprocessors employee Jonas Ordenes, center, at a prayer vigil in Postville, Iowa on May 12, 2009, the anniversary of the 2008 immigration raid at the plant that ended with 389 arrests. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

On May 12, 2008, 900 federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, armed with military-grade weapons and vehicles,...

The changing nature of America's irreligious explained

Written by Richard Flory, Senior Director of Research and Evaluation, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Who really are America's irreligious? Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, CC BY-ND

A recent survey of the religious profile of the 115th Congress revealed that despite the increase in the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation, members of Congress are overwhelmingly religious, with only one member identifying as having no religion....

Did Jeff Sessions forget wanting to execute pot dealers?

Written by John Donohue, C Wendell and Edith M Carlsmith Professor of Law, Stanford University

Before the Senate Judiciary Committee votes on Jeff Sessions’ nomination to be attorney general, senators should demand an explanation for the sudden bout of amnesia he had at his nomination hearing earlier this month.

When Sen. Patrick Leahy asked him about his past support for imposing mandatory death sentences on people twice convicted of...

Mind the gaps: Reducing hunger by improving yields on small farms

Written by Paul West, Co-Director and Lead Scientist of the Global Landscapes Initiative, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota

Soybean farmer in MalawiIFPRI/Mitchell Maher via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

One of the most urgent challenges we face in the next several decades is feeding a growing world population without irreparably damaging Earth’s land, air and water systems. Nearly 800 million people worldwide are undernourished today. The U.N.‘s Sustainable...

Paid family leave policies are expanding, but are new mothers actually taking time off?

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

Bring your baby to work day?Office baby via www.shutterstock.com

The recent presidential campaign reminded us that the U.S. is one of only a handful of countries that doesn’t require companies to provide paid maternity leave.

Maternity leave is important. One of the key reasons is because medical researchers have shown overwhelmingly positive...

Earthquakes triggered by humans pose growing risk

Written by Gillian Foulger, Professor of Geophysics, Durham University

Devastation in Sichuan province after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, thought to be induced by industrial activity at a nearby reservoir.dominiqueb/flickr

People knew we could induce earthquakes before we knew what they were. As soon as people started to dig minerals out of the ground, rockfalls and tunnel collapses must have become recognized...

Will Trump negotiate a better coal deal for taxpayers?

Written by Meredith Fowlie, Associate Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley

Trump promises to revive the coal industry in part by opening up mining on federal lands, yet economists found that increasing royalties on public land would lead to more mining elsewhere, including Northern Appalachia and the Illinois Basin.AP Photo/Steve Helber

It’s here. The first week of the Trump administration. And it promises to be a...

China steps up as US steps back from global leadership

Written by Flynt L. Leverett, Professor of International Affairs and Asian Studies, Pennsylvania State University

China's President Xi Jinping at the podium at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.AP Photo/Michel Euler

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s appearance at last week’s World Economic Forum shows global leadership is shifting, not drifting, toward Beijing. The most vigorous defense of globalization and multilateral cooperation was...

Dispatch from DC: On the National Mall, the state of a nation

Written by Lisa Benton-Short, Associate Professor of Geography, George Washington University

On Jan. 20, Americans focused their attention on Washington, D.C., as the presidential inauguration ceremony took place on the National Mall, a place that urban scholars, geographers and historians refer to as a “stage for democracy.”

As an urban geographer, I study the important role of public space in cities. Perhaps no public space...