The Conversation

National parks – even Mount Rushmore – show that there's more than one kind of patriotism

Written by Jennifer Ladino, Professor of English, University of Idaho

To some Americans, the figures on Mount Rushmore are patriotic leaders; to others, they're colonizers. AP Photo/Stephen Groves

July 4th will be quieter than usual this year, thanks to COVID-19. Many U.S. cities are canceling fireworks displays to avoid drawing large crowds that could promote the spread of coronavirus.

But President Trump is...

How racism in US health system hinders care and costs lives of African Americans

Written by Tamika C.B. Zapolski, Associate Professor of Pyschology, IUPUI

Mortality rates for COVID-19 are two to three times higher for African Americans than whites.Getty Images/EyeEm/Robin Gentry

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the U.S., the virus hit African Americans disproportionately hard. African Americans are still contracting the illness – and dying from it – at rates twice as high as would be...

Money talks: Big business, political strategy and corporate involvement in US state politics

Written by Richard A. Devine, American University

Protesters rally to have Colorado's then-incoming governor put an up-to-nine-month moratorium on oil and gas development.Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Political spending by corporations is big business.

As one corporate executive with experience in business-government relations says, “A company that is dependent on...

As professional sports come back, members of the US women's soccer team are still paid less than the men's

Written by Julie Manning Magid, Professor of Business Law, IUPUI

Fans rally for the U.S. women's soccer team.Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

The U.S. women’s soccer team reported being “shocked and disappointed” by a federal judge’s dismissal in May of the team’s lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation.

The lawsuit alleged discriminatory pay practices by the federation between...

Fast food is comforting, but in low-income areas it crowds out fresher options

Written by Catherine Keske, Associate Professor, Management of Complex Systems, University of California, Merced

Many Americans find comfort in familiar fast-food meals, but they undercut local food security.Getty Images

Many Americans take comfort in the routine of jumping into the car and grabbing a burger. They choose restaurants with familiar faces behind the counter. They even yearn for a favorite “greasy spoon” diner while having to cook for...

In this era of protest over racism, will colleges embrace Black student activists?

Written by Ted Thornhill, Associate Professor of Sociology, Florida Gulf Coast University

Will protests on campus look different after COVID-19?Al Seib/Getty Images

In 2018, sociologist Ted Thornhill found that Black students who profess an interest in fighting racism were less likely to get a response from college admission officers than other Black students when inquiring about whether they would be a good fit for a particular college....

Coronavirus and cancer hijack the same parts in human cells to spread – and our team identified existing cancer drugs that could fight COVID-19

Written by Nevan Krogan, Professor and Director of Quantitative Biosciences Institute & Senior Investigator at the Gladstone Institutes, University of California, San Francisco

SARS-CoV-2 turns on a cellular switch to build the tubes in this photo – called filopodia – that might help viral particles – the little spheres – spread more easily.Dr Elizabeth Fischer, NIAID NIH / Bouhaddou et al. © Elsevier 2020, CC BY-ND

Most antivirals in use today target parts of an invading virus itself....

The 'domestic terrorist' designation won't stop extremism

Written by Arie Perliger, Director of Security Studies and Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell

When blocking a highway, who is a domestic terrorist and who is a peaceful protester? And does it make a legal difference?David Ryder/Getty Images

As U.S. politics heat up in advance of the November election, it’s not surprising that extremist groups across the political spectrum are becoming more active and engaged in acts of political...

3 moral virtues necessary for an ethical pandemic response and reopening

Written by Mary Elizabeth Collins, Professor of Social Welfare Policy, Boston University

The coronavirus crisis isn't hitting all communities equally hard, calling for not just aid like this California food bank but also justice-oriented policies to redress harms. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are not equally felt. From the United States to Brazil and the United Kingdom, low-wage...

Northern Ireland's police transformation may hold lessons for the US

Written by Laura A. Weinstein, Adjunct Professor in the Department of History, Queens College, City University of New York

Officers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland redirect traffic around an emergency scene.Peter Muhly/AFP via Getty Images

As citizens and officials across the U.S. consider whether and how to reform policing, they might look to Northern Ireland.

Over the past 20 years, a focused public and government effort has turned police from militarized...