The Conversation

Meet phosphine, a gas commonly used for industrial fumigation that can damage your lungs, heart and liver

Written by Aliasger K. Salem, Associate Vice President for Research and Bighley Chair and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iowa

Grain transported in cargo ships usually undergoes fumigation to kill pests − a process that often uses toxic phosphine gas. bfk92/E+ via Getty Images

In 1980, two children and 29 crew members aboard a grain freighter became ill. They had been exposed to phosphine – a chemical used in fumigation to kill pests in and on grain – for...

Many more older people are leaving prison and face unmet needs for housing and health care − as well as a tangle of groups trying to help

Written by Angela S. Murolo, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology, St. Francis College

Nearly a quarter of all people in U.S. prisons are 50 or older, like these inmates at FMC Devens in Massachusetts in 2015. Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post via Getty Images

American prisons are rapidly graying.

Following decades of mass incarceration, exacerbated by the U.S. war on drugs, the proportion of older people in prison has increased since...

As Gaza ceasefire takes hold, Israeli forces turn to Jenin – a regular target seen as a center of Palestinian resistance

Written by Maha Nassar, Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of Arizona

Just two days after a shaky ceasefire took hold in the Gaza Strip, Israel on Jan. 21, 2025, launched a large-scale incursion of the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.

Soldiers raided hundreds of homes in the West Bank city in what the Israeli military called a “counterterrorism” operation, aiming to reassert control there. Many...

What is seditious conspiracy, which is among the most serious crimes Trump pardoned?

Written by Amy Cooter, Director of Research, Academic Development and Innovation at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism, Middlebury

The Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol was the result of a planned conspiracy to disrupt the government, prosecutors alleged.AP Photo/John Minchillo

Several of the highest-profile figures in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection were charged with, and convicted of, the crime of seditious conspiracy, which is defined as the act of getting together with...

Ozempic and similar weight loss drugs may lower risk of 42 health conditions, but also pose risks

Written by Ziyad Al-Aly, Clinical Epidemiologist, Washington University in St. Louis

The research shows the health effects of these drugs are significant and wide-ranging.Mario Tama via Getty Images News

Several years ago, a little-known drug named Ozempic – previously used only to treat diabetes – emerged as a promising new drug for weight management.

The Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Ozempic in 2021...

Warning of ‘oligarchy,’ Biden channels Andrew Jackson

Written by Daniel Feller, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Tennessee

In some circumstances, a president’s official Farewell Address to the Nation may be an occasion for sunny reflection. President Joe Biden’s, delivered five days before he left office, began that way, with a celebration of America’s promise and of its progress under his tenure.

But midway through, Biden’s tone shifted...

How the oil industry and growing political divides turned climate change into a partisan issue

Written by Joe Árvai, Director of the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability | Professor of Psychology, Biological Sciences, and Environmental Studies, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Donald Trump's pro-fossil fuel positions stand in sharp contrast with efforts to protect the climate.Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

After four years of U.S. progress on efforts to deal with climate change under Joe Biden, Donald Trump’s return to the White House is swiftly swinging the pendulum in the opposite direction.

On his first...

‘The geezer game’ – a nearly 50-year-old pickup basketball game – reveals its secrets to longevity

Written by Richie Zweigenhaft, Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Guilford College

Several geezers appear on the court before a 5-on-5 pickup game.Andy Casper, CC BY-SA

Donald Trump’s polarizing political rise in the past decade has driven many groups – and some families – apart.

But a long-running pickup basketball game that I play in, made up of people with various political leanings, including Trump...

Attitudes toward Christian nationalism don’t just boil down to views on race, religion and history − research suggests ‘moral foundations’ play a critical role

Written by Kerby Goff, Associate Director of Research at the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance, Rice University

Christian nationalism is the belief that the United States was founded to be a Christian nation.Douglas Sacha/moment via Getty Images

The concept of Christian nationalism has taken center stage in many Americans’ minds as either the greatest threat to democracy or its only savior.

Political scientist Eric McDaniel defines Christian...

Extreme heat, flooding, wildfires – Colorado’s formerly incarcerated people on the hazards they faced behind bars

Written by Shawhin Roudbari, Associate Professor of Environmental Design, University of Colorado Boulder

Inmates sometimes experience heatstroke on especially hot days.powerofforever/Getty Images

Incarcerated people in Colorado are exposed to climate-related extreme heat and cold, plus flooding and wildfires. Because they’re unable to escape these hazards, their health suffers and some die.

“I remember it being summer, and there’s no...