The Conversation

One 19th-century artist's effort to grapple with tuberculosis resonates during COVID-19

Written by Elizabeth Lee, Associate Professor of Art History, Dickinson College

A detail from Abbott Thayer's 1887 painting 'Angel,' in which his eldest daughter appears as a heavenly figure.Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of John Gellatly

Like everyone else, artists have been challenged by new conditions and routines since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have had to adjust what they make as well as how and...

Fine-particle air pollution has decreased across the US, but poor and minority communities are still the most polluted

Written by Jonathan Colmer, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Virginia

Fresno, California and the surrounding San Joaquin Valley have some of the nation's highest levels of fine particle air pollution.AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian

Air pollution contributes to as many as 9 million premature deaths worldwide each year – twice as many as war, other violence, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Fine particulate...

How California’s COVID-19 surge widens health inequalities for Black, Latino and low-income residents

Written by Andrea N. Polonijo, Medical Sociologist, University of California, Riverside

Reliance on public transit and front-line jobs puts low-income Californians at a higher risk of coming in contact with someone infected with the coronavirus.Mario Tama/Getty Images

California, once a national role model for slowing the coronavirus’s spread, has seen record numbers of infections, hospitalizations and deaths in recent days. The...

Hitler en casa: cómo la máquina de relaciones públicas nazi reinventó la imagen doméstica del Führer y engañó al mundo

Written by Despina Stratigakos, Professor of Architecture, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Hitler se vendió en publicaciones internacionales como un amante de la naturaleza.ww2gallery/flickr, CC BY-NC

El 16 de marzo de 1941, mientras las ciudades europeas ardían y los judíos eran conducidos a guetos, The New York Times Magazine publicó una historia ilustrada sobre el retiro de Adolf Hitler en los Alpes de...

Test positivity rate: How this one figure explains that the US isn't doing enough testing yet

Written by Ronald D. Fricker, Jr., Professor of Statistics and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Administration, Virginia Tech

As cases surge, testing needs to increase as well.AP Photo/David J. Phillip

The U.S. has performed more coronavirus tests than any other country in the world. Yet, at the same time, the U.S. is notably underperforming in terms of suppressing COVID-19. Confirmed cases – as well as deaths – are surging in many parts of the country. Some...

Energy is a basic need, and many Americans are struggling to afford it in the COVID-19 recession

Written by Sanya Carley, Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University

The COVID-19 recession has made it harder for many Americans to pay their energy bills. Getty Images

Several months into the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, lower-income families are struggling to pay their energy bills. That’s a big concern during extreme events like summer heat waves, which can be deadly – especially for elderly people,...

The importance of blood tests for Alzheimer's: 2 neuroscientists explain the recent findings

Written by Steven DeKosky, Deputy Director, McKnight Brain Institute, Aerts-Cosper Professor of Alzheimer’s Research, and Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Florida

Dana Gasby, left, interacts with her mother B. Smith in their East Hampton home on Long Island, New York, on Wednesday, January 9, 2019. B. Smith has Alzheimer's Disease.Karten Moran for The Washington Post via Getty Images

A blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease moved closer to reality this week after new findings were announced at the...

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...