The Conversation

Reports of the death of congressional oversight are greatly exaggerated

Written by Kirsten Carlson, Associate Professor of Law and Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science, Wayne State University

The U.S .Capitol on February 20, 2020 in Washington, D.C. Getty/Alex Edelman/AFP

For over 200 years, Congress and the executive branch have maintained a delicate balance of power. When disputes between the two branches have arisen, they have compromised and turned to the courts only as a last resort.

Recently, an appeals court ruled in House...

How to talk to someone you believe is misinformed about the coronavirus

Written by Emma Frances Bloomfield, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Don't shout or lecture – just talk.fizkes/Shutterstock.com

The medical evidence is clear: The coronavirus global health threat is not an elaborate hoax. Bill Gates did not create the coronavirus to sell more vaccines. Essential oils are not effective at protecting you from coronavirus.

But those facts have not stopped contrary claims from...

Netflix's 'Self-Made' miniseries about Madam C.J. Walker leaves out the mark she made through generosity

Written by Tyrone McKinley Freeman, Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Director of Undergraduate Programs, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, IUPUI

Octavia Spencer, left, stars in this rags-to-riches tale, along with Blair Underwood.Amanda Matlovich/Netflix

The Netflix series “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker” brings to life part of a fascinating rags-to-riches tale I’ve been researching for the past 10 years.

Walker, widely documented to have been...

Prosecutors are increasingly – and misleadingly – using rap lyrics as evidence in court

Written by Erik Nielson, Associate Professor of Liberal Arts, University of Richmond

You wouldn't think Bob Marley 'shot the sheriff,' but rappers are held to a double standard.k1003mike/Shutterstock.com

Rapper Darrell Caldwell, better known to fans as Drakeo the Ruler, was on his way to stardom. Hailed as one of the most original rappers to emerge from Los Angeles in a generation, he had garnered hundreds of thousands of followers...

Should Trump shut down the stock market? 4 questions answered

Written by Jonathan T. Fluharty-Jaidee, Assistant Department Chair and Professor of Finance, West Virginia University

The normally busy floor of the New York Stock Exchange was empty on Oct. 29, 2012, during Hurricane Sandy.AP Photo/Richard Drew

Editor’s note: Financial markets across the globe have plunged repeatedly in recent weeks over concerns about the growing economic toll from the coronavirus pandemic, on some days falling over 10%. This has raised...

St. Patrick’s Day: A time to toast ... your liver

Written by Marie-Pierre Hasne, PhD, Pharm.D. Lecturer, College of Medicine-Tucson, University of Arizona

St. Patrick and Ireland may be mostly on your mind on March 17, but it's also a time to toast your liver.VGstockstudio/Shutterstock.com

St. Patrick’s Day is here, and even though most big celebrations have been canceled because of coronavirus, we still have something to cheer over – our livers.

If St. Patrick is celebrated for his...

St. Patrick’s Day: A time to toast ... your liver and how it deals with green beer

Written by Marie-Pierre Hasne, PhD, Pharm.D. Lecturer, College of Medicine-Tucson, University of Arizona

St. Patrick and Ireland may be mostly on your mind on March 17, but it's also a time to toast your liver.VGstockstudio/Shutterstock.com

St. Patrick’s Day is here, and even though most big celebrations have been canceled because of coronavirus, we still have something to cheer over – our livers.

If St. Patrick is celebrated for his...

The Fed will have to do a lot more than cut rates to zero to stop Wall Street's coronavirus panic

Written by Alexander Kurov, Professor of Finance and Fred T. Tattersall Research Chair in Finance, West Virginia University

A sea of red.AP Photo/Craig Ruttle

The Federal Reserve is 0 for 2 in its fight against Wall Street’s coronavirus panic, seeming to confirm perceptions of the central bank’s impotence.

The Fed’s first attempt to calm thing down – a half-point surprise rate cut on March 3 – failed because markets knew the Fed was almost...

Fear can spread from person to person faster than the coronavirus – but there are ways to slow it down

Written by Jacek Debiec, Assistant Professor / Department of Psychiatry; Assistant Research Professor / Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan

It's hard not to be scared of an invisible and spreading threat.AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

As cases of COVID-19 proliferate, there’s a pandemic of fear unfolding alongside the pandemic of the coronavirus.

Media announce mass cancellations of public events “over coronavirus fears.” TV stations show images of “coronavirus panic...

Pete Buttigieg's coded language shows the limits and promise of LGBTQ progress

Written by Nathaniel Frank, Director, What We Know Project, Cornell University

Pete Buttigieg speaks with members of the media on March 1 in Plains, Georgia.AP Photo/Matt Rourke

According to family lore, my father suspected I was gay when I was six because I liked cars with windshield wipers in the rear. (As a shrink, he’s always had a penchant for looking under the hood, so to speak.)

There were other clues too. I used...