The Conversation

Can the government save money by privatizing prisons, Medicare and other functions?

Written by Richard Lachmann, Professor of Sociology, University at Albany, State University of New York

A detention center in Eloy, Arizona. AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo

Should we run the government like a business?

Donald Trump seems to think so. During his campaign for president, Trump returned again and again to his supposed success as a businessman and promised government programs “under budget and ahead of schedule.” His hotel in...

What would Mark Twain think of Donald Trump?

Written by Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Professor of Chinese and World History, University of California, Irvine

Twain was an opinionated, prolific commentator on the personalities and political issues of his day.Terry Ballard/flickr, CC BY

Thanks to the criticisms they’ve leveled in articles, interviews, tweets and letters to the editor, we know that many contemporary authors, from Philip Roth to J.K. Rowling, have a dim view of Donald J. Trump.

But...

Tooth be told: Millions of years of evolutionary history mark those molars

Written by Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, Professor of Anthropology, The Ohio State University

Upper teeth of a Neanderthal who lived about 40,000 years ago.Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, CC BY-NC

“Show me your teeth and I’ll tell you who you are.” These words, attributed to 19th-century naturalist George Cuvier, couldn’t be more correct. The pearly whites we use every day over and over and over again are clues not just...

March Mammal Madness tournament shows the power of 'performance science'

Written by Katie Hinde, Associate Professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University

In early March most science professors are writing midterms and eagerly awaiting spring break to catch up on research. We’re no exceptions, but we are also preparing to emcee a tournament like no other, with thousands of “spectators” in the United States and worldwide: March Mammal Madness.

This epic event mimics the National...

Why China may want to repair its fraught relations with the Vatican

Written by Thomas M. Landy, Director, McFarland Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, and Director, Catholics & Cultures initiative, College of the Holy Cross

Christianity has grown at a rapid rate in China.Catholics & Cultures, CC BY-NC-SA

A 65-year-long split between China and the Vatican may finally be getting repaired. Hong Kong Cardinal John Tong recently indicated that there might be an agreement over the thorniest issue between the two sides – Vatican’s right to appoint its own...

Are Puerto Ricans really American citizens?

Written by Charles R. Venator-Santiago, Associate Professor of Political Science and the Institute for Latino Studies, University of Connecticut

Pro-statehood supporters at the seaside Capitol in San Juan, Puerto Rico.AP Photo/Danica Coto

In a recent poll, 41 percent of respondents said they did not believe that Puerto Ricans were U.S. citizens, and 15 percent were not sure. Only 43 percent answered that Puerto Ricans were U.S. citizens. Today, being born in Puerto Rico is tantamount to...

How Republicans and Democrats can both keep their promises on health care

Written by Darius Lakdawalla, Quintiles Professor of Pharmaceutical Development and Regulatory Innovation, USC, Professor of Pharmaceutical Development and Regulatory Innovation, University of Southern California

Medical students protest outside the office of Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to express their views on changes to Obamacare. Tony Dejak/AP

Republicans who want to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) emphasize the importance of patient choice and market efficiency. Democrats opposing repeal focus on the need to protect the most vulnerable.

As...

'Alternative facts': A psychiatrist’s guide to twisted relationships to truth

Written by Ronald W. Pies, Professor of Psychiatry, Lecturer on Bioethics & Humanities at SUNY Upstate Medical University; and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Tufts University

Does your nose grow if it's a falsehood, not a lie?Thomas Hawk, CC BY-NC

The phrase “alternative facts” has recently made the news in a political context, but psychiatrists like me are already intimately acquainted with the concept – indeed, we hear various forms of alternate reality expressed almost every day.

All of us need to...

Our experiments taught us why people troll

Written by Justin Cheng, Ph.D Student in Computer Science, Stanford University

Trolling can spread from person to person.Cropped from Ayana T. Miller/flickr, CC BY-ND

“Fail at life. Go bomb yourself.”

Comments like this one, found on a CNN article about how women perceive themselves, are prevalent today across the internet, whether it’s Facebook, Reddit or a news website. Such behavior can range from...

The truth about Obama's economic legacy and Trump's inheritance

Written by Christian Weller, Professor of Public Policy and Public Affairs, University of Massachusetts Boston

President Donald Trump has been trashing the economy and his predecessor’s legacy lately.

For example, in his free-wheeling Feb. 16 press conference, Trump said he “inherited a mess” from President Barack Obama. His newly minted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin followed suit a week later by telling the Wall Street Journal that...