The Conversation

How can I get the COVID-19 vaccine? Here's what you need to know and which state strategies are working

Written by Steven W. Chen, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, University of Southern California

Getting vaccinated often means pre-registering, then registering, then arranging an appointment and standing in line.Mario Tama/Getty Images

For many people, trying to get the COVID-19 vaccine has been a lesson in frustration. The vaccine supply is limited in many areas, creating confusion over who can get a first and sometimes second dose of...

Why rituals are important survival tools during the COVID-19 pandemic

Written by Cristine H Legare, Professor of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts

Rituals like hand-washing help spread hygiene practices that are essential to health and survival.Aditya Saputra/INA Photo Agency/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

COVID-19 has disrupted many aspects of daily life, including rituals both sacred and mundane. At the same time, the pandemic has opened a unique opportunity globally to adapt...

Israel faces legal – and practical – obligations for including Palestinians in vaccine success

Written by Yara M. Asi, Post-Doctoral Scholar, Health Management and Informatics, University of Central Florida

Palestinian patients infected with COVID-19 registering at an emergency unit in the West Bank city of Ramallah.AP Photo/Nasser Nasser

As nations scramble to vaccinate populations against COVID-19, one country has been ahead of the rest: Israel.

By late January, Israel had vaccinated more than 30% of its population – more than double or triple...

People may become less likely to contribute to a virtual public good like Wikipedia or Waze if they know many others are already doing it

Written by Anjana Susarla, Omura-Saxena Professor of Responsible AI, Michigan State University

Waze depends on users to voluntarily upload information about traffic accidents and road closures. Linda Davidson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

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

The big idea

While people tend to contribute more to a virtual public good if they see others doing the same, this effect reverses if...

Could a human enter a black hole to study it?

Written by Leo Rodriguez, Assistant Professor of Physics, Grinnell College

A person falling into a black hole and being stretched while approaching the black hole's horizon.Leo Rodriguez and Shanshan Rodriguez, CC BY-ND

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.

Could a human enter a black hole to study it?...

Navalny returns to Russia and brings anti-Putin politics with him

Written by Regina Smyth, Professor of Political Science, Indiana University

Protesters oppose riot police during a rally in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny on January 31, 2021 in Moscow, Russia. Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images

Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and his team have stunned the Russian government again, forcing President Vladimir Putin and his allies to confront significant protest led...

Stuck inside your home this Groundhog Day? Be like Phil the weatherman, and try some mindfulness

Written by Jeremy David Engels, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, Penn State

Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell in a scene from the film 'Groundhog Day.'Columbia Pictures/Getty Images

Many of us will recall the American comedy film “Groundhog Day.”

Originally released in 1993, it stars the incomparable Bill Murray as Phil Conners, an insufferable Pittsburgh weatherman. A minor local celebrity who believes himself...

Social accounting includes looking beyond the bare numbers of racial diversity

Written by Earl Lewis, Director and Founder, Center for Social Solutions, Professor of History, Afroamerican and African Studies, and public policy, University of Michigan

A BLM protester in front of the Ohio State House.Photo by Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Editor’s note: From time to time, The Conversation asks leaders in America’s colleges and universities to address some of the most pressing issues in our nation. Here we ask Earl Lewis, director and founder of the University...

Congress could use an arcane section of the 14th Amendment to hold Trump accountable for Capitol attack

Written by Gerard Magliocca, Professor of Law, IUPUI

If the Senate acquits former President Donald Trump in the upcoming impeachment trial, there's an obscure other way to punish him. iStock /Getty Images Plus

Until recently, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was an obscure part of the U.S. Constitution.

The amendment is better known for its first section, which guaranteed individual rights and equality...

What those mourning the fragility of American democracy get wrong

Written by Alasdair S. Roberts, Director, School of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Armed demonstrators attend a rally in front of the Michigan Capitol in Lansing to protest the governor's stay-at-home order on May 14, 2020. Scott Olson/Getty Images

For many people, the lesson from the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 – and more broadly from the experience of the last four years – is that American democracy...