The Conversation

200 years of exploring Antarctica – the world's coldest, most forbidding and most peaceful continent

Written by Dan Morgan, Associate Dean and Principal Senior Lecturer in Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University

Aerial view of a glacier in the Antarctic peninsula region.Getty Images/Mario Tama

Antarctica is the remotest part of the world, but it is a hub of scientific discovery, international diplomacy and environmental change. It was officially discovered 200 years ago, on Jan. 27, 1820, when members of a Russian expedition sighted land in what is now...

When lesbians led the women's suffrage movement

Written by Anya Jabour, Regents Professor of History, The University of Montana

A suffrage parade.Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division

As Americans commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which granted voting rights to some – but not all – women, it is important to acknowledge the lesbian leaders of the suffrage movement.

A leadership team of three women with “lesbian-like”...

Precedent? Nah, the Senate gets to reinvent its rules in every impeachment

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

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., during debate over rules for the Senate impeachment trial against President Donald Trump, Jan. 21, 2020.Senate Television via AP

Everybody seems to be using the word “precedent” right now.

Commentators, the media and even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell use it when they discuss or...

Joaquin Phoenix's lips mocked - here's what everyone should know about cleft lip

Written by Mary L. Marazita, Director, Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics; Professor of Oral Biology and of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh

Joaquin Phoenix won the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role for 'Joker' at the 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

After discussing actor Joaquin Phoenix’s appearance on her talk show earlier this month, Wendy Williams received near universal condemnation for mocking those...

Joaquin Phoenix's lips mocked – here's what everyone should know about cleft lip

Written by Mary L. Marazita, Director, Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics; Professor of Oral Biology and of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh

Joaquin Phoenix won the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role for 'Joker' at the 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

After discussing actor Joaquin Phoenix’s appearance on her talk show earlier this month, Wendy Williams received near universal condemnation for mocking those...

Reclaman a Cuba por detención prolongada de un disidente – pero ¿es José Daniel Ferrer un prisionero político?

Written by María Isabel Alfonso, Professor of Spanish, St. Joseph's College of New York

José Daniel Ferrer fue aliado del gobierno de Barack Obama en la apertura entre EEUU y Cuba.Photo by Sven Creutzmann/Getty Images

Estados Unidos y Cuba están involucrados en una disputa internacional por la detención prolongada de un disidente.

José Daniel Ferrer, líder de la organización opositora...

African Americans take on more debt for grad school – but the payoff is also bigger

Written by Jaymes Pyne, Quantitative Research Associate, Stanford University

African Americans take on greater debt than whites to earn an advanced degree. Does the payoff make it worth it?Damir Khabirov/Shutterstock.com

When seeking graduate and professional degrees, African Americans take on over 50% more debt than white students. On the upside, African Americans also see a bigger payoff to earning such degrees. Whether...

US and Cuba spar over jailed dissident – but is José Daniel Ferrer really a political prisoner?

Written by María Isabel Alfonso, Professor of Spanish, St. Joseph's College of New York

Cuban dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer was a US ally in Cuba during the Obama-era restoration of diplomatic and economic ties with the Island.Sven Creutzmann/Getty Images

Cuba and the United States are in dispute over the prolonged detention of a Cuban dissident.

José Daniel Ferrer, head of an opposition group called Patriotic Union of Cuba, has...

A brief history of black names, from Perlie to Latasha

Written by Trevon Logan, Hazel C. Youngberg Distinguished Professor of Economics, The Ohio State University

Black names have changed over the centuries.fizkes/Shutterstock.com

Most people recognize that there are first names given almost exclusively by black Americans to their children, such as Jamal and Latasha.

While fodder for comedians and social commentary, many have assumed that these distinctively black names are a modern phenomenon. My research...

Why California is banning chlorpyrifos, a widely-used pesticide: 5 questions answered

Written by Gina Solomon, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Starting Feb. 6, 2020, California growers will be barred from using the insecticide chlorpyrifos on grapes and other crops.AP Photo/Eric Risberg

Editor’s note: California, the top U.S. food-producing state, is ending use of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide associated with neurodevelopmental problems and impaired brain function in children. Gina...