The Conversation

Why a large church group had little impact when it opposed Kavanaugh's nomination

Written by David Mislin, Assistant Professor of Intellectual Heritage, Temple University

Justice Anthony Kennedy swears in Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Numerous organizations demanded Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court be put on hold or withdrawn, in the wake of the sexual misconduct allegations against him. The most surprising one, perhaps, was from the National Council of...

Neil Armstrong and the America that could have been

Written by Joe Essid, Director, Writing Center, University of Richmond

Those mesmerized by NASA's accomplishments and ambitions wanted so much more out of the reticent Armstrong.AP Photo

According to a Gallup Poll from 1999, only 50 percent of those surveyed could even name Neil Armstrong as the first man to land on the moon.

How might the moon walker fare 19 years later?

The film “First Man,” starring Ryan...

Protecting wetlands helps communities reduce damage from hurricanes and storms

Written by Siddharth Narayan, Postdoctoral Fellow, Coastal Flood Risk, University of California, Santa Cruz

Protecting coastal wetlands, like this slough in Florida's Everglades National Park, is a cost-effective way to reduce flooding and storm damage.NPS/C. Rivas

2017 was the worst year on record for hurricane damage in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean from Harvey, Irma and Maria. We had hoped for a reprieve this year, but less than a month after...

Don't be afraid to talk about the costs of dealing with climate change

Written by Brian Greenhill, Associate Professor of Political Science, University at Albany, State University of New York

Climate change denial, underwater.Matt Brown/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

Climate advocates have struggled to persuade half of the U.S. public of the need to do more to slow the pace of global warming.

But even as climate scientists are sounding louder and louder alarms about the urgency of the situation, they disagree among themselves about how to proceed.

A...

Physical therapy important for women treated for breast cancer

Written by Mary Insana Fisher, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, University of Dayton

Surviving breast cancer has been the biggest treatment goal until recent years, when attention began to turn to surviving well, as these three women appear to be. fitzcrittle/Shutterstock.com

The survival rate for breast cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women, is now about 90 percent, increased by nearly 20 percent since the 1970s.

Wi...

Being born in the wrong ZIP code can shorten your life

Written by Jessica Young, Assistant Professor of Health Studies, American University

Babies born 10 miles apart could represent a life expectancy difference of almost 33 years.Ana Prego/shutterstock.com

Newly released data on life expectancy across the U.S. shows that where we live matters for how long we live.

A person in the U.S. can expect to live an average of 78.8 years, according to the most recent numbers from the Centers...

Organic farming with gene editing: An oxymoron or a tool for sustainable agriculture?

Written by Rebecca Mackelprang, Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Berkeley

Many farmers cultivating organic crops believe that genetically modified crops pose threats to human health.mythja/Shutterstock.com

A University of California, Berkeley professor stands at the front of the room, delivering her invited talk about the potential of genetic engineering. Her audience, full of organic farming advocates, listens uneasily....

Resistance is a long game

Written by Paul Steege, Associate professor of history, Villanova University

Being part of the resistance can be complicated. Yevgenij_D/Shutterstock

What does resistance really look like?

In the United States, at least since November 2016, the idea of resistance seems to reflect a broadly imagined popular opposition to the presidency of Donald Trump.

At best that sentiment shows up in thousands of...

Hurricane Michael could bring more inland flooding to southeast states

Written by Craig E. Colten, Carl O. Sauer Professor of Geography, Louisiana State University

A street sign sticks up from floodwaters after Hurricane Florence in Nichols, South Carolina, September 21, 2018. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Coastal counties in North and South Carolina are still assessing damage from Hurricane Florence, which dropped up to three feet of rain in some areas in September. Now, along with southern Georgia, they face new...

Youth living in settlements at US border suffer poverty and lack of health care

Written by Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, Professor of Social Work, Nursing and Global Public Health, New York University

Children play in the Indian Hills East Colonia near Alamo, Texas.AP Photo/Eric Gay

Recent media stories from the U.S.-Mexico border about immigration have largely missed the daily struggle of families and children in U.S. communities called “colonias.”

Colonias line both sides of the border, including the southern counties of Texas,...