The Conversation

Nazis pressed ham radio hobbyists to serve the Third Reich – but surviving came at a price

Written by Bruce Campbell, Associate Professor of German Studies, College of William & Mary

Joseph Goebbels, left, shows the 'people's receiver' to Adolf Hitler at a radio exhibition in 1933.Badische Zeitung

When people have free and unfettered choices of activities, they both entertain and express themselves through their pastimes – whether stamp or coin collecting, scrapbooking, gardening or tinkering with electronic gadgets. But...

Being clear about your last wishes can make death easier for you and loved ones

Written by Lori A. Roscoe, Associate Professor of Health Communication, University of South Florida

A living will can lessen grief and stress, studies suggest. Jacob Lund/Shutterstock.com

Barbara Bush’s recent death and the way she prepared for it remind us that death can be peaceful and marked by family togetherness rather than conflict.

Mrs. Bush chose palliative, or comfort, care over aggressive medical treatment given her age and...

Technology is better than ever – but thousands of Americans still die in car crashes every year

Written by Alva O. Ferdinand, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Texas A&M University

35,092 people died in crashes on U.S. roadways in 2015.Honeybee49/shutterstock.com

Today, driving is arguably safer than ever been before.

Modern vehicles now boast a number of safety features, including blind spot monitoring, driver alertness detection systems and emergency braking. Additionally, highway engineering has improved over the last...

3 vital ways to measure how much a university education is worth

Written by Mark S. Schlissel, President, University of Michigan

The U.S. continues to wrestle with questions about the value of a college degree.ByEmo/Shutterstock.com

Editor’s note: Today we begin a new series in which we ask the leaders of our country’s colleges and universities to address some of the most pressing issues in higher education.

The past several years have seen increased calls for...

Black employees in the service industry pay an emotional tax at work

Written by Alicia Grandey, Professor of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University

Starbucks workers in Seattle.AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File

The arrests of two black men who were waiting for a friend at a Starbucks in Philadelphia have raised questions about how race determines how customers are treated.

But does race also affect how the employees are treated within the service industry?

Prior research shows that black workers in...

The goal in Korea should be peace and trade – not unification

Written by Alexis Dudden, Professor, University of Connecticut

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in take a big step together on April 27, 2018. (KoreKorea Summit Press Pool via AP

Last week, the world witnessed a first tangible step toward a peaceful, prosperous Korean peninsula.

On April 27, 2018, Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to step foot in South...

Nitrogen from rock could fuel more plant growth around the world – but not enough to prevent climate change

Written by Benjamin Z. Houlton, Professor of Global Environmental Studies, Chancellor's Fellow and Director, John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California, Davis

Long's Peak framed by rock outcrop, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.Roy Luck, CC BY

Nitrogen is one of the most important resources for people, ecosystems and the planet. It’s found in all sorts of essential molecules, including DNA, protein and cell walls. Life - and humanity - cannot exist without adequate access to this precious...

Local governments' cybersecurity crisis in 8 charts

Written by Donald Norris, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Cities and towns are becoming more technologically sophisticated – but remain vulnerable to attack.It Never Ends/Pixabay

Within the past few weeks, two large American cities learned that their information systems were hacked. First, Atlanta revealed that it had been the victim of a ransomware attack that took many of the city’s services...

Your genome may have already been hacked

Written by Norman A. Paradis, Professor of Medicine, Dartmouth College

What secrets will your DNA give away?Connect world/shutterstock.com

On April 25, California law enforcement announced the possible capture of a long-sought serial killer. Shortly after, it was reported that police had used public DNA databases to determine his identity.

This extraordinary event highlights that when you send off a cheek swab to one...

I did research at Rajneeshpuram, and here is what I learned

Written by Marion Goldman, Professor Emeritus, University of Oregon

Followers of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh embrace during a meditation session at Rajneeshpuram.AP Photo/Bill Miller

Netflix recently launched a six-part docuseries, “Wild Wild Country,” about the controversial Rajneesh Movement that created a spiritual community on 64,000 acres of the former Big Muddy Ranch in Oregon. Back in the 1980s,...