The Conversation

Iran and America: A forgotten friendship

Written by Daniel Thomas Potts, Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and History, New York University

Students at the American Memorial School, Tabriz, 1923shahrefarang.com

As President Donald Trump’s rhetoric against Iran heats up again, it is worth recalling a time when the two countries had a distinctly different relationship.

That time began in the 1800s, as American missionaries journeyed to what was then called Persia.

The missionaries he...

A new look at racial disparities in police use of deadly force

Written by Joseph Cesario, Associate Professor of Psychology, Michigan State University

Protesters on the University of Cincinnati campus.AP Photo/John Minchillo

One of the most important social issues of the last five years is fatal police shootings of black Americans.

The concern that police fatally shoot blacks at higher rates than whites has given rise to a strong push for department-wide interventions for police officers. Such...

The lifesaving power of gratitude (or, why you should write that thank you note)

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

An attitude of gratitude may relieve stress, which in turn may lead to better health. michaelhelm/Shutterstock.com

Gratitude may be more beneficial than we commonly suppose. One recent study asked subjects to write a note of thanks to someone and then estimate how surprised and happy the recipient would feel – an impact that they...

American farmers want trade partners not handouts – an agricultural economist explains

Written by Amanda M. Countryman, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics, Colorado State University

Farmer Michael Petefish walks through one of his soybean fields in southern Minnesota.AP Photo/Jim Mone

The Trump administration plans to give American farmers and ranchers hurt by the current trade war US$12 billion in emergency relief to mitigate the impact of tariffs on their exports.

While this may lessen the blow of an already struggling...

More Republicans in the news? That's not media bias

Written by Dominik Stecula, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania

It's difficult to measure media bias.Lawrey/shutterstock.com

A July 20 report, analyzing news content from The New York Times and The Washington Post, found that Republican politicians get roughly 2.5 times as many mentions as Democrats.

The report, produced by a progressive nonprofit Media Matters, was shared widely on social media. Many readers...

Designing a 'solar tarp,' a foldable, packable way to generate power from the sun

Written by Darren Lipomi, Professor of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego

What if it were a lot easier to install solar power?zstock/Shutterstock.com

The energy-generating potential of solar panels – and a key limitation on their use – is a result of what they’re made of. Panels made of silicon are declining in price such that in some locations they can provide electricity that costs about the same as...

What Richard Dawkins doesn't get about the Muslim call to prayer

Written by Rose S. Aslan, Assistant Professor of Religion, California Lutheran University

Muslim women offer prayers.Glenn Halog, CC BY-NC

Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist, unapologetic atheist and author of “God Delusion,” recently tweeted a picture of himself in front of the Winchester Cathedral in England, which said,

“Listening to the lovely bells of Winchester, one of our great mediaeval [sic]...

For many Muslim grocery shoppers, a shifting definition of 'halal'

Written by Febe Armanios, Associate Professor of History, Middlebury College

For many non-Muslims, the fast food carts that line the streets of New York City and San Francisco are their primary point of contact with halal foods.Guian Bolisay, CC BY-SA

For Muslims, halal food follows certain rules proscribed by Islamic law. It usually pertains to ritual slaughter and abstention from certain items like pork, blood and...

A perfect storm of factors is making wildfires bigger and more expensive to control

Written by Cassandra Moseley, Associate Vice President for Research and Research Professor, University of Oregon

The Carr Fire tears through Shasta, California, July 26, 2018.AP Photo/Noah Berger

Hopes for fewer large wildfires in 2018, after last year’s disastrous fire season, are rapidly disappearing across the West. Six deaths have been reported in Northern California’s Carr Fire, including two firefighters. Fires have scorched Yosemite,...

¿Para qué sirven las fronteras?

Written by Michael Blake, Professor of Philosophy, Public Policy, and Governance, University of Washington

Un grupo de manifestantes, que se opone a que elgobierno de Estados Unidos construya un muro, sostienen un cartel que dice, 'No muros en las fronteras'. AP Photo/Eric Gay

En Estados Unidos, se ha visto recientamente gran indignación por la ahora extinta política de la administración Trump de separar a las familias de...