The Conversation

How the CIA's secret torture program sparked a citizen-led public reckoning in North Carolina

Written by Alexandra Moore, Professor of Human Rights in Literary and Cultural Studies, Binghamton University, State University of New York

North Carolina Stop Torture Now advocacy group.djbiesack, CC BY-NC-SA

President Donald Trump’s nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel, is reported to have overseen a U.S. site in Thailand where torture of a suspected terrorist took place. Later she allegedly helped destroy evidence of torture.

Her nomination, pending congressional approval, is...

Wealthy Americans know less than they think they do about food and nutrition

Written by Sheril Kirshenbaum, Food@MSU, Michigan State University

Organic? Conventional? Genetically modified? Decisions, decisions.dawnfu

Socioeconomics play a significant role in attitudes about food – especially concerns about safety and purchasing behavior. And higher income doesn’t always correlate with informed choices. On the contrary, our research shows that affluent Americans tend to...

The deaths of 76 Branch Davidians in April 1993 could have been avoided – so why didn't anyone care?

Written by Catherine Wessinger, Rev. H. James Yamauchi, S.J. Professor of the History of Religions, Loyola University New Orleans

Fire engulfs the Branch Davidian residence near Waco, Texas on April 19, 1993Ron Heflin/AP Photo

Twenty-five years ago, on February 28, 1993, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents attempted to execute a “dynamic entry” into the home of a religious community at Mount Carmel, a property 10 miles east of Waco, Texas.

David Koresh...

How Facebook could reinvent itself – 3 ideas from academia

Written by Jeff Inglis, Science + Technology Editor, The Conversation US

What will he decide to do?AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony in front of Congress, following disclosures of personal data being misused by third parties, has raised the question over how and whether the social media company should be regulated. But short of regulation, the company can take a number of steps to...

Supreme Court case tests weight of old Native American treaties in 21st century

Written by Monte Mills, Assistant Professor of Law & Co-Director, Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic, The University of Montana

Culverts installed for roads have led to a decline in salmon, which Northwest Indian tribes were ensured access to by treaty.AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

On April 18, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Washington v. United States, which pits the state of Washington against the United States and 21 Indian tribes. The main question...

Night owls may have 10 percent higher risk of early death, study says

Written by Kristen Knutson, Associate Professor of Neurology, Northwestern University

Night owls, or people who have a hard time waking up in the morning, face health risks as a result.aslysun/Shutterstock.com

Do you wake up bright eyed and bushy-tailed, greeting the sunrise with cheer and vigor? Or are you up late into the night and dread the sound of your alarm clock? We call this inherent tendency to prefer certain times of day...

Facebook's social responsibility should include privacy protection

Written by Scott Shackelford, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics; Director, Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance; Cybersecurity Program Chair, IU-Bloomington, Indiana University

Does this man understand how his company can be a responsible member of society?AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

In his congressional testimony, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg seemed to understand the importance of protecting both the security and privacy of Facebook’s 2.2 billion users. People in the United States have come to...

Assassination in Brazil unmasks the deadly racism of a country that would rather ignore it

Written by Ana Míria dos Santos Carvalho Carinhanha, Lawyer and doctoral student, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

When Marielle Franco, a Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman, was shot to death in downtown Rio on March 14, her killing moved the world.

Protesters took to the streets in New York, Paris, Buenos Aires and elsewhere, pledging to continue Franco’s fight against racism, poverty, inequality and violence.

Elected in 2016 after serving 10 years on...

Don't shoot: When Dallas police draw their guns, they usually choose not to fire

Written by Andrew P. Wheeler, Assistant Professor of Criminology, University of Texas at Dallas

Police recruits take a test at police headquarters in Dallas.AP Photo/LM Otero

The public has a right to question whether police are biased when they shoot and kill unarmed people of color.

To do this, the public needs data about when police shootings occur, but that kind of data isn’t collected nationally. That’s why several news...

Resistance to school integration in the name of 'local control': 5 questions answered

Written by Erica Frankenberg, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Pennsylvania State University

The nation has struggled with school integration since school segregation was outlawed in 1954.AP

Editor’s note: The word “secession” is often used in reference to states or countries that wish to break off and form their own government. But here in the United States, there are communities that want to secede from their school...