The Conversation

Drive-thru iftars and coronavirus task forces: How Muslims are observing obligations to the poor this Ramadan

Written by Shariq Siddiqui, Assistant Professor & Director of the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, IUPUI

Volunteers distributing drive-thru iftar meals outside an Islamic center in Falls Church, Virginia.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AF via Getty Images

Many of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims are experiencing the holy month of Ramadan differently this year – disrupted by social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ramadan, which began on...

5 things new graduates should do to plan their careers

Written by Rebecca Cook, Executive Director, Undergraduate Career Services, Indiana University

Research the career paths of those who have the job you want.mihailomilovanovic/Getty Images

Today’s graduates start their job search with a belief that they should enter their company or industry of choice immediately after graduation. At least that’s what we’ve observed in our experience advising thousands of college students...

Not all kids have computers – and they're being left behind with schools closed by the coronavirus

Written by Morgan Polikoff, Associate Professor of Education, University of Southern California

Students without computers are having a rougher time with the new normal.damircudic/Getty Images

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

The big idea

Since 2014, the Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research, located at the University of Southern California, has been tracking trends in health economic well-being,...

COVID-19 shutdowns are clearing the air, but pollution will return as economies reopen

Written by Daniel Cohan, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, Rice University

Clear skies over Los Angeles, April 17, 2020.Araya Diaz/Getty Images

With many economies locked down to slow the spread of coronavirus, people from Beijing to Los Angeles have noticed bluer skies and less smog. Photos from Punjab and Nairobi reveal mountains that had been shrouded in haze for years. Satellites show cleaner air extending across...

The flowers you buy your mom for Mother's Day may be tied to the US war on drugs

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Senior Lecturer, Questrom School of Business, Boston University

Colombia is the world's second-biggest cut flower exporter. AP Photo/Fernando Vergara

What does Mother’s Day flowers have to do with cocaine?

Very little, most people would think. But as an economist, I often explain to my students that the world is economically connected, often in strange ways. The flower business is one of those strange...

Mothers behind bars nurture relationships with visitors in this unusual prison garden

Written by Julie Stevens, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Iowa State University

The design called for plants and play spaces – big improvements over brick and razor wire.Iowa State University student design team, CC BY-ND

Leaves are rustling. You can hear the sound of children kicking a ball, plinking the keys of a toy xylophone. People are laughing and talking.

Are you picturing a prison? My colleagues and I did –...

The killing of Ahmaud Arbery highlights the danger of jogging while black

Written by Rashawn Ray, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland

Footage captured the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery's life.Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Youtube

Unsteady cellphone footage follows a jogger – an apparently young, black man – as he approaches and attempts to run around a white pickup truck parked in the middle of a suburban road. Moments later he lies dead on the ground.

The killing of...

Touching the asteroid Ryugu revealed secrets of its surface and changing orbit

Written by Paul K. Byrne, Associate Professor of Planetary Science, North Carolina State University

Asteroid Ryugu photographed from a distance of about 12 miles (20 kilometers) looks just gray and bland, but a close-up provides more color.JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST, CC BY-SA

On Feb. 21, 2019, we shot an asteroid.

Mor...

Is is safe to visit your mother on Mother's Day? A doctor offers a decision checklist

Written by Claudia Finkelstein, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Michigan State University

Many Mother's Day visits this year will take place by video chats, as people put safety first.Stockwars/Shutterstock.com

As a physician, mother, daughter and socially responsible human, I’m finding Mother’s Day to be complicated for me this year, as it is for millions. Questions of whether and how to see my adult children and my own...

Is it safe to visit your mother on Mother's Day? A doctor offers a decision checklist

Written by Claudia Finkelstein, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Michigan State University

Many Mother's Day visits this year will take place by video chats, as people put safety first.Stockwars/Shutterstock.com