The Conversation

Texas proposes Bible readings for K-12 students, reigniting century-old legal battle over their place in public schools

Written by Charles J. Russo, Joseph Panzer Chair in Education and Research Professor of Law, University of Dayton

A proposed list of required reading for Texan public schools includes several stories from the Bible.plherrera/E+ via Getty Images

In 2023, Texas passed a law aimed at improving K-12 students’ reading. In part, it called for a required reading list to spell out “at least one literary work to be taught in each grade level.”

An...

Donkeys are a symbol of endurance for Palestinians – they are also a target of settler violence and care

Written by Irus Braverman, Professor of Law, Adjunct Professor of Geography, and, Research Professor at the Department of Research and Sustainability, University at Buffalo

A young Palestinian rides a donkey in the occupied West Bank on Sept. 30, 2025. John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images

Donkeys tend to symbolize humility and redemption; in Jewish tradition, the Messiah will arrive on a white donkey.

But in today’s “land of the Bible,” donkeys have become victims of the war in Gaza and, increasingly,...

America’s founding promise of religious freedom has long coexisted with prejudice, even as many Christians have worked to confront it

Written by David Mislin, Assistant Professor of Intellectual Heritage, Temple University

Student artwork on display at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2019, marks the one-year anniversary of the attack.AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its independence, old questions have returned about who belongs and whose religious practices are truly protected in the country.

At the...

Older Americans who vote live longer than those who don’t – new research

Written by Sara Konrath, Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University

A study found that voting, like good nutrition and exercise, could extend your lifespan.Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Most people know the basics of healthy living that become more important as you grow older: Eat plenty of vegetables, exercise regularly, sleep well, have a social life, limit your alcohol consumption and don’t smoke.

As an economi...

Sora’s downfall signals broader problems with AI’s creative utility

Written by Ahmed Elgammal, Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Art & AI Lab, Rutgers University

In March 2026, OpenAI announced the closure of Sora, its video generation software, to redirect the company's computing resources to other projects.Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images

OpenAI officially discontinued its video generation tool, Sora, on April 26, 2026.

I’m a computer scientist who’s been developing AI tools and studying...

Latest attack threatening President Trump reflects rising political violence in US

Written by James Piazza, Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science, Penn State

President Donald Trump speaks at the White House on April 25, 2026, after the cancellation of the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner.Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)

For the third time in three years, Donald Trump has come under threat by an attacker. Many facts remain unclear after a gunman stormed the Washington Hilton on April 25,...

What to know about sex trafficking as Pittsburgh hosts the NFL draft

Written by Mary Burke, Professor of Psychology, Carlow University

Events that draw large crowds can create opportunities traffickers may try to exploit.AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

With the NFL draft taking place in Pittsburgh and an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 people expected to attend the events downtown and on the North Shore, conversations about sex trafficking have resurfaced – as they often do when major...

Justice Department’s effort to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans could face widespread judicial pushback

Written by Cassandra Burke Robertson, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Professional Ethics, Case Western Reserve University

Dozens of immigrants from 18 nations take the oath to become U.S. citizens on Jan. 27, 2025, in Topeka, Kan. AP Photo/John Hanna

The Justice Department has identified 384 foreign-born Americans whose citizenship it wants to revoke as “the first wave” of such measures, according to recent reporting by The New York Times. These cases are...

What the Declaration of Independence does – and doesn’t – say about God

Written by Thomas Tweed, Professor Emeritus of American Studies and History, University of Notre Dame

A Croome & Brightly engraving shows John Nixon reading the Declaration of Independence after its passage in Philadelphia.From The New York Public Library via Wikimedia Commons

On the Fourth of July 1776, the congressional delegates in Philadelphia adopted the Declaration of Independence, then ordered that it be widely “proclaimed.”...

Meloni and Trump’s cooling relationship marks the failure of an EU-MAGA middle ground

Written by Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager, Professor of Critical Cultural & International Studies, Colorado State University

Breaking up is hard to do?Yoan Valat/AFP via Getty Images

As recently as October 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump was heaping praise on Giorgia Meloni, telling the Italian prime minister how “beautiful” she was.

But what once looked like a political romance based on equal parts ideological alignment and strategic convenience is now...