The Conversation

The many stories of Diwali share a common theme of triumph of justice

Written by Natasha Mikles, Lecturer in Philosophy, Texas State University

Diwali is the most important festival for the South Asian community.Photo By Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post via Getty Images

As many Indian Americans celebrate the election of the first Black and South Asian woman, Kamala Harris, to the White House, many will also be celebrating the festival of Diwali on Saturday, Nov. 14.

Sometimes called the...

On environmental protection, Biden's election will mean a 180-degree turn from Trump policies

Written by Janet McCabe, Professor of Practice of Law, Indiana University

President-elect Joe Biden opposes proposals to allow uranium mining around the Grand Canyon, which the Trump administration supports.Michael Quinn, NPS/Flickr, CC BY

The Trump administration has waged what I and many other legal experts view as an all-out assault on the nation’s environmental laws for the past four years. Decisions at the...

When a child chooses a donor to sponsor them, it's a new twist on a surprisingly old model of international charity

Written by Hillary Kaell, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Religion at McGill University; Faculty fellow of the Material Economies of Religion in the Americas project, Yale University

World Vision sponsors could choose a child in the mid-1970s by pasting one of these stamps with their likeness on a mail-in card.World Vision International archives

World Vision, the world’s largest Christian humanitarian organization, revised its 70-year-old child sponsorship model in 2019. Initially piloted in seven churches across the...

Tweets reveal Trump’s and Biden’s competing views of masculinity – what that will mean for presidential leadership

Written by Karrin Vasby Anderson, Professor of Communication Studies, Colorado State University

Joe Biden, here on Jan. 21 in Ames, Iowa, exhibits a kind of masculinity different from Donald Trump's. Al Drago/Getty Images

Shortly after news networks called the presidential race in favor of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, posted the following tweet:

Screen Shot, Twitter.

More than a heartwarming glimpse into...

The Matrix is already here: Social media promised to connect us, but left us isolated, scared and tribal

Written by Arash Javanbakht, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University

It's time, says the author, to take the red pill.Diy13 via Getty Images

About a year ago I began to follow my interest in health and fitness on Instagram. Soon I began to see more and more fitness-related accounts, groups, posts and ads. I kept clicking and following, and eventually my Instagram became all about fit people, fitness and motivational...

Americans don't eat enough fish and miss out on robust health benefits

Written by Michael Tlusty, Associate Professor of Sustainability and Food Solutions, University of Massachusetts Boston

Sardines are rich in oils and protein.Photo by Ahmed Nadar for Unsplash, CC BY-ND

CC BY-NC-ND

Eating fish can provide powerful advantages for the heart and brain, yet Americans eat less than half of the 26 pounds per year that experts recommend. By contrast, Americans buy seven times more chicken and beef annually than fish.

Why Americans...

We’ll see more fire seasons like 2020 - here’s a strategy for managing our nation’s flammable landscapes

Written by Jennifer Balch, Associate Professor of Geography and Director, Earth Lab, University of Colorado Boulder

As of late fall, wildfires are still smoldering under snowfall in Colorado. I am hoping that the cold and snowy weather over the last few days will finally put to bed the 2020 fire season in my state. Through much of October, great pillars of smoke rose in the sky and ash rained down from at least four major fall wildfires, affecting millions in...

In its troubled hour, polling could use an irreverent figure to reset expectations

Written by W. Joseph Campbell, Professor of Communication Studies, American University School of Communication

Pollsters predicted a much higher vote for Joe Biden, including in Florida, where workers at the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Office in Largo process voters' ballots on Nov. 3.Octavio Jones/Getty Images

Polling is hardly a flamboyant field that attracts a lot of colorful characters. It is a rather reserved profession that now finds...

In appealing to 'give each other a chance,' Biden recalls the democratic charity of Abraham Lincoln

Written by Christopher Beem, Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy, Co-host of Democracy Works Podcast, Penn State

President-elect Joe Biden speaks on Nov. 7, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

On Nov. 7, in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, Joe Biden delivered his first speech as president-elect. In declaring victory, Biden spoke directly to those who didn’t support him.

“And to those who voted for President Trump, I understand...

Biden's climate change plans can quickly raise the bar, but can they be transformative?

Written by Edward R Carr, Professor and Director, International Development, Community, and Environment, Clark University

The next administration will need to carefully weigh the economic, social and environmental impacts of both climate change and the policy responses.Jim Watson/Getty Images

The day Joe Biden becomes president, he can start taking actions that can help slow climate change. The question is whether he can match the magnitude of the challenge.

If his...