The Conversation

Anti-slavery heroes Charles Langston and Simeon Bushnell deserve pardons too, President Trump

Written by Steven Lubet, Williams Memorial Professor of Law, Northwestern University

The Oberlin rescuers, with Simeon Bushnell and Charles Langston 9th and 12th from the leftLibrary of Congress

President Donald Trump has exercised the pardon power more aggressively and creatively than most of his predecessors, granting pardons to political supporters such as Joe Arpaio and Dinesh D’Souza, and a posthumous pardon to Jack...

How Roe v. Wade changed the lives of American women

Written by Constance Shehan, Professor of Sociology, University of Florida

The recent announcement of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement has ignited widespread speculation about the future of Roe v. Wade. Some analysts believe that a new appointment to the Supreme Court would mean a conservative justice, particularly one who is against abortion rights, will threaten the status of the law.

The U.S. Supreme Court...

When caring hurts: Attrition among social workers, medicine's unsung heroes

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

Medical social workers perform many tasks for patients, but the work is taking a high toll on them, leading to burnout and attrition.YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV/Shutterstock

You can tell a lot about a job and the people doing it by asking them to describe their best day at work. For Ali, a 28-year-old pediatric cancer social worker, that day occurred one...

Local, county and state governments are suing oil companies over climate change

Written by Patrick Parenteau, Professor of Law, Vermont Law School

Superstorm Sandy wrecked these Rhode Island cottages in 2012.AP Photo/Steven Senne

Thanks to climate change, sea levels are rising and storm surges are becoming more costly and frequent. Since most American state and local governments are cash-strapped, cities and counties fear that they won’t be able to afford all the construction it will...

How ride-hailing could improve public transportation instead of undercutting it

Written by Daniel Sperling, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis

Friend or foe?AP Photo/Richard Vogel

Over the last half-decade, public transit ridership declined nationwide. The number of vehicle miles traveled in cars is rising, and traffic congestion is getting worse in many U.S. cities. At the same time, the century-old taxi industry is struggling, with many taxi companies going bankrupt.

Are ride-hailing...

Por qué los emojis –

Written by Florian Schaub, Assistant Professor of Information; Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan

Una opción alternativa para desbloquear un teléfono inteligente.Lydia Kraus et al., 'On the Use of Emojis in Mobile Authentication,' 2017., CC BY-ND

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