The Conversation

What is the 'zero gravity' that people experience in the vomit comet or space flight?

Written by Steven Collicott, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University

People in a special airplane flight get to float like there is no gravity – just like astronautsSteven Collicott

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

In the zero-gravity airplanes or vomit comet, why does stuff behave like...

Here's why some people are willing to challenge bullying, corruption and bad behavior, even at personal risk

Written by Catherine A. Sanderson, Poler Family Professor and Chair of Psychology, Amherst College

Certain characteristics mean moral rebels are willing to not go with the flow.Francesco Carta fotografo/Moment via Getty Images

Utah Senator Mitt Romney voted in February to convict President Donald Trump on the charge of abuse of power, becoming the first senator ever to vote against his own party’s president in an impeachment trial.

Two...

Tracing homophobia in South Korea's coronavirus surveillance program

Written by Timothy Gitzen, Postdoctoral Fellow, Society of Fellows in the Humanities, University of Hong Kong

Korean health workers offer coronavirus testing in the Itaewon nightlife district of Seoul.Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images

Many people around the world have looked to South Korea’s so-called “democratic” response to the coronavirus pandemic as a template for other nations to follow. That response is often contrasted with...

Rural America is more vulnerable to COVID-19 than cities are, and it's starting to show

Written by David J. Peters, Associate Professor of Rural Sociology, Iowa State University

Workers wait to enter a Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Logansport, Indiana. The plant had been closed after nearly 900 employees tested positive for the coronavirus.AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Rural areas seemed immune as the coronavirus spread through cities earlier this year. Few rural cases were reported, and attention focused on the surge of i...

Dead white men get their say in court as Virginia tries to remove Robert E. Lee statues

Written by Allison Anna Tait, Professor of Law, University of Richmond

Richmond's towering Robert E. Lee statue is transformed by protests following the killing of George Floyd. Is removal next?John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The latest chapter in the United States’ ongoing debate about Confederate monuments involves some unexpected opinions: those of long-dead land donors.

Responding to sustai...

Can you visit your dad safely on Father's Day? A doctor gives you a checklist

Written by Claudia Finkelstein, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Michigan State University

There's nothing quite like the joy of being with one's father -- and for dads being with their kids.eff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

As a physician, daughter and socially responsible human, I’m finding Father’s Day to be complicated for me this year, as it is for millions. Questions of whether and how to see my...

How Hemingway felt about fatherhood

Written by Verna Kale, Associate Editor, The Letters of Ernest Hemingway and Assistant Research Professor of English, Pennsylvania State University

Hemingway and his eldest son, Bumby, pose in Havana harbor in 1933.Collection of David Meeker, Author provided

Ernest Hemingway was affectionately called “Papa,” but what kind of dad was he?

In my role as Associate Editor of the Hemingway Letters Project, I spend my time investigating the approximately 6,000 letters sent by Hemingway,...

Black Americans, crucial workers in crises, emerge worse off – not better

Written by Calvin Schermerhorn, Professor of History, Arizona State University

A group of sharecroppers, evicted from their land in the Great Depression, stand beside a Missouri road in January 1939.GHI/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

On June 19, 1865 – 155 years ago – black Americans celebrating the day of Jubilee, later known as Juneteenth, may have expected a shot at real opportunity. Freedom from slaver...

Quarantine bubbles – when done right – limit coronavirus risk and help fight loneliness

Written by Melissa Hawkins, Professor of Public Health, Director of Public Health Scholars Program, American University

Quaranteams offer a way to limit the risk of infection while also maintaining social contacts and mental health. Oqvector / iStock Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

After three months of lockdowns, many people in the U.S. and around the world are turning to quarantine bubbles, pandemic pods or quaranteams in an effort to balance the risks of the...

Supreme Court to decide the future of the Electoral College

Written by Morgan Marietta, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell

On Dec. 19, 2016, Colorado elector Micheal Baca, in T-shirt second from left, cast his electoral ballot for John Kasich, though Hillary Clinton had won his state's popular vote.AP Photo/Brennan Linsley

Many Americans are surprised to learn that in U.S. presidential elections, the members of the Electoral College do not necessarily have to pick the...