The Conversation

'In the Heights' celebrates the resilience Washington Heights has used to fight the COVID-19 pandemic

Written by Robert W. Snyder, Professor Emeritus of Journalism and American Studies, Rutgers University - Newark

For decades, Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood has been home to a mosaic of ethnic groups.Andrew Burton/Getty Images

With camera work that swoops from rooftops to street corners, the film “In the Heights” brings to life the dynamism of northern Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood.

Directed by Jon M. Chu,...

Sports writers could ditch the 'clown questions' and do better when it comes to press conferences

Written by Nicole Kraft, Associate Professor of Clinical Communication, The Ohio State University

'I'm here so I don't get fined,' Seattle Seahawks' star running back Marshawn Lynch repeatedly told a Jan. 27, 2015, press conference on media day for NFL Super Bowl XLIX. And then he left.AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

LeBron James had enough.

During the press conference after Game 1 of the 2018 NBA finals, James was questioned repeatedly by ESPN’s M...

Historic change: Arab political parties are now legitimate partners in Israel's politics and government

Written by Morad Elsana, Adjunct Professorial Lecturer Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies (CRGC)., American University

Mansour Abbas, Israeli Arab politician and leader of the Ra'am Party, in a meeting at the Israeli president's residence in Jerusalem on April 5, 2021. Abir Sultan/Pool/ AFP/Getty Images

The next government is not going to be a typical one for the citizens of the state of Israel, and especially for members of the Palestinian Arab minority, who are...

Tribal colleges empower Native students with an affordable, culturally relevant education – but need more funding

Written by Susan C. Faircloth, Professor & Director, Colorado State University

Diné College, founded as Navajo Community College in 1968, was the first tribal college in the U.S.Courtesy Diné College, CC BY-NC-ND

As an American Indian and first-generation college graduate, I know how difficult it can be to successfully navigate higher education.

For me, going to college meant leaving my family, my community, my...

What are 'ghost guns,' a target of Biden's anti-crime effort?

Written by Garen Wintemute, Professor of Emergency Medicine; Director, Violence Prevention Research Program, University of California, Davis

A San Franciso police officer displays several 'ghost guns' – untraceable firearms with no serial numbers or manufacturing marks.AP Photo/Haven Daley

It’s not expensive or difficult to produce large numbers of untraceable firearms in the United States. Whether for private use, sale on the criminal market or arming violent extremists,...

Women are as likely as men to accept a gender pay gap if they benefit from it

Written by Marlon Williams, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Dayton

Perhaps it all depends on perspective.Tommy/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Women are just as inclined as men to vote against a policy to reduce a gender pay gap if they are personally benefiting from the status quo. This is one of the main findings of my new study...

A new reason Americans are getting leery of billionaire donors

Written by David Campbell, Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Some extremely rich people are paying a much smaller share of their income on taxes than other folks.Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the rest of the 25 richest Americans paid very low federal income taxes from 2014 to 2018 even as they amassed wealth, according to Internal Revenue Service data...

Working with dangerous viruses sounds like trouble – but here's what scientists learn from studying pathogens in secure labs

Written by Jerry Malayer, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education and Professor of Physiological Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University

Microbes are everywhere – and they aren't all friendly. spawns/E+ via Getty Images

There are about 1,400 known human pathogens – viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and helminths that can cause a person’s injury or death. But in a world with a trillion individual species of microorganisms, where scientists have counted only one...

Parking reform could reenergize downtowns – here's what happened when Buffalo changed its zoning rules

Written by Daniel Baldwin Hess, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University at Buffalo

Surface parking in downtown San Jose, California.Sergio Ruiz, SPUR/Flickr, CC BY

For urban planners, parking rules established decades ago have become a contentious 21st-century challenge. Parking takes up about one-third of land area in U.S. cities; nationwide, there are an estimated eight parking spaces for every car.

In 2017 Buffalo, New York,...

Alcohol companies make $17.5 billion a year off of underage drinking, while prevention efforts are starved for cash

Written by David H. Jernigan, Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management, Boston University

New research estimates that underage drinkers consume $2.2 billion of Anheuser-Busch InBev drinks – like Budweiser – per year.AP Photo/Reed Saxon

CC–BY–ND.

Alcohol is still the most commonly used drug among high school students. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year approximately 3,500...