The Conversation

Probability underlies much of the modern world – an engineering professor explains how it actually works

Written by Zachary del Rosario, Assistant Professor of Engineering, Olin College of Engineering

Probability can explain why a coin flip has a 50/50 chance of landing heads versus tails, but it also can be used for more powerful applications. Monty Rakusen/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Probability underpins AI, cryptography and statistics. However, as the philosopher Bertrand Russell said, “Probability is the most important concept in...

I’m a philosopher who tries to see the best in others – but I know there are limits

Written by Mark Schroeder, Professor of Philosophy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Interpreting someone's thoughts or actions can mean balancing their agency against the good. Kateryna Kovarzh/iStock via Getty Images

Understanding one another can be hard. There is a big difference between someone snapping at you out of contempt, and calling you out for a mistake because they believe in you and know you can do better. One of these...

Last nuclear weapons limits expired – pushing world toward new arms race

Written by Matthew Bunn, Professor of the Practice of Energy, National Security and Foreign Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Russian ballistic missiles roll in Red Square during a Victory Day military parade.AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko

For the first time in more than half a century, there are no binding restraints on the buildup of the largest nuclear forces on Earth. The New START treaty expired on Feb. 5, 2026, ending the last agreed limits on U.S. and Russian...

‘Learning to be humble meant taming my need to stand out from the group’ – a humility scholar explains how he became more grounded

Written by Barret Michalec, Research Associate Professor of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University

A need to be seen as the biggest fish may stem from pride and insecurity.ballyscanlon via Getty Images

“Humble” is not a word my colleagues would use to describe me, especially early in my career.

In fact, when word got around that I was researching humility, I suspect more than a few choked on their coffee.

And even though I have...

Why Michelangelo’s ‘Last Judgment’ endures

Written by Virginia Raguin, Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emerita, College of the Holy Cross

Michelangelo's 16th-century fresco 'The Last Judgment.' Sistine Chapel collection via Wikimedia Commons

Michelangelo’s fresco of “The Last Judgment,” covering the wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, is being restored. The work, which started on Feb. 1, 2026, is expected to continue for three months.

The...

The greatest risk of AI in higher education isn’t cheating – it’s the erosion of learning itself

Written by Nir Eisikovits, Professor of Philosophy and Director, Applied Ethics Center, UMass Boston

Will AI hollow out the pipeline of students, researchers and faculty that is the basis of today’s universities?Hill Street Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Public debate about artificial intelligence in higher education has largely orbited a familiar worry: cheating. Will students use chatbots to write essays? Can instructors tell?...

Why the ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ have echoed with public support – unlike the campus of Kent State in 1970

Written by Gregory P. Magarian, Thomas and Karole Green Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis

Ohio National Guardsmen on the Kent State University campus prepare to disperse student protesters on May 4, 1970. Troops later opened fire on students, killing four.Howard Ruffner/Getty Images

The president announces an aggressive, controversial policy. Large groups of protesters take to the streets. Government agents open fire and kill...

Russia tested NATO’s airspace 18 times in 2025 alone – a 200% surge that signals a dangerous shift

Written by Frederic Lemieux, Professor of the Practice and Faculty Director of the Master's in Applied Intelligence, Georgetown University

Police inspect damage to a house struck by debris from a shot down Russian drone in the village of Wyryki-Wola, eastern Poland, on Sept. 10, 2025.Wojtek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images

Russian aircraft, drones and missiles have violated NATO airspace dozens of times since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

Individually, many...

Do animals have a future on Hollywood sets?

Written by Cynthia Chris, Professor of Media Studies, City University of New York

Bear trainer Doug Seus plays with Bart the Bear, who's appeared in over 20 TV shows and films.Jean-Louis Atlan/Sygma via Getty Images

There is a long and storied history of nonhuman actors, from Luke, the dog of silent star Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, to the collies cast in the role of Lassie in film and on television. Bart the Bear racked...

FDA’s abrupt flip-flop on Moderna’s mRNA flu shot highlights growing risks to drug-makers of investing in vaccines

Written by Ana Santos Rutschman, Professor of Law, Villanova University

Federal health officials have raised safety concerns about mRNA vaccines, although they have provided no credible data on health risks.NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration’s decision, made public on Feb. 10, 2026, to not review an application to approve Moderna’s proposed mRNA-based flu vaccine set off a firestorm...