The Conversation

Reggae's sacred roots and call to protest injustice

Written by David W. Stowe, Professor of English and Religious Studies, Michigan State University

Guitarist David Hinds at Reggae on the Rocks in Denver, Colorado. Photo by Rick Scuteri/Invision/AP

July 1 is International Reggae Day – a time to celebrate the popular music of Jamaica with dance parties exhibitions, presentations and even tree planting.

Reggae is universally associated with Bob Marley, its most influential artist. However,...

Is Juul making it easy for kids to vape in school? New study suggests yes

Written by Jon-Patrick Allem, Research Scientist, University of Southern California

Young people may be vaping during school, a study of Twitter posts suggests. J.A. Dunbar/shutterstock.com

The Juul vaporizer is the latest advancement in electronic cigarette technology, delivering nicotine to the user from a device about the size and shape of a thumb drive. Juul has taken the electronic cigarette market by storm experiencing a ye...

What's involved in designing World Cup jerseys?

Written by Susan L. Sokolowski, Director & Associate Professor: Sports Product Design, University of Oregon

The designs, materials, cuts and graphics of jerseys are meant to stand out.AP Photo/Frank Augstein

Nearly 3.5 billion people are expected to watch the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia. They’ll all see players wearing a fresh batch of national jerseys, designed by the major sport product manufacturers. Millions of authentic tops are made for fans...

Math explains why your bus route seems so unreliable

Written by Vikash V. Gayah, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Pennsylvania State University

The tricky math behind your bus route.Monkey Business Images/shutterstock.com

Have you ever waited for your bus at a bus stop for a very long time – only to be greeted by two or more buses arriving together?

This phenomenon, known as “bus bunching,” is a problem that bus transit systems around the world have been trying to solve...

Could new legislation lead to a Route 66 economic revival?

Written by Daniel Milowski, Ph.D. Student in History, Arizona State University

An aerial view of Seligman, Arizona, looking west, dated March 12, 1971. Route 66 bisects the town.James R. Powell Route 66 Collection/Newberry Library

In his 1939 novel “The Grapes of Wrath,” John Steinbeck dubbed Route 66 “The Mother Road.”

The 2,448 mile-long highway that once wound from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa...

Why are Democratic voters more approving of compromise than Republicans?

Written by James Glaser, Professor, Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, Tufts University

At a time when political division is heightened and the parties in Washington are deeply polarized, it is worth asking whether there is any payoff for politicians to work together.

Will they be rewarded by their constituents for getting things done, balancing different interests for the public good and working across the aisle with civility and...

Mick Mulvaney turned the CFPB from a forceful consumer watchdog into a do-nothing government cog

Written by Jeff Sovern, Professor of Law, St. John's University

Until last Thanksgiving, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was known for forcefully pursuing its core mission, returning nearly US$12 billion to about 30 million consumers who had been taken advantage of by financial institutions.

But since then, the bureau has been known for … well, not much. After Obama-appointee Richard Cordray...

Thriving after depression: Why are scientists ignoring good outcomes?

Written by Jonathan Rottenberg, Professor of Psychology, University of South Florida

Kristen Bell, who has battled depression, has shared her experience of surviving it and thriving. She is pictured here at the 2017 NBCUniversal Upfront in New York on May 15, 2017. JStone/Shutterstock.com

In the wake of suicides by Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, we as a nation are newly sobered by depression’s threat to the public health....

Trump's choice to replace Justice Kennedy will likely be a white man, like his other court nominees

Written by Rorie Solberg, Associate Professor of Political Science, Oregon State University

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Justice Anthony Kennedy announced on June 27 that he will retire from the U.S. Supreme Court, giving President Donald Trump the opportunity to appoint a second justice.

Trump has stated that he will choose from the same list of 25 individuals to replace Kennedy that he used after...

Why your brain never runs out of problems to find

Written by David Levari, Postdoctoral Researcher in Psychology, Harvard University

Why do people constantly 'move the goalposts' when making judgments? JoeNattapon/Shutterstock.com

Why do many problems in life seem to stubbornly stick around, no matter how hard people work to fix them? It turns out that a quirk in the way human brains process information means that when something becomes rare, we sometimes see it in more places...