The Conversation

When it comes to reopening churches in the pandemic, Supreme Court says grace ain’t groceries

Written by Ross D. Silverman, Professor of Public Health and Law, Indiana University

Churches have to weigh the risk to congregants in opening too soon.AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

The highest court in the land has given states some leeway in determining when and how to safely reopen places of worship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The move lends support to state officials making science-informed decisions that may inhibit church congregants...

Can the president really order the military to occupy US cities and states?

Written by Jennifer Selin, Kinder Institute Assistant Professor of Constitutional Democracy, University of Missouri-Columbia

President Donald Trump makes a statement to the press in the Rose Garden about restoring "law and order" in the wake of protests.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

After a week of both peaceful protests and violent chaos in the wake of George Floyd’s death, President Donald Trump announced, “If a city or state refuses to take the actions...

George Floyd's death reflects the racist roots of American policing

Written by Connie Hassett-Walker, Assistant Professor of Justice Studies and Sociology, Norwich University

The death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer has sparked widespread outrage.John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Outrage over racial profiling and the killing of African Americans by police officers and vigilantes has recently resurfaced following the death of George Floyd on May 25. Video footage a bystander took of...

Militarization has fostered a policing culture that sets up protesters as 'the enemy'

Written by Tom Nolan, Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology, Emmanuel College

Sheriffs deputies in riot gear move in on protesters in Los Angeles, California. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images

The unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd after being pinned to the ground by the knee of a Minneapolis police officer has left parts of U.S. cities looking like a battle zone.

Night after night, angry protesters have taken to the...

Americans' deepening financial stress will make the coronavirus a lot harder to contain

Written by David Salkever, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

A growing number of Americans are feeling financial stress and unable to afford basics like food and health care.AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Preventing deaths from COVID-19 depends on people who get it seeking treatment – which also allows authorities to track down whom they came in contact with to reduce spread.

But, as the economic pain and...

How the Postal Service helped stamp identity on America – and continues to deliver a common bond today

Written by Amy Werbel, Professor of the History of Art, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)

United States Postal Service mail carrier Frank Colon, 59, departs on his delivery route at the Remcon Circle Post Office amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 30, 2020 in El Paso, Texas.PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images

Americans overwhelmingly support a federal bailout for the cash-starved United States Postal Service. They view the USPS as a...

Mobile technology may support kids learning to recognize emotions in photos of faces

Written by Yalda T. Uhls, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers and Assistant Adjunct Professor in Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles

Many kids use screens all day long and are adept at reading what they see on them.LWA/Dann Tardif/DigitalVision via Getty Images

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

The big idea

An essential social skill is understanding emotion. Children learn about emotion even before language by paying attention to a...

Coronavirus deaths in San Francisco vs. New York: What causes such big differences in cities' tolls?

Written by Laura B. Balzer, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics & Director of the UMass Causality Lab, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Nurses and other health care workers in New York mourned colleagues who have died during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

San Francisco and New York City both reported their first COVID-19 cases during the first week of March. On March 16, San Francisco announced it was ordering residents to stay home to avoid...

India's coronavirus pandemic shines a light on the curse of caste

Written by Sumit Ganguly, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and the Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations, Indiana University

Migrant workers leaving New Delhi to go back to their villages amid the coronavirus lockdownAP Photo/Manish Swarup

Long before the outbreak of COVID-19, a more pernicious form of social distancing was widespread across India: the Hindu caste system. In one form or another, this system – which has existed in the region for over a millennium...

Dying virtually: Pandemic drives medically assisted deaths online

Written by Anita Hannig, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Brandeis University

The late Youssef Cohen moved from New York to Oregon in 2016 because of its aid-in-dying law. During the pandemic, assisted dying for terminal patients has gone online. John Moore/Getty Images

The coronavirus has stripped many of a say in the manner and timing of their own deaths, but for some terminally ill people wishing to die, a workaround...