The Conversation

How ancient cultures explained eclipses

Written by Roger Culver, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Colorado State University

A 1765 painting of Helios, the personification of the sun in Greek mythology.Wikimedia Commons

On August 21, a total solar eclipse will be visible across parts of the United States.

As the Earth and moon sweep through space in their annual journey around the sun, the three bodies align in such a way that the Earth passes into the shadow of the moon....

Why tourists go to sites associated with death and suffering

Written by Daniel B. Bitran, Professor of Psychology, College of the Holy Cross

Students at Ponar Forest in Lithuania, where Nazis massacred many Jews.Daniel B. Bitran, CC BY

On a beautiful summer day in 2016, as I walked with a group of college students along a well-trodden path sprinkled with needles and cones from majestic pine trees, our mood was somber and morose. The chirping of birds and the burning off of the dew on...

Why state-level single-payer health care efforts are doomed

Written by Simon Haeder, Assistant Professor of Political Science, West Virginia University

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at an Aug. 1 press conference, the first he held after the defeat of his health care bill.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

With members of Congress spending the month of August in their home districts, Republican efforts to do away with President Obama’s signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care...

Trump's rejection of national climate report would do more damage than exiting the Paris Agreement

Written by Gary W. Yohe, Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, Wesleyan University

One of the impacts of climate change is an increase in the frequency of heavy rain events. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

A scientific report done every four years has been thrust into the spotlight because its findings directly contradict statements from the president and various Cabinet officials.

If the Trump administration chooses to reject the...

FirstNet for emergency communications: 6 questions answered

Written by Ladimer Nagurney, Professor of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Hartford

FirstNet could relieve emergency workers of having to carry multiple radios and other communications devices.AP Photo/Ric Francis

Editor’s note: In the aftermath of 9/11, public safety officials in New York City and around the country realized that firefighters, police officers and ambulance workers needed to be able to talk to each other at...

How union stakes in ailing papers like the Chicago Sun-Times may keep them alive

Written by Marick Masters, Professor of Business and Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Wayne State University

A pedestrian walks past a Chicago Sun-Times newspaper box.AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

The recent purchase of the Chicago Sun-Times for a nominal US$1 by a consortium of labor-affiliated organizations and individual investors highlights the troubled state of the newspaper industry.

It also raises the question of whether union ownership can bolster the...

How much longer will Maduro's grip on power last? Look to the military

Written by David Pion-Berlin, Professor of Political Science, University of California, Riverside

If the Venezuelan military withdraws support for President Nicholás Maduro, his end may be near.

A large middle class has been thrust into poverty in Venezuela. Food and medicine are in short supply, and malnourishment is widespread. Security forces have violently beaten back opposition protesters and jailed leading opposition figures.

Reign...

How subversive artists made thrift shopping cool

Written by Jennifer Le Zotte, Assistant Professor of Material Culture and History, University of North Carolina Wilmington

Customers shop during at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Out of the Closet thrift store in Columbus, Ohio.Jay LaPrete/AP

National Thrift Shop Day (August 17) exists alongside other quirky holidays like Play Your Ukulele Day (February 2) and Rice Crispy Treat Day (September 18). Though intended as a lighthearted celebration of an acceptable...

Disarming North Korea means making concessions

Written by Jeffrey Fields, Associate Professor of the Practice of International Relations, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Dealing with North Korea’s ambitions for nuclear weapons has vexed the past four U.S. presidents.

Since North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003, it has detonated nuclear explosive devices five times and made steady progress on its ballistic missile program. In late July, Pyongyang tested an intercontinental...

How a British royal's monumental errors made India's partition more painful

Written by Adil Najam, Dean, Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University

Lord Louis Mountbatten, viceroy of India, met with Indian leaders to discuss partition.Max Desfors/AP

The midnight between August 14 and 15, 1947, was one of history’s truly momentous moments: It marked the birth of Pakistan, an independent India and the beginning of the end of an era of colonialism.

It was hardly a joyous moment: A botched...