The Conversation

Think presidential debates are dull? Thank 1950s TV game shows

Written by Michael J. Socolow, Associate Professor, Communication and Journalism, University of Maine

Host Jack Barry, middle, is flanked by contestants on '21,' a 1950s TV game show.Orlando Fernandez/New York World-Telegram and Sun/Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons

Televised political debates continue to disappoint viewers and critics. Sometimes they even frustrate the participants themselves.

That’s because, since their inception,...

Parents of medically fragile children and their kids could use help, understanding year-round

Written by Katherine Rafferty, Assistant Teaching Professor, Iowa State University

Katie Buck holds her son, Alex, 3, who has Trisomy 18, a chromosomal abnormality that causes severe developmental delays. Aly Carroll, CC BY-ND

December is a prime time to fundraise for children’s hospitals and other charities, as people want to give back and help sick children throughout the holiday season.

But for children who live with...

7 reasons to learn a foreign language

Written by Kathleen Stein-Smith, Associate University Librarian; Adjunct Faculty, Fairleigh Dickinson University

America lags when it comes to being able to speak more than one language. Monopoly919/Shutterstock.com

Half of the world population is bilingual, but only 25% of Americans can hold a conversation in another language.

Changing that is one of the goals of language advocacy efforts, such as the Lead with Languages campaign. As the author of a book on...

7 science-based strategies to boost your willpower and succeed with your New Year’s resolutions

Written by Jelena Kecmanovic, Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Georgetown University

Behavioral science has ideas about how to keep on track beyond January.duchic/Shutterstock.com

It’s that time of year when people make their New Year’s resolutions – indeed, 93% of people set them, according to the American Psychological Association. The most common resolutions are related to losing weight, eating healthier,...

My team uses crossbows and drones to collect bacteria from whales – and the results are teaching us how to keep whales healthy

Written by Amy Apprill, Associate Scientist of Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

A bowhead whale breaches the surface of the cold waters near Point Barrow, Alaska.Kate Stafford, University of Washington, CC BY-SA

As we drew closer to the massive humpback whale, I became painfully aware how small our inflatable motorboat actually was. I also realized I’d been unconsciously holding my breath and that conversation in the...

Feeling sick is an emotion meant to help you get better faster

Written by Joshua Schrock, Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology, University of Oregon

The emotion of lassitude might help your body fight off infection by making certain adjustments.Kalinka Georgieva/Shutterstock.com

You know what it’s like to be sick. You feel fatigued, maybe a little depressed, less hungry than usual, more easily nauseated and perhaps more sensitive to pain and cold.

The fact that illness comes with a...

When a chief justice reminded senators in an impeachment trial that they were not jurors

Written by Steven Lubet, Williams Memorial Professor of Law, Northwestern University

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., fields questions from reporters about an impeachment trial in the Senate, Dec. 10, 2019. AP/J. Scott Applewhite

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell created a predictable stir when he told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he would structure the impending impeachment trial of President Donald Trump...

The science of gift wrapping explains why sloppy is better

Written by Erick M. Mas, Postdoctoral Fellow in Marketing, Vanderbilt University

Americans spend a lot of money on gift wrapping supplies. ronstik/Shutterstock.com

They say appearances can be deceiving. In the case of gift giving, they might be right.

Consumers in the U.S. spend billions of dollars a year on wrapping gifts, in most cases to make their presents look as good as possible. This includes money spent on paper, boxes,...

Planetary confusion -- why astronomers keep changing what it means to be a planet

Written by Christopher Palma, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Students and Teaching Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University

In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft looked back toward the sun and captured this near-sunset view of the rugged, icy mountains and flat ice plains extending to Pluto’s horizon. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

As an astronomer, the question I hear the most is why isn’t Pluto a planet anymore? More than 10 years ago, astronomers famously voted...

How can we make sure that algorithms are fair?

Written by Karthik Kannan, Professor of Management and Director of the Krenicki Center for Business Analytics & Machine Learning, Purdue University

When algorithms make decisions with real-world consequences, they need to be fair.R-Type/Shutterstock.com

Using machines to augment human activity is nothing new. Egyptian hieroglyphs show the use of horse-drawn carriages even before 300 B.C. Ancient Indian literature such as “Silapadikaram” has described animals being used for farming....