The Conversation

Orwell’s opposition to totalitarianism was rooted in his support for freeing workers from poverty and exploitation

Written by Mark Satta, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Law, Wayne State University

In writing he did before his most famous novels, Orwell focused primarily on other themes including work, poverty, anti-imperialism and democratic socialism.zoom-zoom, iStock/Getty Images Plus

George Orwell’s dystopian novels “Animal Farm” and “1984” have remained popular in the U.S. ever since their initial...

Why is the object of golf to play as little golf as possible?

Written by Patrick Tutka, Clinical Associate Professor of Health and Kinesiology, Purdue University

Brooke M. Henderson hits a bunker shot during a tournament in Grand Rapids, Mich., on June 12, 2025.Michael Miller/ISI Photos via Getty Images

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 is the object of golf to play the least amount...

Rural women are at a higher risk of violence − and less likely to get help

Written by Walter S. DeKeseredy, Professor of Sociology, West Virginia University

Rural areas have higher rates of violence against women than suburban and urban places.pocketlight/E+ via Getty Images

I have been teaching a course on rural criminology since 2014, and most of my students are surprised by the information on violence against women presented to them.

Due to the lack of media attention to rural areas, my students come...

Forget the warm fuzzies of finding common ground – to beat polarization, try changing your expectations

Written by Sarah Pessin, Professor of Philosophy, University of Denver

Americans are increasingly polarized in their political views.John M Lund Photography Inc/Getty Images

More than 70% of voters in Colorado’s Douglas County, conservative and progressive alike, voted “no” on home rule in June 2025. The ballot measure would have granted the county increased control over certain local matters such as...

From public confession to private penance: How Catholic confession has evolved over centuries

Written by Timothy Gabrielli, Gudorf Chair in Catholic Intellectual Traditions, University of Dayton

A priest blesses a person giving confession in Aguililla, Mexico, on Oct. 29, 2021.AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

The 1953 Alfred Hitchcock film “I Confess,” based on an earlier play, features a priest suspected of murder. He’s innocent, and has even heard the murderer’s confession – but cannot clear his own name.

The...

Monsoon flooding has killed hundreds in Pakistan – climate change is pushing the rainy season from blessing to looming catastrophe

Written by Pintu Kumar Mahla, Research Associate at the Water Resources Research Institute, University of Arizona

Rescuers search for survivors on Aug. 18, 2025, after a flash flood submerged homes, killing at least 18 people in a village near Swabi, Pakistan.Hussain Ali/Anadolu via Getty Images

Farmers in South Asia rely on the summer monsoon’s rainfall, but extreme monsoon rains in recent years have been destructive and deadly.

Since July, flooding...

How federal officials talk about health is shifting in troubling ways – and that change makes me worried for my autistic child

Written by Megan Donelson, Lecturer in Health Rhetorics, University of Dayton

Blaming poor health outcomes on lifestyle choices can obscure public health issues.Anadolu via Getty Images

The Make America Healthy Again movement has generated a lot of discussion about public health. But the language MAHA proponents use to describe health and disease has also raised concerns among the disability and chronic illness communities.

I...

Netanyahu remains unmoved by Israel’s lurch toward pariah status − but at home and abroad, Israelis are suffering the consequences

Written by Asher Kaufman, Professor of History and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

Israel’s conduct in Gaza increasingly risks turning the state into a pariah.

Whereas world leaders initially rallied around Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre by Hamas militants, the resulting destruction inside the Palestinian enclave has seen the country ever more isolated on the international stage.

In recent weeks, even long-standing...

Misunderstood Malthus: The English thinker whose name is synonymous with doom and gloom has lessons for today

Written by Roy Scranton, Associate Professor of English, University of Notre Dame

A portrait of Thomas Malthus by John Linnell.Wellcome Collection via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

No one uses “Malthusian” as a compliment. Since 1798, when the economist and cleric Thomas Malthus first published “An Essay on the Principles of Population,” the “Malthusian” position – the idea that humans are...

The ‘security guarantee’ paradox: Too weak and it won’t protect Ukraine; too robust and Russia won’t accept it

Written by Peter Rutland, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University

Ukraine is seeking security guarantees to protect itself from Russian attacks.Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images

Back-to-back summits in Alaska and Washington with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, respectively, have done little to clarify how U.S. President Donald Trump intends to engineer an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

Beyond vague...