The Conversation

History is repeating itself at the FBI as agents resist a director’s political agenda

Written by Douglas M. Charles, Professor of History, Penn State

FBI Director Kash Patel is sworn in to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 16, 2025, in Washington, D.C.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Three converging events in the 1970s – the Watergate scandal, the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the Vietnam War and revelations that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had abused his power to...

Florida’s 1,100 natural springs are under threat – a geographer explains how to restore them

Written by Christopher F. Meindl, Associate Professor of Geography, University of South Florida

Gilchrist Blue Springs, located about 20 miles northwest of Gainesville, Fla., is a popular recreation site known for the clarity of its water.Christopher Meindl, CC BY

“Behold … a vast circular expanse before you, the waters of which are so extremely clear as to be absolutely diaphanous or transparent as the ether.”

Naturalist Wi...

Cuba’s leaders see their options dim amid blackouts and a shrinking economy

Written by Joseph J. Gonzalez, Associate Professor of Global Studies, Appalachian State University

Cubans gather amid a blackout in Havana on Sept. 10, 2025.Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images

The lights went out in Cuba again.

For the fifth time in a year, all of Cuba plunged into darkness on Sept. 10, 2025. Even critical emergency services like hospitals suffered during the nearly 24-hour power outage.

That’s because Cuba’s power grid is...

US economy is already on the edge – a prolonged government shutdown could send it tumbling over

Written by John W. Diamond, Director of the Center for Public Finance at the Baker Institute, Rice University

It's a long way down.IAISI/Moment via Getty Images

The economic consequences of the current federal government shutdown hinge critically on how long it lasts. If it is resolved quickly, the costs will be small, but if it drags on, it could send the U.S. economy into a tailspin.

That’s because the economy is already in a precarious state, with...

Supreme Court to decide if Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy violates free speech

Written by Timothy R. Holbrook, Professor of Law, University of Denver

The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for yet another case involving the LGBTQ+ community. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The constitutionality of a Colorado law that bans so-called “conversion therapy” is scheduled to go before the Supreme Court on Oct. 7, 2025. The question at the center of the case, Chiles v. Salazar, is...

Supreme Court opens with cases on voting rights, tariffs, gender identity and campaign finance to test the limits of a constitutional revolution

Written by Morgan Marietta, Professor of American Civics, University of Tennessee

The U.S. Supreme Court building at dawn in Washington, D.C.Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The most influential cases before the U.S. Supreme Court this term, which begins on Oct. 6, 2025, reflect the cultural and partisan clashes of American politics.

The major cases in October and November address the role of race in elections, conversion...

Moral panics intensify social divisions and can lead to political violence

Written by Ron Barrett, Professor of Anthropology, Macalester College

The day before Charlie Kirk was assassinated, I was teaching a college class on science, religion and magic. Our class was comparing the Salem witch trials of the 1690s with the McCarthy hearings of the early 1950s, when U.S. democratic processes were eclipsed by the Red Scare of purported communist infiltration.

The aim of the class was to...

Shutdowns are as American as apple pie − in the UK and elsewhere, they just aren’t baked into the process

Written by Garret Martin, Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer, Co-Director Transatlantic Policy Center, American University School of International Service

The obligatory showing of the red briefcase containing budget details is as exciting as it gets in the U.K. Justin Tallis - WPA Pool/Getty Images

When it comes to shutdowns, the U.S. is very much an exception rather than the rule.

On Oct. 1, 2025, hundreds of thousands of federal employees were furloughed as the business of government ground to a...

Where George Washington would disagree with Pete Hegseth about fitness for command and what makes a warrior

Written by Maurizio Valsania, Professor of American History, Università di Torino

On Dec. 4, 1783, after six years fighting against the British as head of the Continental Army, George Washington said farewell to his officers and returned to civilian life.Engraving by T. Phillibrown from a painting by Alonzo Chappell

As he paced across a stage at a military base in Quantico, Virginia, on Sept. 30, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete...

Breastfeeding is ideal for child and parent health but challenging for most families – a pediatrician explains how to find support

Written by Ann Kellams, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Virginia

Many new parents start out breastfeeding but switch to formula within a few days.JGI/Jamie Grill via Tetra Images

As a pediatrician, I thought my medical background and pediatric training meant I would be well prepared to breastfeed my newborn. I knew all about the research on how an infant’s diet can affect both their short- and long-term...