The Conversation

Not all Americans have a fair path to a good death – racial disparities are real

Written by Jason Ashe, Doctoral Student (Ph.D.), Human Services Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Not everyone has a chance to die in peace and dignity.

What does it mean to “die well”?

The world got an idea recently from the 92-year-old Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, who popularized mindfulness and meditation in the U.S. The monk returned to his home in Vietnam to pass his remaining years. Many admired his desire...

Identifying a fake picture online is harder than you might think

Written by Mona Kasra, Assistant Professor of Digital Media Design, University of Virginia

If you know how photo editing works, you might have a leg up at spotting fakes.Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com

It can be hard to tell whether a picture is real. Consider, as the participants in our recent research did, these two images and see whether you think neither, either or both of them has been doctored.

Image A: Is it real?Mona Kasra, CC BY-NDIm...

The civil rights activist so close to Martin Luther King Jr. she was thought of as his 'other wife'

Written by Jason Miller, Professor of English, North Carolina State University

Civil rights activist Dorothy Cotton teaches a student in one of her Citizenship Education Program classes.Bob Fitch Photography Archive, Department of Special Collections, © Stanford University Libraries, CC BY-NC

In a recent article published in Standpoint Magazine, Pulitzer Prize-winning Martin Luther King Jr. biographer David Garrow...

US poverty statistics ignore millions of struggling Americans

Written by Sophie Mitra, Professor of Economics, Fordham University

Unemployment and a loss of health insurance are two problems not necessarily captured in official poverty measures.tuaindeed/Shutterstock.com

Who counts as poor in the U.S. today?

Measuring the share of the population that experiences poverty is important to understanding and monitoring how the country’s economy is doing. It also informs the...

Corporate boards are supposed to oversee companies but often turn a blind eye

Written by Siri Terjesen, Dean's Faculty Fellow in Entrepreneurship, American University Kogod School of Business

A lot of giant companies are getting into big trouble these days.

When Boeing 737 Max aircraft crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing a total of 346 people in October 2018 and March 2019, the disasters raised serious questions about the safety of the aviation leader’s anti-stall system.

When some 5,000 Wells Fargo employees fraudulently...

For many NBA players, finding a better high school was critical to success

Written by Rob Book, PhD Candidate, Lecturer, University of Southern Denmark

When University of Southern California freshman Kevin Porter, Jr., became a first-round NBA draft pick on June 20, he spoke about the hardships he’d faced.

“I been battling through adversity all my life. Still am,” Porter told ESPN after he became the final first-round draft pick.

Porter explained how he wore No. 4 jersey at USC to...

Risk of shooting war with Iran grows after decades of economic warfare by the US

Written by David Cortright, Director of Policy Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

Iranian officials show off the U.S. drone they shot out of the sky.Meghdad Madadi/Tasnim News Agency

Many are worried about the risk of war between the U.S. and Iran. But the truth is, the U.S. has been fighting with Iran for decades in an economic war waged via sanctions.

Concerns about a war of guns, warplanes and missiles grew after Iran shot...

Bacteria live on our eyeballs -- and understanding their role could help treat common eye diseases

Written by Tony St. Leger, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh

The eye has a collection of microbes living on the surface that keep it healthy. photoJS/Shutterstock.com

You may be familiar with the idea that your gut and skin are home to a collection of microbes – fungi, bacteria and viruses – that are vital for keeping you healthy. But did you know that your eyes also host a unique menagerie of...

Corruption triumphs in Guatemala's presidential election

Written by Naomi Roht-Arriaza, Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Hastings

The two winners in Guatemala’s June 16 presidential vote – former first lady Sandra Torres and former prison director Alejandro Giammattei – will face off in a second round of voting in August.

But already one election loser is clear: Guatemala in its decade-long fight to root out massive government corruption.

Both Torres, who...

Is cutting Central American aid going to help stop the flow of migrants?

Written by Carmen Monico, Assistant Professor of Human Service Studies, Elon University

Some USAID programs seek to help raise living standards for families like this one in Western Honduras.USAID-ACCESO/Fintrac Inc., CC BY-SA

President Donald Trump has long made blocking the thousands of Central Americans who head to the southern U.S. border, most of them seeking asylum, from entering and staying in the country a top priority.

His...