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4 tips for selecting charities after disasters like Hurricane Dorian

  • Written by David Campbell, Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New York
After hurricanes, there are always people who could use a hand.AP Photo /Jeffrey Collins

Hurricane Dorian’s destruction in the Bahamas, North Carolina and up the Atlantic coast provides a terrible reminder of how these storms can upend lives and destroy homes. As with previous disasters, millions of Americans are trying to figure out the best...

Read more: 4 tips for selecting charities after disasters like Hurricane Dorian

Market-based policies work to fight climate change, from India to Jamaica

  • Written by Jason Scorse, Associate Professor, Chair, Director, Middlebury

The economic foundation at the heart of conservative political philosophy is that markets are the best way to allocate the bulk of society’s resources.

That faith in markets explains the Republican Party’s preference for, say, private medical insurance over a government-run American health system. And it informs their push to loosen...

Read more: Market-based policies work to fight climate change, from India to Jamaica

Math skills aren't enough to get through hard decisions – you need confidence, too

  • Written by Ellen Peters, Philip H. Knight Professor of Science Communication, University of Oregon
Numeracy has real implications for your life.Ray Reyes/Unsplash, CC BY

Almost a third of American adults don’t have the math skills necessary to make effective decisions about their health and finances.

These 73 million people can count, sort and do simple arithmetic. But they likely cannot select the health plan with the lowest cost based on...

Read more: Math skills aren't enough to get through hard decisions – you need confidence, too

How disinformation could sway the 2020 election

  • Written by Paul M. Barrett, Deputy Director, Center for Business and Human Rights, Stern School of Business; Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University
What people read online could really disrupt society and politics.igorstevanovic/Shutterstock.com

In 2016, Russian operatives used Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to sow division among American voters and boost Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

What the Russians used to accomplish this is called “disinformation,” which is false...

Read more: How disinformation could sway the 2020 election

Why your employer-sponsored insurance may ultimately not be good for you

  • Written by Dana Goldman, Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair and Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Pharmacy, and Economics, University of Southern California
Employer-sponsored insurance is one of the biggest benefits for U.S. workers, but it may not be best social policy.zimmytws/Shutterstock.com

The Democratic presidential debates, which resume Sept. 12, have highlighted a deep disagreement over the future American health care system. Reflecting the anger of voters over medical costs, Sens. Bernie...

Read more: Why your employer-sponsored insurance may ultimately not be good for you

Far fewer Mexican immigrants are coming to the US -- and those who do are more educated

  • Written by Rogelio Sáenz, Professor of Demography, The University of Texas at San Antonio
The number of Mexican migrants fell during the economic recession.Tu Olles/Shutterstock.com

Once upon a time, not long ago, Mexicans dominated the flow of migrants coming to the U.S. Mexican migration expanded over the course of much of the 20th century and into the start of the 21st century.

That is no longer the case.

The number of Mexican...

Read more: Far fewer Mexican immigrants are coming to the US -- and those who do are more educated

In Brazil's rainforests, the worst fires are likely still to come

  • Written by Robert T. Walker, Professor of Latin American Studies and Geography, University of Florida

The number of fires this year in the Amazon is the highest since 2010, reaching more than 90,000 active fires. Farmers and ranchers routinely use fires to clear the forest. But this year’s number reflects a worrisome uptick in the rate of deforestation, which had started to drop around 2005 before rebounding earlier this decade.

Many people bl...

Read more: In Brazil's rainforests, the worst fires are likely still to come

I create manipulated images and videos – but quality may not matter much

  • Written by Christye Sisson, Associate Professor of Photographic Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology
It can be tricky to make it look like people are doing things they never did.Alexander Sobol/Shutterstock.com

Lots of people – including Congress – are worried about fake videos and imagery distorting the truth, purporting to show people saying and doing things they never said or did.

I’m part of a larger U.S. government project th...

Read more: I create manipulated images and videos – but quality may not matter much

The hidden story of two African American women looking out from the pages of a 19th-century book

  • Written by Kate Clarke Lemay, Historian, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Mary E. Harper (left) and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (right), whose two photos in 'Atlanta Offering' are unusual. Unidentified Artist, 1895, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, & Rare Book Library, Emory University, Author provided

We are twohistorians whose work focuses on American art and on how African Americans have shaped the story of...

Read more: The hidden story of two African American women looking out from the pages of a 19th-century book

Curious Kids: Why do burps make noise?

  • Written by George Saffouri, Assistant Clinical Professor of Health Sciences, Gastroenterology & Hepatology, University of California, Riverside
Pardon me!Gelpi/Shutterstock.com

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.


Why does burping make noise? – Henry E., age 8, Somerville, Massachusetts


Burping is a normal part of everyday life.

Burps happen when air from your stomach...

Read more: Curious Kids: Why do burps make noise?

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