The Conversation

Increasing numbers of Americans support gun background checks

Written by Kent E. Portney, Professor and Director, Texas A&M University

Some states have universal background checks for gun purchases.Lutsenko_Oleksandr/Shutterstock.com

In the aftermath of the shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, public debate once again turned to what Congress should do to reduce gun violence.

One of the challenges that many policymakers face is understanding the views of the general...

Politicians don't seem to laugh at themselves as much anymore

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

Ronald Reagan at the end of his debate with Walter Mondale, Oct. 22, 1984, Kansas City, Mo. AP/Ron Edmonds

As the 2020 presidential campaign gets underway, one of the key factors that shapes our perceptions is how the candidates use – or do not use – humor.

One kind of humor that is in shorter supply among politicians than it once was...

How to invest if you're worried a recession is coming

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

Even the pros don't know what's up. AP Photo/Richard Drew

Although the U.S. economy continues to grow and add jobs, talk of a recession is increasingly in the air due to a number of worrying signs.

Business investment and consumer confidence are taking a hit due to the growing economic jitters and uncertainty over the ongoing trade war with China....

Climate scientists may not be the best communicators of climate threats

Written by Risa Palm, Professor of Urban Studies and Public Health, Georgia State University

Climate scientist James Hansen, who has spoken out about the dangers of climate change, was arrested in 2010 alongside Appalachian residents.Rich Clement/flickr

The American public ranks scientists as some of the most trusted voices in the country. So it made sense for eminent climate scientists, such as James Hansen, Michael Mann, and Peter...

Mexican women are angry about rape, murder and government neglect – and they want the world to know

Written by Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong

Wearing green bandannas and dousing police in pink glitter, Mexican women on Aug. 16 staged a furious protest in Mexico City after a 17-year-old girl reported being raped by four police officers earlier in the month.

Officials have sent mixed signals about ongoing investigations of the case, and Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum triggered fury...

What is Haitian Voodoo?

Written by Guilberly Louissaint, Anthropology Ph.D. Student, University of California, Irvine

Voodoo believers walk during the annual Voodoo festival Fete Gede at Cite Soleil Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery

For many in the West, Voodoo invokes images of animal sacrifices, magical dolls and chanted spells.

But Voodoo – as practiced in Haiti and by the black diaspora in the United States, South America and...

When does trash talking work?

Written by Karen C.P. McDermott, Researcher in Communication, University of Connecticut

Boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor engage in some verbal sparring prior to their 2017 bout.AP Photo/John Locher

The Abstract features interesting research and the people behind it.

Karen C.P. McDermott recently completed a study on trash talk, the taunts or boasts meant to intimidate or distract an opponent.

Her study was one of the...

College rankings might as well be student rankings

Written by Jonathan Wai, Assistant Professor of Education Policy and Psychology and Endowed Chair, University of Arkansas

College rankings often take student caliber into account, an analysis shows.vectorfusionart/Shutterstock.com

Each year various magazines and newspapers publish college rankings in an attempt to inform parents and prospective students which colleges are supposedly the best.

U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” –...

Trump administration revives public charge clause that kept Nazi-era refugees from the US

Written by Laurel Leff, Associate Professor of Journalism, Northeastern University

“Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet. And who will not become a public charge," said Acting head of Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli.AP Photo/Seth Wenig

During the Nazi era, roughly 300,000 additional Jewish refugees could have gained entry to the U.S. without exceeding the nation’s...

The misguided attacks on 'This Land Is Your Land'

Written by Will Kaufman, Professor of American Literature and Culture, University of Central Lancashire

Some of Guthrie's greatest champions have had difficulties with the song.Al Aumuller/Library of Congress

In recent years, Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” has become a rallying cry for immigrants. And in July, after President Donald Trump tweeted that four Democratic congresswomen of color needed to “go back where...