The Conversation

'What goes around comes around,' or what Greek mythology says about Donald Trump

Written by Rachel Hadas, Professor of English, Rutgers University Newark

Donald Trump's helicopter landing at the White House, Oct. 5, as he returns from being hospitalized at Walter Reed.Liu Jie/Xinhua via Getty Images

It’s hard to process the news of the president’s positive COVID-19 diagnosis without having recourse to some kind of mythological system, some larger frame of reference.

Karma, wrote one...

From recording videos in a closet to Zoom meditating, 2020's political campaigns adjust to the pandemic

Written by Barbara A. Trish, Professor of Political Science, Grinnell College

Eugene DePasquale, left, Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District, in Harrisburg, Penn., Sept. 19, shows that even the traditional handshake with voters has changed in pandemic-era campaigns.om Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

President Donald Trump may have eschewed masks and distancing in this pandemic year...

VIP patients can be a headache for their doctors

Written by Nancy Nielsen, Clinical Professor of Medicine and Senior Associate Dean for Health Policy, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

White House physician Sean Conley gives an update on the patient-in-chief on Oct. 3.Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The medical drama playing out daily since President Donald Trump contracted COVID-19 is alarming – but not surprising. Any physician who’s ever rendered medical advice or hospital care to a prominent person...

Allies and foes watch as Trump fights the coronavirus

Written by Monti Datta, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Richmond

President Donald Trump may have removed his mask, but the uncertainty posed by his positive COVID-19 test continues.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

America’s national security officials are on alert and global markets shook – at least briefly – following the announcement that President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus that...

How a government-linked foundation could speed the spread of new clean-energy technologies

Written by David M. Hart, Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University

Sometimes promising innovations, such as this glass that can harness solar energy, developed by scientist Lance Wheeler, take a long time to reach consumers.Aaron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images

To address climate change over the coming decades, all nations will need to transition to energy resources that emit less carbon. This...

Finding joy in 2020? It's not such an absurd idea, really

Written by Angela Gorrell, Assistant Professor of Practical Theology, George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University

You don't need rose-tinted spectacles to find joy – even in the most stressful times. MEDITERRANEAN /Via Getty Images

The year 2020 hasn’t been one to remember – in fact, for a lot of people it has been an outright nightmare. The pandemic, along with political turmoil and social unrest, has brought anxiety, heartbreak, righteous...

Amid COVID-19 spike in ultra-Orthodox areas, Jewish history may explain reluctance of some to restrictions

Written by Joyce Dalsheim, Associate Professor of Global Studies, University of North Carolina – Charlotte

COVID-19 has spiked in ultra-Orthodox Jewish parts of New York City.Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A spike in coronavirus cases in several Orthodox Jewish areas of New York has prompted state and city authorities to impose new localized restrictions aimed at halting the spread.

On Oct. 5, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that nearly 100 public...

What happens to national security and foreign relations if the president is incapacitated?

Written by Gordon Adams, Professor Emeritus, American University School of International Service

If there's a question about who is in charge, the government isn't totally rudderless.AP Photo/Evan Vucci

If President Donald Trump is too sick to perform his duties, it’s not clear what might happen to the country’s national security and foreign relations. That’s a concern because crises like a terrorist attack or the outbreak of...

2020 Nobel Prize in physics awarded for work on black holes – an astrophysicist explains the trailblazing discoveries

Written by Gaurav Khanna, Professor of Physics, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

A black hole is an object so compact that nothing can escape its gravitational pull, not even light. They are formed when stars die and start collapsing under their own weight. Deep inside the black hole resides an infinitely hot and dense object, a so-called, singularity. Science Photo Library - MARK GARLICK/Getty Images

Black holes are perhaps...

Trump's decade-old audit illustrates why the IRS targets the working poor as much as the rich

Written by Hayes Holderness, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Richmond

Trump has tried to keep his taxes in the dark for years. Alex Wong/Getty Images

The New York Times’ exclusive on President Donald Trump’s taxes contains a lot of startling new findings.

A few noteworthy examples: He paid only US$750 in federal income tax in 2016 and 2017 – and nothing at all in 10 of the previous 15 years; he took...