The Conversation

Coronavirus, kids and school closings: A public health expert answers 4 questions

Written by Aubree Gordon, Professor of Public Health, University of Michigan

The front gate of New Rochelle High School in New Rochelle, N.Y. The school was closed March 11, 2020 as part of efforts to contain spread of coronavirus.AP Photo/Chris Erhmann

Editor’s note: The World Health Organization has declared a coronoavirus pandemic, and more cases have been announced in several states. School closings, such as the s...

The oil shock of 2020 appears to be here – and the pain could be wide and deep

Written by Scott L. Montgomery, Lecturer, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington

Suffering from sanctions, Russia is trying produce more and gain market share. Yegor Aleyev via Getty Images

The world is again undergoing an oil shock.

Prices, already on a downward trend, have collapsed 30% in less than a week, bringing the total fall to nearly 50% since highs in early January. Consumers, of course, can expect gasoline prices to...

The coronavirus will delay agricultural export surges promised in trade deal with China

Written by Wendong Zhang, Assistant Professor of Economics, Iowa State University

Trump talks trade with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The novel coronavirus has shocked the world’s economies.

The virus has spread to more than 100 countries and many U.S. states. This has rattled global stock markets, plunging the Dow more than 2,000 points on March 9 – the biggest one-day drop since the 2008 Great...

Coronavirus and tourism: Places like Alaska without a severe COVID-19 outbreak could still be devastated

Written by Kevin Berry, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage

The vast majority of visitors to Alaska come via a cruise ship.AP Photo/Becky Bohrer

Even if the COVID-19 outbreak in Alaska is limited to the single current confirmed case, its economy may still be at the mercy of the pandemic.

That’s because seasonal tourism plays an outsized role in Alaska’s economy, representing as much as 1 in 10...

This isn't the first time sports teams have played in eerily empty arenas

Written by Chris Lamb, Professor of Journalism, IUPUI

Tomoyuki Sugano of the Yomiuri Giants pitches in front of empty stands at Tokyo Dome during a preseason baseball game.AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

The NBA decided that it will suspend its season after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for the coronavirus, just after the NCAA announced that its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments...

Lessons on wrangling candidates from the masterful moderator of presidential debates, Jim Lehrer

Written by Mary Kate Cary, Adjunct Professor, Department of Politics and Senior Fellow, UVA's Miller Center, University of Virginia

Republican candidate Mitt Romney (L) and Democratic candidate, U.S. President Barack Obama (R) during the 2012 presidential debate in Denver on Oct. 3, moderated by Jim Lehrer. Getty/Chip Somodevilla

Boy, do I miss Jim Lehrer.

I thought of the late PBS anchor and legendary presidential debate moderator fondly while watching the last two Democratic...

Julius Caesar refused to be crowned king

Written by Joanna Kenty, Postdoctoral Faculty Fellow in Classical Studies, Temple University

Marc Antony, left, offers Julius Caesar a crown; Caesar refuses.Bettman/Getty Images

In the wake of his acquittal from impeachment charges, President Donald Trump has been trumpeting his power and firing government officials who had testified against him.

Can he do that?

It’s an important question, in light of an argument his legal team used...

Plagues follow bad leadership in ancient Greek tales

Written by Joel Christensen, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Brandeis University

A scene from a 1911 staging of the ancient Greek classic 'Oedipus Rex.'Imagno/Getty Images

In the fifth century B.C., the playwright Sophocles begins “Oedipus Tyrannos” with the title character struggling to identify the cause of a plague striking his city, Thebes. (Spoiler alert: It’s his own bad leadership.)

As someone who writes...

How coronavirus is upsetting the blood supply chain

Written by Anna Nagurney, John F. Smith Memorial Professor of Operations Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst

The coronavirus could cause shortages in the nation's blood supply. Getty Images / KTS Design / Science Photo Library

The coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, has created enormous anxiety, uncertainty, and disruption to our lives. Much has already been written about potential shortages of medicines and face masks, but little has been...

How does the coronavirus test work? 5 questions answered

Written by Maureen Ferran, Associate Professor of Biology, Rochester Institute of Technology

The U.S. has been scrambling to get testing for the coronavirus up to speed.AP Photo/Francois Mori

The U.S. government is fighting to contain and slow down the spread of the coronavirus. Testing is central to these efforts. Molecular biologist and viral researcher Maureen Ferran answers some basic questions about how these diagnostic tests work...