The Conversation

A national, nonpartisan study of the Los Angeles fires could improve planning for future disasters

Written by Najmedin Meshkati, Professor of Engineering and International Relations, University of Southern California

An aerial view shows homes destroyed by wildfire in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Jan. 13, 2025. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Los Angeles fires are a national disaster of epic proportions. City officials, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President-elect Donald Trump have traded accusations about what caused this crisis. But as an engineering professor...

Meta shift from fact-checking to crowdsourcing spotlights competing approaches in fight against misinformation and hate speech

Written by Anjana Susarla, Professor of Information Systems, Michigan State University

Meta stirred up controversy when it ditched fact-checking.Chesnot/Getty Images

Meta’s decision to change its content moderation policies by replacing centralized fact-checking teams with user-generated community labeling has stirred up a storm of reactions. But taken at face value, the changes raise the question of the effectiveness of...

Joe Biden’s record on science and tech: Investments and regulation for vaccines, broadband, microchips and AI

Written by Mark Zachary Taylor, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology

Massive support for U.S. computer chip manufacturing will be part of Joe Biden's tech legacy.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

In evaluating the outgoing Biden administration, much news has focused on inflation, immigration or Hunter’s laptop. But as an expert on national competitiveness in science and technology, I have a somewhat different...

Insurance for natural disasters is failing homeowners − I don’t have the answers, but I do know the right questions to ask

Written by Jay Feinman, Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, Rutgers University

The wildfires that have devastated large parts of Los Angeles County have drawn fresh attention to the struggles many Americans face insuring their homes.

Since 2022, seven of the 12 largest insurance companies have stopped issuing new policies to homeowners in California, citing increased risks due to climate change. California isn’t alone:...

Kamala Harris memes questioning her cultural background highlight Americans’ contradictions with race

Written by Raven Maragh-Lloyd, Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies and Film and Media Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate on Sept. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas.AP Photo/John Locher

Even after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential election, Americans continue to argue about her race.

During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump accused Harris, who is biracial, of toggling between being Indian and being Black. Once,...

In eyeing Greenland, Trump is echoing long-held American designs on the Arctic expanse

Written by Colin Gordon, Professor of History, University of Iowa

Donald Trump Jr. visited Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 7, 2025, after his father spoke in favor of U.S. control of the Danish territory.Emil Stach / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP/ Getty Images

At a news conference in early January 2025, President-elect Donald Trump rambled through a grab bag of grievances and proposals, including his disdain for wind power and...

Catholic cardinals play a key role in secular politics as well as the Catholic Church–and the importance of Pope Francis’ choice to head the church in DC

Written by Joanne M. Pierce, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

Cardinal Robert McElroy, who will head the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File

Pope Francis recently appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy, a harsh critic of President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration policy, to head the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

The move has led to concerns among some Catholics...

Spending, regulations and DOGE: Office of Management and Budget director plays vital role helping government get stuff done

Written by Martha Coven, Visiting Lecturer in Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

One of the Office of Management and Budget's biggest roles is writing an administration's federal budget – but that's far from its only job. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

The Office of Management and Budget sounds obscure, yet the agency plays a crucial role throughout the federal government. Presidents rely on the office to turn their ideas and...

This class uses museums to show law students the high art of curating ideas

Written by Patrick Barry, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Digital Academic Initiatives, University of Michigan

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel's 'The Trial of Joan of Arc,' circa 1910.Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

Art and Advocacy

What prompted the idea for the course?

I like taking lawyers and law students to...

My beautiful ‘practicing’ Christians: As churchgoers’ numbers shrink, their social views grow more similar

Written by Michael Emerson, Fellow in Religion and Public Policy, Rice University

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump spoke at a gathering of conservative Protestants, imploring them to vote for him “just this time.”

In “four more years, it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians,” he said.

As a scholar of religion and public...