The Conversation

Federal Reserve hopes years of zero rates will spur inflation – but there are risks

Written by Richard S. Warr, Professor of Finance, North Carolina State University

Prices tend to go up over time.SelectStock/E+ via Getty Images

In a healthy economy, prices tend to go up – a process called inflation.

While you might not like that as a consumer, moderate price growth is a sign of a growing economy. And, historically at least, wages tend to go up at about the same pace during periods of inflation.

But right...

Wildfires can leave toxic drinking water behind – here's how to protect the public

Written by Andrew J. Whelton, Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Purdue University

Debris in Paradise, California, after the Camp Fire, Nov. 17, 2018.Senior Airman Crystal Housman/U.S. Air National Guard, CC BY

Less than halfway through the 2020 wildfire season, fires are burning large swaths of the western U.S. As in previous years, these disasters have entered populated areas, damaging drinking water networks. Water systems...

Pessimists have been saying America is going to hell for more than 200 years

Written by Maurizio Valsania, Professor of American History, Università di Torino

Today's genuine pessimism about America's future has very old roots. Aaron Foster/Getty

Pessimism looms large in America today. It’s not just because of Donald Trump, the vicar of fear and violence. It’s COVID-19, a faltering economy, the growing power of Russia and China, fires and climate change – you name it.

Journalists and...

6 ways mail-in ballots are protected from fraud

Written by Charlotte Hill, Ph.D. Candidate in Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley

Election workers are part of the protections ensuring that mail-in ballots aren't fraudulent.Will Cioci/Wisconsin Watch via AP

Voter fraud is very rare, whether people vote in person or by mail. That much is clear from a large body of research.

One of us is a political scientist at the University of Washington, and the other is a former elections...

Inclusion starts with better management – here's what employees say about making diversity work

Written by Kim Brimhall, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Diversity isn't enough.PeopleImages/E+ via Getty Images

Since the death of George Floyd in May, dozens of companies such as Apple, Estee Lauder and Facebook have vowed to increase diversity and inclusion in their workplaces.

The diversity part seems straightforward enough. But what’s meant by inclusion?

As a social work scholar, I study how...

Poll workers on Election Day will be younger – and probably more diverse – due to COVID-19

Written by Thessalia Merivaki, Assistant Professor of American Politics, Mississippi State University

With its largely white and older workers, this Portland, Oregon poll site is typical of poll sites across the U.S.Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

Election officials are busily trying to recruit younger volunteers to staff the United States’ roughly 230,000 polling sites on Election Day in November.

Many...

Presidential campaigns take flight in the age of the coronavirus

Written by Janet Bednarek, Professor of History, University of Dayton

A crowd greets Sen. John F. Kennedy at Logan Airport in Boston on July 17, 1960, after he became the Democratic nominee for president.John M. Hurley/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic has reshaped the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, limiting the number of rallies and in-person appearances of the candidates.

When candidates...

American society teaches everyone to be racist – but you can rewrite subconscious stereotypes

Written by Benjamin Waddell, Associate Professor of Sociology, Fort Lewis College

People learn racism from the culture that surrounds them and media they consume, but that doesn't need to be the end of the story. Gavriil Grigorov\TASS via Getty Images

Progress toward a more just and equitable society may be on the horizon. Since the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in May, around the United States, millions of...

From Washington to Trump, all presidents have told lies (but only some have told them for the right reasons)

Written by Michael Blake, Professor of Philosophy, Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington

President Nixon at a White House news conference in March 1973.AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi, File

Michael Cohen, in his recent book, has called President Trump a “fraud,” a “bigot,” a “bully” – and, most emphatically, a “liar”. The Trump administration’s response to this book simply reverses...

How to keep teen boys happily singing – instead of giving up when their voices start to change

Written by Patrick K. Freer, Professor of Music Education, Georgia State University

Helping boys through their voice change can keep the joy of singing alive.Tomas Ovalle/AP Images for Macy's

Boys like to sing. Adolescent boys around the world report the same thing: They enjoy singing and want to get better at it.

Yet many boys stop singing during the transition from childhood to adolescence. There is a misconception that boys...