The Conversation

I interviewed 48 bankrupt Americans – here's who they blame for their financial troubles

Written by Tess Wise, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Amherst College

Preventing home foreclosure is one reason middle-class people may declare Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy.fstop123/E+ via Getty Images

The people arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection had an 18% bankruptcy rate – twice as high as the national average – according to a Washington Post investigation. A quarter of the...

Air filters can scrub out pollutants near highways, reduce blood pressure

Written by Doug Brugge, Professor and Chair of Public Health Science and Community Medicine, University of Connecticut

Busy highways are large sources of air pollution. Larry D. Moore via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

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

The big idea

For people living near busy highways, using air filters indoors results in short-term improvements to blood pressure, according to a new study I co-authored.

Next to busy...

Election violence spiked worldwide in 2020 – will this year be better?

Written by Clayton Besaw, Research Affiliate and Senior Analyst, University of Central Florida

The U.S. was one of 33 countries to experience election-related violence in 2020 – the worst year for peaceful elections ever. Brent Stirton/Getty Images

The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 shocked Americans and the world. But the U.S. was not alone in its rocky transfer of power: Last year saw more election-related violence than...

What belief in extraterrestrial visitors to Earth reveals about trust in elections

Written by Joshua Lambert, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, University of Central Florida

People who believe aliens have visited Earth are less likely to trust the 2020 election results. Colin Anderson Productions pty ltd/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Partisanship is not enough to explain why so many Americans – mostly Republicans – distrust the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

As scholars in political behavior and...

6 important truths about COVID-19 vaccines

Written by Sarah Lynch, Director of Skills Education and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Binghamton University, State University of New York

For many, distinguishing between fact and fiction is difficult.Olemedia/E+ via Getty Images

One of the biggest barriers standing in the way of ending the pandemic isn’t medical or logistical. It’s the misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines.

Demand for vaccine currently exceeds supply, but there are many people who are either unsure...

Black sororities have stood at the forefront of Black achievement for more than a century

Written by Tamara L. Brown, Executive Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of North Texas

Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority members at a get-out-the-vote event in 2020Octavio Jones/Getty Images

In her speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention Kamala Harris saluted seven women who “inspired us to pick up the torch and fight on.”

All but two of them, one of whom was her mother, belonged to Black sororities. Harris also...

Debunking the myth of legislative gridlock

Written by Jeb Barnes, Professor of Political Science, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Laws and policy are being made in Washington -- both inside Congress and out.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

So much for gridlock.

President Joe Biden’s US$1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan is moving steadily through a series of crucial votes in the House and Senate. Its progress toward passage is part of a process known as...

Taking it to the street: Food vending during and after COVID-19

Written by Catherine Brinkley, Assistant Professor of Community and Regional Development, University of California, Davis

People shop at a fruit and vegetable stand in Kips Bay, New York City, on July 10, 2020.Noam Galai/Getty Images

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way we eat.

Because outdoor dining poses less risk of infection, many cities have changed their laws to accommodate public demand.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio estimates that closing 87 streets...

How the National Guard became the go-to military force for riots and civil disturbances

Written by Shannon M. Smith, Associate Professor of History, College of Saint Benedict & Saint John's University

Virginia National Guard troops in front of the U.S. Capitol building, Feb. 5, 2021.Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

The Pentagon has approved leaving 5,000 troops deployed indefinitely to protect the U.S. Capitol from domestic extremist threats, down from about 26,000 deployed after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The National Guard is a...

Faith in numbers: Behind the gender difference of nonreligious Americans

Written by Ryan Burge, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Eastern Illinois University

Woman are more likely to identify with a religion than men.Stock / Getty Images

One of the most consequential stories in American religion in recent years is the rapid and seemingly unceasing rise of “nones” – those who respond to questions about their religious affiliation by indicating that they are atheists, agnostics or...