The Conversation

What the coronavirus crisis reveals about vulnerable populations behind bars and on the streets

Written by Stephanie Hartwell, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Professor of Sociology and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University

Inmates work in the laundry room at Las Colinas Women's Detention Facility in Santee, California, on April 22, 2020.Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

The notion that COVID-19 is an equal opportunity killer has crumbled. The health and economic fallout from the crisis has disproportionately hit lower-income areas and communities of color. Nowhere...

Coronavirus diets: What's behind the urge to eat like little kids?

Written by Carli Liguori, Instructor of Nutrition and Behavior Change, University of Pittsburgh

Pizza, hot dogs and fries, oh my!Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Have you noticed grabbing an extra bag of chips at the supermarket? Or eating more frozen dinners than you used to? Or even eating snacks that you haven’t eaten since you were a little kid?

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended nearly every facet of our daily lives, from how...

How the Lyme disease epidemic is spreading and why ticks are so hard to stop

Written by Durland Fish, Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases), Yale University

Ticks that transmit Lyme disease continue to expand their range.AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

In the 1970s, an epidemic of mysterious arthritis-like symptoms began spreading among children in the lushly wooded area around Lyme, Connecticut. Scientists traced the cause to tick bites and named it Lyme disease, but why it had suddenly appeared there was a...

Amid pandemic, campaigning turns to the internet

Written by Jennifer Stromer-Galley, Professor of Information Studies, Syracuse University

Joe Biden's basement bookshelf has become a familiar background for his campaign videos.Photo by JoeBiden.com via Getty Images

This feels like it could be the most revolutionary moment in U.S. campaign history: Candidates are robbed of the typical ways for connecting with supporters and changing the hearts and minds of the voting public.

The...

Why it's wrong to blame livestock farms for coronavirus

Written by Alison Van Eenennaam, Researcher, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis

Backyard chickens may seem free and happy, but are at increased risk of contracting diseases from wild birds.Bruce Turner/Flickr, CC BY

As part of the global response to the current pandemic, scientists are trying to identify the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Some commentators have promoted unsubstantiated theories suggesting that “factory...

Bankruptcy courts ill-prepared for tsunami of people going broke from coronavirus shutdown

Written by Paige Marta Skiba, Economist, Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University

The courts are sheltering in place too. 101cats/Getty Images

As more Americans lose all or part of their incomes and struggle with mounting debts, another crisis looms: a wave of personal bankruptcies.

Bankruptcy can discharge or erase many types of debts and stop foreclosures, repossessions and wage garnishments. But our research shows the...

Surprise medical bills continue during coronavirus time, and Congress still misses major points

Written by Barak Richman, Katharine T. Bartlett Professor of Law, Duke University

Surprise medical bills are the scourge of patients.Getty Images / LdF

I am a health policy scholar who became a patient last year, when I needed a surgical repair to a heart valve. My two identities united the day after my operation, when a congenial woman from the admissions department came to discuss my insurance with me.

Her intent was to make...

What is a clinical trial? A health policy expert explains

Written by Zoe McLaren, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Over 2,000 drugs are approved by the FDA for human use. Yulia Reznikov/Movement via Getty Images

A commonly used malaria drug was recently proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 during a White House press briefing, even though it hadn’t yet been properly evaluated in clinical trials or approved for this use. Does the urgency of the current...

'Blue state bailouts'? Some states like New York send billions more to federal government than they get back

Written by Laura Schultz, Director of Fiscal Analysis and Senior Economist, Rockefeller Institute of Government, SUNY Empire State College

Eight states send far more to the federal government through taxes than they see in annual federal spending.Noam Galai/Getty Images

When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, expressed reluctance to fund coronavirus relief for hard-hit cities and states, suggesting they would be “blue state bailouts,” New York...

Everyday ethics: Is it OK to feed stray cats during the coronavirus crisis?

Written by Lee McIntyre, Research Fellow, Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University

A cat basks in the New Jersey sunshine amid coronavirus lockdown.Mark Makela/Getty Image

A lot of people are facing ethical decisions about their daily life as a result of the coronavirus. Ethicist Lee McIntyre has stepped in to help provide advice over the moral dilemmas we face. If you have a question you’d like a philosopher to answer,...