The Conversation

2020 campaign shows the more women run, the more they are treated like candidates – not tokens

Written by Elizabeth C. Tippett, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Oregon

There's power in numbers. Mad Dog/Shutterstock.com

When Victoria Woodhull ran for president in 1872, she was depicted as “Mrs. Satan” in a political cartoon.

When Sen. Margaret Chase Smith sought the Republican nomination in 1964, one columnist labeled her too old – at 66 – while others insisted she was attractive “for...

How American anti-Semitism reflects the centuries-long struggle over the meaning of religious liberty

Written by Tisa Wenger, Associate Professor of American Religious History, Yale University

A mother hugs her son at the memorial of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2019, the first anniversary of the shooting at the synagogue.AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Americans recently observed the first anniversary of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, in which 11 were killed and six wounded.

A year earlier,...

Mothers in prison aren't likely to see their families this Thanksgiving – or any other day

Written by Jill McCorkel, Professor of Sociology and Criminology, Villanova University

Nearly two-thirds of imprisoned mothers have never received a visit from their children.Shutterstock/Sakhorn

On a mid-October morning, I drove from Philadelphia to State Correctional Institution Muncy, Pennsylvania’s oldest and largest women’s prison.

The prison, located in the north central part of the state, is set at the base of a...

Protections against sexual misconduct on campus may end up stifling free speech

Written by Laurel Leff, Associate Professor of Journalism, Northeastern University

Victims of sexual violence and their supporters gather to protest outside a speech from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos at George Mason University Arlington, Virginia.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

The student journalists we and other university faculty work with tackle difficult issues in our classrooms and for student publications. They write about...

Fight or switch? How the low-carbon transition is disrupting fossil fuel politics

Written by Cara Daggett, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Virginia Tech

Commuters idle in rush-hour traffic outside Philadelphia. AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma

As the Trump administration works to weaken regulations on fossil fuel production and use, a larger struggle is playing out across multiple industries. Until recently, oil companies and their defenders generally reacted to calls for regulating carbon emissions by spr...

Cartel sieges leave Mexicans wondering if criminals run the country

Written by Angélica Durán-Martínez, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Clouds of smoke from burning cars mark the skyline of Culiacan, Mexico, during a 12-hour siege by the Sinaloa Cartel, Oct. 17, 2019. AP Photo/Hector Parra

Recent deadly attacks by criminal organizations have instilled fear across Mexico.

In mid-October, shootouts between cartels and police in the states of Guerrero and Michoacán killed over...

Do lockdown drills do any good?

Written by Jaclyn Schildkraut, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, State University of New York Oswego

Drills can help people learn how to respond when an active shooter situation arises, as recently occurred in Santa Clarita, Calif.AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

School lockdown drills and exercises are controversial today, due in large part to some troubling examples making headlines.

Teachers in Monticello, Indiana, for example, were hurt when they...

Americans bankrupted by health care costs: 4 questions answered

Written by Simon F. Haeder, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Pennsylvania State University

Amanda Gershon testifies at a public hearing on Medicaid expansion in Lincoln, Nebraska, Oct. 16, 2018. Gershon had $60,000 worth of medical debt at age 22 because of an autoimmune illness.Nati Harnik/AP Photo

Medical bankruptcy has been a talking point for many Democratic candidates as they make their individual cases for health care reform. This...

Vitamin E and vaping injuries: What's safe in your diet is rarely safe in your lungs

Written by Cosby Stone, Instructor in Allergy/Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University

A vitamin E acetate sample during a tour of the Medical Marijuana Laboratory of Organic and Analytical Chemistry at the Wadsworth Center in Albany, New York on Nov. 4, 2019.Hans Pennink/AP Photo

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced a preliminary finding that implicates a vitamin E additive as the potential cause of lung...

Gluten-sensitive liberals? Investigating the stereotype suggests food fads unite us all

Written by Trey Malone, Assistant Professor and Extension Economist, Michigan State University

Lots of common foods tend to be full of gluten.Ezume Images/Shutterstock.com

Sitting down for a family feast, do you need to gird yourself for battle in the ongoing sociopolitical culture war? In today’s hyperpartisan United States, common food products have become proxies for conservative and liberal values. Meat-eating Republicans versus qui...