The Conversation

Why the EPA's 'secret science' proposal alarms public health experts

Written by Bernard Goldstein, Professor Emeritus, Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh

The landmark Harvard Six Cities study found a strong link between air pollution and health risks.Pixabay

Later this month, the EPA could finalize a controversial rule to limit what scientific research the agency can use in writing environmental regulations.

I write as an academic who has been involved in air pollution issues for over 50 years and a...

Venezuelans are boycotting their presidential election

Written by Marco Aponte-Moreno, Assistant Professor of Global Business, St Mary's College of California

Despite his 20 percent approval rate, President Nicolas Maduro is almost assured a win in Venezuela's May 20 election. The opposition says the vote is a "farce."REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Venezuela’s May 20 presidential election may be an election in name only.

Nicolás Maduro is widely expected to be reelected as Venezuela’s...

Diet soda may be hurting your diet

Written by Eunice Zhang, Clinical Fellow of Preventive Medicine, University of Michigan

Coca-Cola is the world's most popular carbonated soft drink. The original is made with sugar, but the others contain artificial sweeteners that are now linked to a rise in obesity and diabetes.By Chones/shutterstock.com

Artificial sweeteners are everywhere, but the jury is still out on whether these chemicals are harmless. Also called non-nutritive...

What is 5G? The next generation of wireless, explained

Written by Jan Rabaey, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley

How fast will mobile data get?alphaspirit/Shutterstock.com

Every decade or so, the wireless industry rolls out a new cellular communications standard that can transmit more data more quickly. Already under development is the next round, called “5G” because it’s the fifth major generation of these standards for encoding and...

Why America needs a new approach to school desegregation

Written by Jerry Rosiek, Professor of Education Studies, University of Oregon

Despite decades of attempts at integration, America's school remain largely segregated.Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock

Despite all the time and effort invested desegregating the nation’s schools over the past half century, the reality is America’s schools are more segregated now than they were in 1968.

Keep that statistic in mind as...

A peek into the lives of Puerto Rican Muslims and what Ramadan means post Hurricane Maria

Written by Ken Chitwood, Ph.D. Candidate, Religion in the Americas, Global Islam, University of Florida

Muslims praying in Puerto Rico.AP Photo/Tomas van Houtryve

For Juan, Ramadan is a balancing act. On the one hand is his religious faith and practice. On the other is his land, his culture, his home: Puerto Rico.

Although he weaves these two elements of his identity together in many ways, during Ramadan, the borderline between them becomes palpable....

Donald Glover and the state of 'black genius'

Written by Phillip L. Cunningham, Assistant Professor of Media Studies, Quinnipiac University

Donald Glover, under his hip-hop pseudonym Childish Gambino, recently released a provocative music video for his single, “This Is America.”

The video, with its violent imagery and references to blackface minstrels, came as a surprise for Childish Gambino fans previously accustomed to his witty, sardonic style. As a result, it has been...

The Iran nuclear deal could still be saved, experts say

Written by Jaganath Sankaran, Assistant Research Professor, University of Maryland

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, welcomes his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, ahead of their meeting in Moscow on May 14, 2018. AP/Maxim Shemetov

“America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail,” President Donald Trump declared in his speech, justifying the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran...

In the US, fairy-tale royal weddings clash with reality

Written by Laurie Essig, Director and Professor of Gender, Sexuality, & Feminist Studies, Middlebury College

A tour guide holds up a flag with the faces of Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancee, Meghan Markle.AP Photo/Alastair Grant

Unless you’ve been living in outer space, you probably know that on May 19, Prince Harry will marry Meghan Markle. Many Americans will be setting their alarms to wake up early to watch the wedding, and some are even flyi...

Yanny or Laurel? It's your brain not your ears that decides

Written by Jennell Vick, Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences, Case Western Reserve University

You heard it say what?Roman Stetsyk/Shutterstock.com

As a speech scientist, I never thought I’d see so much excitement on social media about one tiny little word.

The clip, which went viral after being posted on Reddit, is polarizing listeners who hear a computer voice say either “Laurel” or “Yanny.” @AlexWelke tweeted,...