The Conversation

Tweets about cannabis' health benefits are full of mistruths

Written by Jon-Patrick Allem, Assistant Professor of Research, University of Southern California

Thomas Uhle, a grow manager, tends to marijuana plants growing at GB Sciences Louisiana in Baton Rouge in August 2019.Gerald Herbert/AP Photo

There has been a lot of talk in the U.S. about legalizing recreational cannabis, and about cannabis’ potential to help with health issues.

Scientists working in medicine may have a lot to discover about...

How countries in conflict, like Iran and the US, still talk to each other

Written by Klaus W. Larres, Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor; Adjunct Professor of the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Diplomacy has provided a solution for how countries in conflict can communicate.Shutterstock/cybrain

Even countries that have broken ties with each other need to communicate in times of crisis and war.

That includes the U.S. and Iran, which have not had an official way to talk directly to each other since President Jimmy Carter cut off diplomatic...

Children of color already make up the majority of kids in many US states

Written by Rogelio Sáenz, Professor of Demography, The University of Texas at San Antonio

The U.S. white majority is shrinking. Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

Demographers project that whites will become a minority in the U.S. in around 2045, dropping below 50% of the population.

That’s a quarter-century from now – still a long way away, right?

Not if you focus on children. White children right now are on the eve of becoming a...

Should college funding be tied to how many students graduate?

Written by Denisa Gandara, Assistant Professor, Southern Methodist University, Southern Methodist University

Colleges are increasingly being judged on how many students graduate. But is tying funding to graduation rates the way to go?George Rudy/Shutterstock.com

Editor’s note: Performance-based funding – a policy where a portion of state funding for public colleges and universities is based on how well they perform – is gaining in...

Telecommuters create positive change – so why aren't employers more flexible about people working from home?

Written by Mohja Rhoads, Research Consultant and Lecturer in Policy, Planning and Development, California State University, Dominguez Hills

More workers are demanding the flexibility to work out of the office.AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

More Americans are using flexible workplace practices – including telecommuting, co-working and off-peak start times – to add flexibility to their lives and eliminate or improve their commute.

One motivation? Rush hour traffic is getting...

Monkeys smashing nuts with stones hint at how human tool use evolved

Written by Kristen S. Morrow, PhD Student in Anthropology and Integrative Conservation, University of Georgia

A capuchin monkey in Brazil hoists a stone tool to crack open nuts.Luca Antonio Marino, CC BY-ND

Human beings used to be defined as “the tool-maker” species. But the uniqueness of this description was challenged in the 1960s when Dr. Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees will pick and modify grass stems to use to collect termites....

Trump asks NATO allies for help with Iran after years of bashing the alliance

Written by Klaus W. Larres, Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor; Adjunct Professor of the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

President Donald Trump speaks from the White House on January 08, 2020 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee/Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump took a tough line in his address to the nation Jan. 8 in response to the Iranian airstrikes on two U.S. bases in Iraq.

Trump announced that he would impose more sanctions on Iran. He said he believed that...

What happens when community college is made free

Written by Bruce Sacerdote, Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College

Free community college proposals are gaining attention. But do they work? And if so, for whom?MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images

Policymakers and presidential hopefuls are having a spirited debate over whether the U.S. should offer free community college, free public college in general or additional college subsidies...

For linguists, it was the decade of the pronoun

Written by Reed Blaylock, PhD candidate in Linguistics, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The American Dialect Society chose 'they' as its 'Word of the Decade.'abstract_art7/Shutterstock.com

On Jan. 3, the American Dialect Society held its 30th annual “Word of the Year” vote, which this year also included a vote for “Word of the Decade.”

It was the year – and the decade – of the pronoun.

In a nod to...

Moving Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Colorado won't be good for public lands

Written by John Freemuth, Cecil D. Andrus Endowed Chair for Environment and Public Lands and University Distinguished Professor, Boise State University

Sheep grazing on BLM land near Shoshone, Idaho.BLM/Flickr, CC BY

The Trump administration has pursued many controversial goals in managing U.S. public lands, including shrinking national monuments and cutting back protection for threatened species. Its latest disruptive move targets the government employees who oversee these resources.

The...