The Conversation

Iran war: 4 big questions that help clarify the future of the Middle East

Written by David Mednicoff, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy, UMass Amherst

A plume of smoke rises from a warehouse in the industrial area of Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates, following reports of Iranian strikes elsewhere in the region on March 1, 2026. AP Photo/Altaf Qadri

The war that the U.S. and Israeli governments launched against Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, is unprecedented in its scope across the Middle East....

This Sunshine Week, Florida reflects an alarming national trend of blocking the public’s access to information

Written by David Cuillier, Director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida

By all measures, the ability to see what the government is up to in the United States has plummeted to new depths since the beginning of the second Trump administration.

For National Sunshine Week in 2025, I wrote about secrecy creep, the adoption of federal secrecy protections implemented by state and local authorities. In Florida and throughout...

47 years of deep mistrust and misperception paved the way to war between Iran and the US − and complicate any negotiations

Written by Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Vice Provost and Dean of College of Arts, Sciences, and Education, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Trust between Iran and the United States was shattered long ago.Sean Gladwell, Moment/Getty Images

It has been said that trust is like glass: Once it is shattered, nothing will ever be the same. In the case of the enduring hostility between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States over the past 47 years, even this metaphor may be an...

From bodice rippers to romantasy, romance novels are dominating the book market – and rewriting women’s sexual power

Written by Diane Winston, Professor and Knight Center Chair in Media & Religion, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

The Bible may be the bestselling book of all time, but annual sales of romance novels now outpace the Scriptures.drante/iStock via Getty Images

The compulsion started soon after my marriage.

Long before e-books and audiobooks, I furtively read paperbacks whose covers of bosomy maidens and bare-chested men would have outed my obsession. Then, on a...

Mining the ocean floor: 5 deep-sea sources of critical minerals essential to technology, and the fragile marine life at risk

Written by Leonardo Macelloni, Director of the Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute and Center for Marine Resources and Environmental Technology, University of Mississippi

A mechanical claw holds a polymetallic nodule, one of several seafloor sources of critical minerals.ROV-Team/GEOMAR via Wikimedia, CC BY

You may be hearing a lot lately about critical minerals and rare earth elements. These natural materials are essential to industry and modern technology – everything from cellphones to fighter jets.

They...

Iraq war’s aftermath was a disaster for the US – the Iran war is headed in the same direction

Written by Farah N. Jan, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Pennsylvania

U.S. Marines crossing into Iraq from Kuwait on March 21, 2003. AP Photo/Laurent Rebours

The United States military achieved every objective it set when it went to war in Iraq in 2003. Decapitation: Saddam Hussein was captured, tried and hanged. Air dominance: total, within days. Regime collapse: The Iraqi government fell in 21 days.

Now, consider...

Alaska’s glacial lakes are expanding, increasing the risk of destructive outburst floods

Written by Dan McGrath, Associate Professor of Cryospheric Sciences, Colorado State University

A study explored the evolution of several glacial lakes near Bering Glacier, Alaska.Google Earth, AirbusMaxar Technologies, CNES/Airbus

Every summer, people living near the Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska, keep a close eye on the water level. When the river level begins to rise rapidly, it’s a sign that Suicide Basin, a small...

US is less prone to oil price shocks than in past decades

Written by Amy Myers Jaffe, Director, Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab, and Research Professor, New York University; Tufts University

Gas prices are up, but other forces may limit the economic harm to the U.S.Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Oil is a global market, so when prices rise in one place, they rise everywhere. The current war against Iran has already raised oil prices significantly.

Mideast oil production has been slowed by efforts to close the Strait of Hormuz, a...

Mobile clinics offer a practical way to improve health care access in maternity care deserts

Written by Adetola F. Louis-Jacques, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Florida

Only three of the 14 counties in north-central Florida provide full access to obstetric care. Six have low access to care – meaning there are fewer than two hospitals offering obstetric care or birth centers per 10,000 births and fewer than 60 obstetric providers. The remaining five counties are maternity care deserts. Approximately 3,400...

Why do mountaintops stay snowy, even though they’re closer to the Sun?

Written by Allie Mazurek, Engagement Climatologist and Researcher, Colorado Climate Center, Colorado State University

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Why do we see snow on mountaintops that are closer to the Sun but not near the ground? – Ms. Drews’ third grade class, Beechview Elementary School, Farmington Hills, Michigan

There&r...