The Conversation

Freeing Britney requires reconsidering how society thinks about decision-making capacity

Written by Elyn Saks, Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, University of Southern California

The stress and shame of conservatorships can sometimes do more harm than good to the people they're supposed to protect.Rich Fury/Staff via Getty Images Entertainment

Britney Spears’ impassioned remarks in court have raised many questions about conservatorships, including when they’re necessary and whether they effectively protect...

Male fertility is declining – studies show that environmental toxins could be a reason

Written by Ryan P. Smith, Associate Professor of Urology, University of Virginia

For decades, sperm counts and sperm health have been declining.Carol Yepes/Moment via Getty Images

In the U.S., nearly 1 in 8 couples struggles with infertility. Unfortunately, physicians like me who specialize in reproductive medicine are unable to determine the cause of male infertility around 30% to 50% of the time. There is almost nothing more...

Farmers markets are growing their role as essential sources of healthy food for rich and poor

Written by Edna Ledesma, Assistant Professor of Planning and Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin-Madison

A customer shops at a drive-thru farmers market in Overland Park, Kansas, on May 2, 2020. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

For many Americans, buying fresh local food at one of the estimated 9,000 farmers markets across the U.S. is one of summer’s pleasures. But farmers markets aren’t just nice amenities. Over the past 18 months, many have...

Fasting may have become a health fad, but religious communities have been doing it for millennia

Written by Iqbal Akhtar, Associate Professor, Florida International University

Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam.Prakash Mathema/AFP via Getty Images

The practice of fasting has entered popular culture in recent years as a way to lose extra pounds. Featured in the bestselling book “The Fast Diet,” it advocates eating normally on select days of the week while drastically reducing calories on the remaining...

'Outing' of priest shines light on power -- and partisanship -- of Catholic media

Written by Peter Cajka, Professor of American Studies, University of Notre Dame

The pope is big news, and provides plenty of column inches in the US.Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

It had all the hallmarks of a sensationalist tabloid sting.

On July 21, 2021, an article appeared alleging that a senior U.S. priest, Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, had used the hook-up app Grindr, with data from the app placing him at a...

Condo board leaders can help prevent the next Surfside-style disaster by setting aside more money

Written by Patrick Hohman, Instructor of Condominium Association Leadership, Bellarmine University

Condo association boards make decisions with long-term consequences for their communities.Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

When people buy homes, they often focus on appearances – what realtors call “curb appeal.” When it comes to buying condominiums – privately owned individual units in a large...

The Activision Blizzard lawsuit shows gamer culture still has a long way to go: 5 essential reads about sexual harassment and discrimination in gaming and tech

Written by Eric Smalley, Science + Technology Editor

There's nothing inherently male about playing video games. Videogame culture, on the other hand, is decidedly anti-female.Chesnot/Getty Images

Sexual harassment in gamer culture burst back into the spotlight on July 21, 2021, with news of California’s lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, publisher of top-selling video games Call of Duty,...

Tu cerebro necesitará tiempo para adaptarse al final del distanciamiento social

Written by Kareem Clark, Postdoctoral Associate in Neuroscience, Virginia Tech

Tal vez no te sientas listo para volver a salir.Grace Cary/Moment via Getty Images

Con las vacunas COVID-19 funcionando y el levantamiento de las restricciones en los Estados Unidos, Gran Bretaña y varios otros países, por fin ha llegado el momento de que los ahora vacunados que han estado encerrados en casa se deshagan del...

Sex trafficking isn't what you think: 4 myths debunked – and 1 real-world way to prevent sexual exploitation

Written by Corinne Schwarz, Assistant Professor of Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies, Oklahoma State University

A billboard in Mounds View, Minnesota, put up by the nonprofit National Human Trafficking Resource Center. Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The idea that sex trafficking is an urgent social problem is woven into American media stories, from reports of Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz’s alleged trafficking of teenage...

Congress moves to reclaim its war powers

Written by Sarah Burns, Associate Professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology

The aftermath of a U.S. drone strike in January 2020 that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani.Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office, via AP

In mid-July 2021, a bipartisan and ideologically diverse group of senators proposed a new bill that, if passed, would dramatically shift the relative amount of power the president and Congress have over U.S....