The Conversation

How US Education Secretary nominee Miguel Cardona can stop the teacher shortage

Written by Bob Spires, Associate Professor of Education, University of Richmond

U.S. Secretary of Education nominee Miguel Cardona testifies during his confirmation hearing.Susan Walsh/Getty Images

Editor’s note: Miguel Cardona – President Joe Biden’s choice for secretary of education – faces several urgent and contentious priorities, including reopening schools safely, addressing systemic racism within...

US-educated foreign soldiers learn 'democratic values,' study shows – though America also trains future dictators

Written by Sandor Fabian, Research Fellow, University of Central Florida

Foreign military students from the U.S. Navy's Patrol Craft Officer course conduct a field training exercise at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi in 2009. Department of Defense

The leadership of a U.S.-trained special operations officer, Col. Assimi Goita, in Mali’s August 2020 coup has reignited an old American debate about whether...

'The Mauritanian' rekindles debate over Gitmo detainees' torture – with 40 still held there

Written by Lisa Hajjar, Professor of Sociology, University of California Santa Barbara

The Office of Military Commissions building in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was where much legal activity about the detainees' cases was handled.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

“The Mauritanian,” directed by Kevin Macdonald, is the first feature film to dramatize how the war on terror became a war in court.

As a sociologist of law and a journalist, I...

The $4 trillion economic cost of not vaccinating the entire world

Written by Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, Professor of Economics, University of Maryland

The success of Brazil's vaccine program will have a ripple effect on countries to which it exports commodities such as steel.Michael Dantas/AFP via Getty Images

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Rolling out a vaccine to stop the spread of a global pandemic doesn’t come cheap. Billions of dollars have been spent developing drugs and putting in place a program to get...

How Apple and Google let your phone warn you if you've been exposed to the coronavirus while protecting your privacy

Written by Johannes Becker, Doctoral student in Electrical & Computer Engineering, Boston University

Exposure notification systems alert people when they've been exposed to the coronavirus but don't record the information.AleksandarGeorgiev/E+ via Getty Images

Virginia has enabled app-less COVID-19 exposure notification services for iPhone users, joining California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Washington, Wisconsin...

How the gay party scene short-circuited and became a moneymaking bonanza

Written by Christopher T. Conner, Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Missouri-Columbia

Revelers party during the Circuit Festival's Water Park Day in Vilassar de Mar, Spain, in August 2016.Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images

When coronavirus restrictions threatened the White Party, an annual circuit party held in Palm Springs, California, the organizer, Jeffrey Sanger, decided to move the festivities to Jalisco, Mexico.

Gay partygoers...

Should I stay or should I go? Here are the relationship factors people ponder when deciding whether to break up

Written by Gary W. Lewandowski Jr., Professor of Psychology, Monmouth University

Are you feeling more 'soul mate' or 'k bye' about your relationship?Christine_Kohler/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Where do you see yourself in five years? It’s a standard job interview question, but it’s an even better question to ask yourself about your relationship.

The person you talk to, date, move in with, get engaged to, marry,...

Así es como tus bacterias y microbios pueden salvarte de enfermedades como el COVID-19

Written by Ana Maldonado-Contreras, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Los microbios que viven dentro de ti que son esenciales para combatir las amenazas, incluido el virus que causa COVID-19.Dr_Microbe/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Puede que no lo sepas, pero tienes un ejército de microbios viviendo dentro de ti que son esenciales para combatir las amenazas, incluido el virus que causa COVID-19.

En las...

For the birds? Hardly! Valentine's Day was reimagined by chivalrous medieval poets for all to enjoy, respectfully

Written by Jennifer Wollock, Professor of English, Texas A&M University

Roses are red, thieving birds are blue. My neck is aching, are you uncomfortable too?Universitatbibliothek Heidelberg

Valentine’s Day annoys many people.

For many in a relationship, the pressure to impress a partner can weigh heavily, and expensive gifts serve as a reminder of the relentless commercialization of the holiday. Meanwhile those...

Investors swoon over Bumble's IPO – but what exactly is an initial public offering?

Written by Jonathan T. Fluharty-Jaidee, Assistant Department Chair and Professor of Finance, West Virginia University

Bumble's IPO raised $2.15 billion for the women-go-first dating app.Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

Bumble raised US$2.15 billion in an initial public offering, or IPO, late on Feb. 10, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Investors swooned over the women-go-first dating app, buying more shares and at a higher price than initially expected,...