The Conversation

Why the flu shot cannot give you the flu (and why you should get one now)

Written by Libby Richards, Associate professor of nursing, Purdue University

A nurse in Atlanta prepared the fu vaccine for a shot on Feb. 7, 2109. David Goldman/AP Photo

Flu vaccination prevents millions of flu-related illnesses and deaths annually, but vaccination rates are low for many reasons.

During the 2018-2019 flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about 45% of U.S. adults received...

Climate change is really about prosperity, peace, public health and posterity – not saving the environment

Written by Ezra Markowitz, Associate Professor of Environmental Decision-Making, University of Massachusetts Amherst

What will it take to get people to connect to the climate change story?mauro mora/Unsplash, CC BY

The story of climate change is one that people have struggled to tell convincingly for more than two decades. But it’s not for lack of trying.

The problem is emphatically not a lack of facts and figures. The world’s best scientific minds...

Arrests of 6-year-olds shows the perils of putting police in primary schools

Written by F. Chris Curran, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, University of Florida

The portion of primary schools that have police officers on site has risen dramatically in recent years.Simone Hogan/Shutterstock.com

When states like Florida pass laws to put more police officers in schools, the idea is to keep kids safe.

But as the arrest of two six-year-olds in a Florida school in October has shown, sometimes one threat to the...

Why cheaper drugs from Canada likely won't cure what ails US

Written by C. Michael White, Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut

Could buying drugs from Canada be a solution to high prices for prescription drugs? It's complicated. Burlingham/Shutterstock.com

President Trump has called for ways to allow U.S. residents to buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. Many drugs are cheaper in Canada, thanks to government price controls in that country.

I teach a course in...

Founders: Removal from office is not the only purpose of impeachment

Written by Clark D. Cunningham, W. Lee Burge Chair in Law & Ethics; Director, National Institute for Teaching Ethics & Professionalism, Georgia State University

Benjamin Franklin was a leading voice in the debates framing the Constitution.Howard Chandler Christy/Architect of the Capitol

As Congress moves toward a possible formal impeachment of President Donald Trump, they should consider words spoken at the Constitutional Convention, when the Founders explained that impeachment was intended to have many...

Would ousting Trump rebuild the country's faith in government? Lessons from Latin America

Written by Rachel E. Bowen, Associate Professor of Political Science, The Ohio State University

Reporters ask Nancy Pelosi about the formal impeachment inquiry against Trump.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The House of Representatives has opened an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. But what happens if a president is impeached?

The vice president would take his place, but other parts of the government continue unchanged. Partisan...

Recycling rates could rise significantly with this simple tweak

Written by Karen Winterich, Professor of Marketing, Frank and Mary Smeal Research Fellow, Pennsylvania State University

Americans are not good recyclers. siam.pukkato/Shutterstock.com

Have you ever thought about what happens to the empty Coke cans and food takeout containers you toss in your recycling bins?

Our research suggests that if you’re like most Americans, you’ve probably never considered this question. This was surprising to us given that, by...

The history of the cross and its many meanings over the centuries

Written by Joanne M. Pierce, Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

A procession of Christian girls, venerating the Cross, in the village of Qanat Bekish, Lebanon.AP Photo/Hussein Malla

In the fall, Catholics and some other Christian churches celebrate the Feast of the Holy Cross. With the feast, Christians commemorate Jesus Christ’s life, especially his salvific death on the cross and his later...

Curious Kids: Why do old people hate new music?

Written by Frank T. McAndrew, Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology, Knox College

For many older people, today's music goes in one ear and out the other.Shutterstock.com/photograph.kiev

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Why do old people hate new music? – Holly L., age 14, Belmont, Mass.

When I was a...

Why are private prisons controversial? 3 questions answered

Written by John M. Eason, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The US is one of a few countries that still uses private prisons.AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Editor’s note: Private prisons have long stirred controversy, most recently over their role in housing undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. Several states have banned them, several banks have vowed to stop financing them and...