The Conversation

Enslaved people's health was ignored from the country's beginning, laying the groundwork for today's health disparities

Written by Eric Kyere, Assistant professor, social work, IUPUI

Freed slaves on the plantation of Confederate General Thomas F. Drayton in Hilton Head, South Carolina. This photograph was taken circa 1865.Getty Images / CORBIS

Some critics of Black Lives Matter say the movement itself is racist. Their frequent counterargument: All lives matter. Lost in that view, however, is a historical perspective. Look back...

5 takeaways from MacKenzie Scott's $1.7 billion in support for social justice causes

Written by Elizabeth J. Dale, Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Leadership, Seattle University

Jeff Bezos's ex-wife is funding efforts to dismantle racism and fight homophobia.Romy Arroyo Fernandez/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has announced that she’s disbursed nearly US$1.7 billion to 116 organizations, since first publicly discussing her giving intentions in May of 2019. Most of the...

Next COVID casualty: Cities hit hard by the pandemic face bankruptcy

Written by Mark Davidson, Associate Professor of Urban Geography, Clark University

The pandemic's longterm effects could include city bankruptcies across the U.S.Olivier Douliery / AFP via Getty Images

U.S. cities are fast running out of cash.

The pandemic will reduce local government revenues by an estimated US$11.6 billion in 2020. With COVID-19 requiring residents to stay home and stores to shutter, the bulk of this reduction...

Don't blame cats for destroying wildlife – shaky logic is leading to moral panic

Written by William S. Lynn, Research Scientist, Clark University

Are cats really to blame for the worldwide loss of biodiversity?Dzurag/iStock via Getty Images Plus

A number of conservationists claim cats are a zombie apocalypse for biodiversity that need to be removed from the outdoors by “any means necessary” – coded language for shooting, trapping and poisoning. Various media outlets have por...

Business major fails to attract Latino students

Written by Kevin Singer, PhD Student, Research Assistant with IDEALS (Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Study), North Carolina State University

Latinx students majoring in business are underrepresented in higher education.FatCamera/GettyImages

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the inequity of the U.S. economy toward minority racial and ethnic groups. Research shows that successful entrepreneurship can help reduce the racial wealth disparity, especially for the Latino community.

For example,...

Why is Eid celebrated twice a year and how has coronavirus changed the festival?

Written by Ken Chitwood, Lecturer, Concordia College New York | Journalist-fellow, USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, Concordia College New York

Worshippers wearing protective face masks and gloves offer Eid al-Fitr prayers in Teheran.AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi

Editor’s note: At sundown on July 30, Muslims all over the world celebrated one of the principal festivals, Eid al-Adha. Earlier in May, Muslims celebrated Eid al-Fitr. Ken Chitwood, a scholar of global Islam, explains the two...

Private browsing: What it does – and doesn't do – to shield you from prying eyes on the web

Written by Lorrie Cranor, Professor of Computer Science and of Engineering & Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

The major browsers have privacy modes, but don't confuse privacy for anonymity.Oleg Mishutin/iStock via Getty Images

Many people look for more privacy when they browse the web by using their browsers in privacy-protecting modes, called “Private Browsing” in Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Apple Safari; “Incognito” in Google...

Stella Immanuel’s theories about the relationship between demons, illness and sex have a long history

Written by Brandon W. Hawk, Associate Professor of English, Rhode Island College

Matfre Ermengaud's 'Temptation by Lechery' from a 14th-century manuscript.The British Library

President Donald Trump has a new favorite doctor.

On July 27, the president and his son Donald Trump, Jr. tweeted a viral video featuring Dr. Stella Immanuel, in which the Houston pediatrician rejected the effectiveness of wearing face masks for preventing...

Militias' warning of excessive federal power comes true – but where are they?

Written by Amy Cooter, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Vanderbilt University

Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland, Oregon, on July 20, 2020.AP Photo/Noah Berger

Militias and many other Second Amendment advocates have long argued that their primary desire to own firearms – often, many of them – is rooted in a need to protect themselves and their families...

Parents with children forced to do school at home are drinking more

Written by Susan Sonnenschein, Professor, Applied Development Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

More people turn to alcohol in the wake of disasters, research has found.Kerkez/GettyImages

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

The big idea

We found that parents who are stressed by having to help their children with distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic drink seven more drinks per month than parents who do...