The Conversation

What is a hurricane storm surge, and why is it so dangerous?

Written by Anthony C. Didlake Jr., Assistant Professor of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University

Storm surge can push water levels well above normal sea level during a hurricane.Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Of all the hazards that hurricanes bring, storm surge is the greatest threat to life and property along the coast. It can sweep homes off their foundations, flood riverside communities miles inland, and break up dunes and levees that normally...

Asian Americans' political preferences have flipped from red to blue

Written by John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College

Asian American voters leave a Temple City, California, polling place in 2012, in the state's first legislative district that is majority Asian American.Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Asian Americans used to be a reliable Republican voting bloc. But long before Kamala Harris, who is Indian American and Black, became Joe Biden’s running...

Big pharma's safety pledge isn't enough to build public confidence in COVID-19 vaccine – here's what will

Written by Efthimios Parasidis, Professor of Law and Public Health, The Ohio State University

A patient receives a shot in a clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine.AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

Americans are increasingly concerned that regulators and manufacturers will rush a vaccine to market without an adequate review.

That prompted nine vaccine front-runners, including Pfizer and Merck, to promise to abide by clinical and ethical standards in an...

Why gender reveals have spiraled out of control

Written by Jenna Drenten, Associate Professor of Marketing, Loyola University Chicago

It's a ... fire!Illustration by Anurag Papolu/The Conversation; photo by milorad kravic/iStock via Getty Images, CC BY-SA

Over Labor Day weekend, two expectant parents didn’t get the viral hit they had hoped for.

During a gender reveal party in Southern California, a “smoke-generating pyrotechnic device” was supposed to simply...

Defending the 2020 election against hacking: 5 questions answered

Written by Douglas W. Jones, Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Iowa

Vote count machines are just one target of hackers looking to disrupt US elections.AP Photo/Ben Margot

Editor’s note: Journalist Bob Woodward reports in his new book, “Rage,” that the NSA and CIA have classified evidence that the Russian intelligence services placed malware in the election registration systems of at least two...

It's still a conservative Supreme Court, even after recent liberal decisions – here's why

Written by Ofer Raban, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Oregon

DACA supporters rally at the Supreme Court on Thursday, June 18, 2020, after the court rejected the Trump administration's push to end DACA. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

The new Supreme Court term begins on the first Monday in October, a date set more than 100 years ago by Congress. As expected, the court’s upcoming docket...

Far from being anti-religious, faith and spirituality run deep in Black Lives Matter

Written by Hebah H. Farrag, Assistant Director of Research, Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Sage burning as a spiritual cleansing ritual is common at Black Lives Matter protests. Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Black Lives Matters (BLM) has been portrayed by its detractors as many things: Marxist, radical, anti-American. Added to this growing list of charges is that it is either irreligious or doing religion wrong.

In late...

Study: Pandemic-induced stress could be increasing the risk of child abuse

Written by Samantha M. Brown, Assistant Professor, Colorado State University

Many families have had a hard time since schools and day care centers had to shut their doors.Westend61/Getty Images

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

The big idea

Parents and children surveyed about the COVID-19 pandemic in late April and early May of 2020 – when most schools and day care providers closed...

Afghanistan peace talks begin – but will the Taliban hold up their end of the deal?

Written by Sher Jan Ahmadzai, Director, Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska Omaha

Members of the Taliban delegation attend the opening session of the peace talks with the Afghan government, Doha, Qatar, Sept. 12, 2020.Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images

Six months after the United States signed an historic accord with the Taliban of Afghanistan, the Islamic militant group has entered into talks with the Afghan government in Doha,...

Women have disrupted research on bird song, and their findings show how diversity can improve all fields of science

Written by Kevin Omland, Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Female song is common among fairywrens, like this red-backed fairywren.Paul Balfe/Flickr, CC BY

Americans often idealize scientists as unbiased, objective observers. But scientists are affected by conscious and unconscious biases, just as people in other fields are. Studies of birds’ vocal behavior clearly show how research approaches can be...