The Conversation

India-Pakistan ceasefire shouldn’t disguise fact that norms have changed in South Asia, making future de-escalation much harder

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

A member of the Indian Border Security Force stands guard near the India-Pakistan border.Narinder Nanu/AFP via Getty Images

India and Pakistan have seen the scenario play out before: a terror attack in which Indians are killed leads to a succession of escalatory tit-fot-tat measures that put South Asia on the brink of all-out war. And then there is...

From pulpit to pitch: Pope Francis used sport to get his message to a wider world − that could continue with baseball-loving Leo XIV

Written by Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández, Professor of Hispanic Theology and Ministry, Catholic Theological Union

Players observe a minute of silence in memory of Pope Francis before the Spanish league soccer match between Real Madrid and RC Celta de Vigo at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on May 4, 2025.Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty Images

The world of sport is “a constellation of many stars,” Pope Francis told La Gazzetta dello Sport,...

Science requires ethical oversight – without federal dollars, society’s health and safety are at risk

Written by Christine Coughlin, Professor of Law, Wake Forest University

Brain organoids, pictured here, raise both many medical possibilities and ethical questions.NIAID/Flickr, CC BY-SA

As the Trump administration continues to make significant cuts to NIH budgets and personnel and to freeze billions of dollars of funding to major research universities – citing ideological concerns – there’s more being...

I’m a business professor who asked dozens of former students how they define success. Here are their lessons for today’s grads

Written by Patrick Abouchalache, Lecturer in Strategy and Innovation, Boston University

As the Class of 2025 graduates into an uncertain and fast-changing working world, they face a crucial question: What does it mean to be successful?

Is it better to take a job that pays more, or one that’s more prestigious? Should you prioritize advancement, relationship building, community impact or even the opportunity to live somewhere...

I watched the Kremlin’s new Putin documentary (so you don’t have to) − here’s what it says about how the Russian leader views himself

Written by Peter Rutland, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University

As the chances of President Donald Trump’s peace deal in Ukraine seemingly recede, attention turns back to the question of Vladimir Putin and his war aims. What does the Russian president want to achieve from the conflict? And when – and under what conditions – will he be willing to make peace? Thousands of lives and billions of...

Nitrous oxide recreational use is linked to brain damage and sudden death − but ‘laughing gas’ is still sold all over the US

Written by Andrew Yockey, Assistant Professor of Public Health, University of Mississippi

Nitrous oxide is often inhaled with a balloon.Matt Cardy/Getty Images News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning Americans about the ever-increasing and potentially deadly recreational use of nitrous oxide products, particularly among young people.

Marketed with names like “Galaxy Gas” and “Miami Magic,” and often...

Can Trump strip Harvard of its charitable status? Scholars of nonprofit law and accounting describe the obstacles in his way

Written by Philip Hackney, Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh

Getting into Harvard University is hard, and so is getting rid of its charitable status.Scott Eisen/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status, and some media outlets have reported that the Internal Revenue Service is taking steps in that direction.

Harvard President Alan...

How William Howard Taft’s approach to government efficiency differed from Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn tactics

Written by Laura Ellyn Smith, Assistant Teaching Professor of History, Arizona State University

Elon Musk and his son board Air Force One in West Palm Beach, Fla., on April 13, 2025. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

For four months, the world’s richest man has played an unprecedented role in U.S. government. At the start of his 2025 term, President Donald Trump asked Elon Musk to cut government “waste and fraud.” That...

Pope Leo XIV: Why the College of Cardinals chose the Chicago native and Augustinian to lead the church after Francis

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

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican shortly after his election as pontiff on May 8, 2025. AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis

When 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost appeared on the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time as Pope Leo XIV on May 8, 2025, he was...

How the Take It Down Act tackles nonconsensual deepfake porn − and how it falls short

Written by Sylvia Lu, Faculty Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, University of Michigan

The Take It Down bill, co-authored by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, easily passed both houses of Congress. President Trump is expected to sign it into law.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

In a rare bipartisan move, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Take It Down Act by a vote of 409-2 on April 28, 2025. The bill is an effort to confront one of...