The Conversation

Does Democratic VP candidate Walz swear too damn much?

Written by Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis

Tim Walz said 'damn' four times while speaking at a union campaign event in Wayne, Mich., on Aug. 8, 2024. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

During a campaign event with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Michigan on Aug. 8, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, used the word “damn” four times during his brief...

Sharks are taking a bite out of anglers’ catch in the Gulf of Mexico, but culling isn’t likely to help

Written by James Marcus Drymon, Associate Extension Professor in Marine Fisheries Ecology, Mississippi State University

What a shark left of this red snapper for the angler who hooked it.David Hay Jones, CC BY-ND

Fishermen across the Gulf of Mexico are reporting that something is eating fish off their lines. What’s to blame? Many recreational anglers point a finger at sharks.

This conflict has caught politicians’ attention. Congress has directed the Nation...

Biden administration’s negotiated price cuts for 10 common prescription drugs likely to save Medicare billions, beginning in 2026

Written by Simon F. Haeder, Associate Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M University

The Biden administration announced on Aug. 16, 2024, the reduced prices of the first 10 drugs it has negotiated with pharmaceutical companies over their Medicare prices.

Provisions authorizing these negotiations were part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which took effect in 2022, but these lower prices aren’t scheduled to take effect until...

Why don’t more politicians retire? A medical anthropologist explains how the US could benefit from a mandatory retirement age

Written by Matthew J. Wolf-Meyer, Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Two-thirds of U.S. senators and nearly half of House lawmakers are eligible for full retirement benefits.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are hardly the only examples of politicians who work well into their golden years. Members of the baby-boom generation – Americans born between 1946 and...

Could we use volcanoes to make electricity?

Written by David Kitchen, Associate Professor of Geology, University of Richmond

Lava spatters from a vent at Kilauea in Hawaii during an eruption in September 2023.M. Patrick, USGS, via NPS, CC BY-ND

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.

Could we use volcanoes to make electricity? – Lawrence, age 7,...

Ancient Rome had ways to counter the urban heat island effect – how history’s lessons apply to cities today

Written by Brian Stone Jr., Professor of Environmental Planning, Georgia Institute of Technology

Trees are one way to cool down a city. Architects in ancient Rome also designed buildings with porticos for shade and air flow. Laszlo Szirtesi/Getty Images

As intense heat breaks records around the world, a little-reported fact offers some hope for cooling down cities: Under even the most intense periods of extreme heat, some city blocks never...

Astronomers have warned against colonial practices in the space industry − a philosopher of science explains how the industry could explore other planets without exploiting them

Written by Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Dean of Social Sciences, Professor of Religion and Science and Technology Studies, Wesleyan University

Considering regulation for the space industry now could prevent the proliferation of colonial practices later. gremlin/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The past decade has seen a rapid expansion of the commercial space industry. Rival nations are competing for prime military and economic positions beyond the Earth. Public and private entities are clamor...

Anthropology students present their research in poetry, plays and op-eds in this course

Written by Roxanne Varzi, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine

Allowing students to use different forms of media can help with class presentations.Kentaroo Tryman/Maskot via Getty Images

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

Multimodal Anthropology

What prompted the idea for the course?

“Multimodal”...

Who is the ‘Laughing Buddha’? A scholar of East Asian Buddhism explains

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

Porcelain 'Laughing Buddha' image, China, 17th-18th century.Metropolitan Museum of Art

With his delighted expression, round belly, bald head and monastic robes, the “Laughing Buddha” is instantly identifiable. However, astute observers might wonder why this buddha does not look like the historical Buddha, who lived in India about 2,500...

Banana apocalypse, part 2 – a genomicist explains the tricky genetics of the fungus devastating bananas worldwide

Written by Li-Jun Ma, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UMass Amherst

_Fusarium oxysporum_ spores can remain hardy in soil for decades.Andrii Volosheniuk/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Did you know that the bananas you eat today are not the same type as the ones people were eating a few generations ago? The banana you might have had with your breakfast today is a variety called the Cavendish banana, while the one that...