The Conversation

China turns on the charm and angers Trump as it eyes a global opportunity in coronavirus crisis

Written by Klaus W. Larres, Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor; Adjunct Professor of the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

China has its eyes on a post-coronavirus world.Ng Han Guan/AP Photo

A new “red scare” is developing in the U.S.

While Beijing is busy with a global propaganda crusade following the spread of the coronavirus from China to around the world, foreign policy hawks in Washington are seething.

Donald Trump lashes out at Beijing’s response...

Doctors facing grim choice over ventilators told to put patients with disabilities at the back of the line

Written by Deborah Hellman, Professor of Law, University of Virginia

With a large number of patients with COVID-19, doctors face difficult choices.John Moore/Getty Images

As cases related to the novel coronavirus continue to strain hospitals, doctors face difficult choices about rationing scarce medical resources like ventilators – choices that will likely determine who lives and who dies.

Several...

Trump versus the states: What federalism means for the coronavirus response

Written by Jennifer Selin, Kinder Institute Assistant Professor of Constitutional Democracy, University of Missouri-Columbia

On April 13, the president said he had the authority to order the states to reopen the economy.Getty/Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post

President Donald Trump recently attempted to explain the complex relationship between the federal government and the states, as outlined by the framers in 1787.

“[Y]ou can call it ‘federalist,’ you...

Can your pets get coronavirus, and can you catch it from them?

Written by Annette O'Connor, Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology, Michigan State University

Our pets are always close at hand. Are they at risk during the pandemic?Mayte Torres/Moment via Getty Images

Humans and animals share many diseases. And as dramatically shown by the tigers that tested positive in the Bronx Zoo, the coronavirus is one of them. As three veterinary epidemiologists who study infectious disease, we have been asked a lot...

Some states more ready for mail-in voting than others

Written by Steven Mulroy, Law Professor in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Election Law, University of Memphis

Wisconsin voters had to wait in line in April, wearing masks, because they could not vote by mail. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

When Wisconsin voters and officials sought to adapt the state’s spring elections to better observe social distancing guidelines, the U.S. Supreme Court refused. One of the changes state officials had asked...

The coronavirus pandemic is making the US housing crisis even worse

Written by Isabel Solange Muñoz, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Tennessee

A pedestrian walks past graffiti in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

Ninety-five percent of Americans have been ordered to stay at home to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

As a human geographer who studies experiences of home and housing, I find a certain irony to these orders, particularly when wrapped in messages...

1918 flu pandemic killed 12 million Indians, and British overlords' indifference strengthened the anti-colonial movement

Written by Maura Chhun, Community Faculty, Metropolitan State University

Cremation on the banks of the Ganges river, India.Keystone-France via Getty Images

In India, during the 1918 influenza pandemic, a staggering 12 to 13 million people died, the vast majority between the months of September and December. According to an eyewitness, “There was none to remove the dead bodies and the jackals made a feast.”

A...

Catholic Church urges Venezuela to unite against coronavirus

Written by David Smilde, Professor of Sociology, Tulane University

He may be praying, but so far the Pope has declined to intervene in Venezuela's crisis to aid a unified coronavirus response.LUIS ACOSTA/AFP via Getty Images

Coronavirus hasn’t yet hit Venezuela as hard as neighboring Brazil and Colombia. But after years of economic and political crisis, the country’s institutions are in ruins and expert...

Massive spending in a crisis brought bloody consequences in ancient Athens

Written by Mark Munn, Professor of Ancient Greek History and Greek Archaeology, Pennsylvania State University

A steel engraving of the naval battle of Arginusae in 406 B.C.Allgemeine Weltgeschichte, 1898/Getty Images

The jump in federal spending in response to the crisis of the coronavirus pandemic is not a new idea. Nearly 2,500 years ago, the people of ancient Athens had a similar plan – which succeeded in meeting the major threat they faced, but...

Why prisoners are at higher risk for the coronavirus: 5 questions answered

Written by Martha Hurley, Professor and Director of Criminal Justice Studies, University of Dayton

People wearing protective masks leave the Cook County jail complex in Chicago, Illinois.Scott Olson/Getty Images

COVID-19 has created a new norm for human interaction: social distancing, improving hygiene with soap and hand sanitizer, wearing a mask and quarantining.

But what does this mean for the more than 2 million people held in local, state...