The Conversation

Marijuana is on the ballot in four states, but legalization may soon stall, researchers say

Written by Daniel J. Mallinson, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Administration, School of Public Affairs, Pennsylvania State University

Utah residents show support for a ballot initiative that would legalize medical marijuana in the state.AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

The midterm elections could loosen marijuana restrictions in the United States, as four states put ballot initiatives on legalization to a vote.

Voters in Utah and Missouri will choose whether patients should gain access to...

When 'what's on your mind' is tragic, not happy – sharing sad news on social media

Written by Nazanin Andalibi, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Information, University of Michigan

Sharing about tragedy online can help people feel less alone.Paulius Brazauskas/Shutterstock.com

It’s always wonderful to share happy news – in person and on social media. New jobs, weddings and becoming parents of healthy children are all commonly posted online, and often gather lots of encouraging comments and congratulations. But...

Tiroteo en Pittsburgh: La historia de las oleadas antisemitas y antimigrantes en EEUU

Written by Ingrid Anderson, Associate Director of Jewish Studies, Lecturer, Arts & Sciences Writing Program, Boston University

Personas poniendo flores en la sinagoga del Árbol de la Vida en Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, EEUU.AP Photo/Matt Rourke

El tiroteo en el centro religioso estadounidense “Árbol de la Vida”, en Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, es, posiblemente, el ataque contra los judíos más mortífero de la historia de Estados...

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a priceless link to the Bible's past

Written by Daniel Falk, Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Chaiken Family Chair in Jewish Studies, Pennsylvania State University

A conservator works with a portion of the Dead Sea Scrolls containing Psalm 145 at The Franklin Institute, in Philadelphia.AP Photo/Matt Rourke

The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., has removed five Dead Sea Scrolls from exhibits after tests confirmed these fragments were not from ancient biblical scrolls but forgeries.

Over the last decade,...

Illuminating the 'dark web'

Written by Robert Gehl, Associate Professor of Communication, University of Utah

It might sound scary, but the 'dark web' is not much different from the rest of the internet.Willequet Manuel/Shutterstock.com

In the wake of recent violent events in the U.S., many people are expressing concern about the tone and content of online communications, including talk of the “dark web.” Despite the sinister-sounding phrase,...

Where sexes come by the thousands

Written by Antonis Rokas, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences and Professor of Biological Sciences and Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University

The split gill mushroom _Schizophyllum commune_, a fungal species that includes more than 20,000 sexes.Bernard Spragg

By the end of every spring semester, students in my introductory biology course at Vanderbilt University have become quite familiar with natural variation in human sex chromosomes. They know, for example, that most females have two...

Bombs are part of American political history

Written by Keith Brown, Professor of Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State University

New York police officers at the Time Warner Center, Oct. 25, 2018, in New York after report of a suspicious package at CNN. AP/Craig Ruttle

The bombs allegedly sent by a passionate Trump supporter to prominent liberals last week are a reminder that American history is littered with violence, with both the left and right pursuing political ends with...

Will it be a blue wave -- or a whimper? Here's what the evidence says for the 2018 House midterm elections

Written by Daniel Palazzolo, Professor of Political Science, University of Richmond

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary,” wrote James Madison in the Federalist Paper #51.

Lacking angels, Madison asserted that elections were one of the U.S. Constitution’s checks on political power. “A...

Pittsburgh's lesson: Hatred does not emerge in a vacuum

Written by Leonard Saxe, Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies and Social Policy, Brandeis University

Vigil held in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh for shooting victims, Oct. 27, 2018.AP/Gene J. Puskar

Fueled by virulent anti-Semitism, the Sabbath peace was shattered this past weekend when 11 members of the Pittsburgh Jewish community were murdered in a synagogue where they had gathered to celebrate a birth, to pray and to study.

As a scholar...

How Mister Rogers’ message of love might help us now

Written by Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University

Squirrel Hill neighbors embrace, after hearing of the shootings at the Tree of Life synagogue, Oct. 27, 2018. Keith Srakocic/AP Photo

The Pittsburgh neighborhood in which the recent horrific mass shooting took place isn’t only the home of the Tree of Life synagogue. Squirrel Hill was also Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood, the place where he...