The Conversation

On New Year's Day, Buddhist god Hotei brings gifts and good fortune in Japan

Written by Megan Bryson, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee

Hotei hands out gifts to children.Detail of print by Kuniyoshi Utagawa, 1798-1861, via Wikimedia Commons

The new year brings a fresh start, symbolized in some cultures by the cherubic baby New Year who replaces the old year that has come to a close. In Japan, the roly-poly god Hotei, who is often identified with Santa Claus, ushers in the new year...

Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during 'Monday Night Football' could be commotio cordis or a more common condition – a heart doctor answers 4 questions

Written by Wendy Tzou, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Damar Hamlin, #3, collapsed on the field after making a tackle during a game on January 2, 2023.Dylan Buell via Getty Images

Damar Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills, collapsed on the field during a Monday night football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2, 2023.

Medical staff gave Hamlin CPR and shocked him with a defibrillator,...

Speaker of the House faces political peril from member deaths and resignations – especially with a narrow majority

Written by Charles R. Hunt, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Boise State University

GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy wants to be speaker of the House. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The arm-twisting, dealmaking and vote hunting around Kevin McCarthy’s quest to be named House speaker have put on full display the fact that razor-thin majorities in both the House and the Senate are becoming a fact of life at the federal level.

In...

A record-breaking number of women were elected governor in 2022 – here are 7 things to know about how that happened

Written by William R. Wilkerson, Professor of Political Science, State University of New York at Oneonta

Massachusetts Gov.-elect Maura Healey, at a Democratic election night party Nov. 8, 2022, in Boston. AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

Twelve women won a governor’s office in the November 2022 midterm election. Those 12 represent a record number of women governors, more than one-quarter of the 46 women who have ever served as governor since 1974.

These...

Why you should give the gift of mindfulness this New Year

Written by Jeremy David Engels, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, Penn State

The late Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh leading a meditation walk.Steve Cray/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

The start of another year can feel magical to many of us. Even though the days remain short and dark, the flip of the calendar can make it seem new beginnings with new resolutions are possible.

Mindfulness scholars and teachers like me...

Global economy 2023: Why central banks face an epic battle against inflation amid political obstacles

Written by Steve Schifferes, Honorary Research Fellow, City Political Economy Research Centre, City, University of London

This could get ugly. Shutterstock/Nataletado

Where is the global economy heading in 2023? After all the challenges of last year, it’s a question we ask with trepidation. Just as the economy was dealing with the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February ramped up inflation.

Significant rises in the...

Americans are taking more control over their work lives – because they have to

Written by Scott Sonenshein, Professor of Management, Rice University

Workers take on side hustles not just for the money, but also to compensate for limited control in their traditional jobs.Jeff Greenberg via Universal Images Group/Getty Images

One thing that’s become clear in the past few tumultuous – and for many, traumatic – years is that it’s easy to feel like there is no control in our...

Kick up your heels – ballroom dancing offers benefits to the aging brain and could help stave off dementia

Written by Helena Blumen, Associate Professor of Medicine and Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Not only is it good aerobic exercise, but dancing may help the elderly with reasoning skills and memory.Thomas Barwick/Stone via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Social ballroom dancing can improve cognitive functions and reduce brain atrophy in older adults who are at increased risk for...

Just over 1 in 4 members of Congress in 2023 will be women – at this rate, it will take 118 years until there is gender parity

Written by Laurel Elder, Professor of Political Science, Hartwick College

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez watches Donald Trump's state of the union address in 2019 with other female Democratic lawmakers.Alex Wong/Getty Images

When the 118th Congress convenes on Jan. 3, 2023, the number of women among its 535 members will inch up by just two – increasing from 147 in 2022 to 149 in 2023.

Even though more women...

Pope Benedict XVI: A man at odds with the modern world who leaves a legacy of intellectual brilliance and controversy

Written by Mathew Schmalz, Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he is driven through a crowd during his weekly general audience, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on June 2, 2010.AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Benedict XVI leaves behind a complex legacy as a Pope and theologian.

To many observers, Benedict, who died on Dec. 31, 2022 at the age of 95, was known for criticizing what he...