The Conversation

How the US government sold the Peace Corps to the American public

Written by Wendy Melillo, Associate Professor, American University School of Communication

President John F. Kennnedy personally bid the first Peace Corps volunteers farewell.AP Photo/William J. Smith

The Peace Corps, a service organization run by the U.S. government that dispatches volunteers to foreign countries, is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. For the first time in its nearly 60-year history, none of its volunteers is...

Indian philosophy helps us see clearly, act wisely in an interconnected world

Written by Matthew MacKenzie, Professor of Philosophy and Department Chair, Colorado State University

Krishna the charioteer guiding Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra.Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

To say the world today is interconnected is a cliché.

Never before have so many people been linked by their activities and consequences. But knowing how to think and act as a citizen of this small world is no easy matter.

As...

Are religious communities reviving the revival? In the US, outdoor worship has a long tradition

Written by Jeffrey Wheatley, Instructor, of Philosophy & Religious Studies, Iowa State University

A pastor leads a prayer at an outdoor Easter service.AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

Religious communities have been forced to find alternative ways to worship together during the coronavirus pandemic. For some that has meant going online, but others have turned to a distinctly non-digital practice steeped in this history of the American religious...

Militias evaluate beliefs, action as president threatens soldiers in the streets

Written by Amy Cooter, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Vanderbilt University

Members of militia groups demonstrate in Virginia in January 2020.Shay Horse/NurPhoto via Getty Images

So-called “militias” and “patriot groups” have different beliefs and viewpoints, but most of these citizen-focused organizations share a concern about government infringement on individual liberties.

In the wake of George...

What – or who – is antifa?

Written by Stanislav Vysotsky, Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

A police officer pushes an antifa demonstrator out of the way during a 2019 protest in Washington, D.C.Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

The movement called “antifa” gets its name from a short form of “anti-fascist,” which is about the only thing its members agree on.

President Donald Trump and some...

Read more: What – or who – is antifa?

COVID-19's deadliness for men is revealing why researchers should have been studying immune system sex differences years ago

Written by Adam Moeser, Matilda R. Wilson Endowed Chair, Associate Professor of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University

Reports show that the mortality rate among men with COVID-19 is higher than women. Marco Mantovani/Getty Images

When it comes to surviving critical cases of COVID-19, it appears that men draw the short straw.

Initial reports from China revealed the early evidence of increased male mortality associated with COVID. According to the Global Health...

Coronavirus deaths and those of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery have something in common: Racism

Written by April Thames, Associate Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

In Minneapolis, the memorial near the spot where George Floyd died while in police custody. Getty Images / Kerem Yucel

The COVID-19 pandemic and the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery are two major catastrophes that shine a light on longstanding social inequities and injustices toward African Americans. Emerging research in the field of social...

States are making it harder to sue nursing homes over COVID-19: Why immunity from lawsuits is a problem

Written by Tara Sklar, Professor of Health Law and Director, Health Law & Policy Program, University of Arizona

At least 21 states have taken actions within the last four months to limit the liability of health care providers related to the coronavirus.David Ramos/Getty Images

The coronavirus has devastated nursing homes across the country, killing tens of thousands of vulnerable older Americans. Nursing homes did not cause the pandemic, but poor infection...

Supreme Court phoning it in means better arguments, more public engagement

Written by Morgan Marietta, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser presenting via telephone during oral argument before the Supreme Court on May 13, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Not every effect of the pandemic has been negative: The public has been able to hear live arguments of the Supreme Court in a new format that...

Scientific fieldwork 'caught in the middle' of US-Mexico border tensions

Written by Taylor Edwards, Associate Staff Scientist, University of Arizona

The political border cuts in two a region rich in biological and cultural diversity.John Moore/Getty Images News via Getty Images

Imagine you’re a scientist, setting out camera traps to snap pictures of wildlife in a remote area of southern Arizona. You set out with your gear early in the morning, but it took longer than expected to find all...