The Conversation

I wrote a play for children about integrating the arts into STEM fields − here's what I learned about encouraging creative, interdisciplinary thinking

Written by Rob Roznowski, Professor of Acting, Michigan State University

Scenes from 'The STEAM Plays,' performed in Michigan schools. Thalia Lara

Often, science and art are described as starkly different things. That narrative can start early on, with kids encouraged to pursue a STEM – short for science, technology, engineering and math – education that may or may not include an arts education.

As a professo...

Gen Z and millennials have an unlikely love affair with their local libraries

Written by Kathi Inman Berens, Associate Professor of Book Publishing and Digital Humanities, Portland State University

Libraries can be an oasis from doomscrolling and information overload.Diliff/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

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A phone fixation may seem at odds with an attraction to books. But the latter may offer a much-needed reprieve from the former.

In our recent study of American Gen Z and millennials, we discovered that 92% of them check social media...

Not all carbon-capture projects pay off for the climate – we mapped the pros and cons of each and found clear winners and losers

Written by Volker Sick, Professor of Advanced Energy Research, Director of the Global CO2 Initiative, University of Michigan

Producing concrete blocks with captured carbon, like these in Brooklyn, NY., has both economic and climate benefits.AP Photo/John Minchillo

Capturing carbon dioxide from the air or industries and recycling it can sound like a win-win climate solution. The greenhouse gas stays out of the atmosphere where it can warm the planet, and it avoids the use...

When can we stop worrying about rising prices? The latest inflation report offers no easy answers

Written by D. Brian Blank, Associate Professor of Finance, Mississippi State University

Tired of thinking about inflation’s impact on your wallet? You’re not alone. But like it or not, higher prices continue to be an economic and – with the presidential race – a political issue as we enter the early months of 2024.

The Conversation asked two financial economists, D. Brian Blank at Mississippi State University...

Church without God: How secular congregations fill a need for some nonreligious Americans

Written by Jacqui Frost, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Purdue University

Sunday Assembly is one of the larger secular congregations aiming to provide community and ritual for nonreligious people. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Shared testimonies, collective singing, silent meditation and baptism rituals – these are all activities you might find at a Christian church service on a Sunday morning in the United States. But what...

Blizzards are inescapable − but the most expensive winter storm damage is largely preventable

Written by Michel Bruneau, Professor of Engineering, University at Buffalo

Wrecks during snowstorms can shut down highways, stranding drivers in the cold for hours.Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

Winter storms can easily become billion-dollar disasters as the snow piles up on interstates and collapses roofs and power lines. Yet, while canceled flights and business interruptions can’t be...

Tahoe avalanche: What causes seemingly safe snow slopes to collapse? A physicist and avid skier explains

Written by Nathalie Vriend, Associate Professor of Thermo Fluid Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

A skier at Palisades Tahoe, home of the 1960 Winter Olympics and site of a small but deadly avalanche in 2024.AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

An avalanche swept up skiers at Lake Tahoe’s largest ski resort on Jan. 10, 2024, as a 150-foot-wide sheet of snow slid down a mountain slope into a pile 10 feet deep. One person died in the avalanche and...

Tahoe avalanches: What causes innocent-looking snow slopes to collapse? A physicist and skier explains, with tips for surviving

Written by Nathalie Vriend, Associate Professor of Thermo Fluid Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

A skier at Palisades Tahoe, home of the 1960 Winter Olympics and site of a small but deadly avalanche in 2024.AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

In the 'big tent' of free speech, can you be too open-minded?

Written by John Corvino, Dean of the Irvin D. Reid Honors College and Professor of Philosophy, Wayne State University

In the 'big tent' philosophy of free speech, the more views, the better. But how does that hold up in practice?imageBROKER/Manuel Kamuf via Getty Images

People often extol the virtue of open-mindedness, but can there be too much of a good thing?

As a college dean, I regularly observe campus controversies about the Israel-Hamas war, race relations...

Iran terror blast highlights success – and growing risk – of ISIS-K regional strategy

Written by Amira Jadoon, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Clemson University

More than 100 peope were killed in the blast in Kerman, Iran, on Jan. 3, 2024.Mahdi/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the terror group Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, has sought to internationalize its operational and recruitment campaign. Utilizing a sweeping propaganda campaign...