The Conversation

During Vietnam War, music spoke to both sides of a divided nation

Written by Lauren Rebecca Sklaroff, Associate Professor of History, University of South Carolina

Music fans gather for the Rolling Stones' 'Gimme Shelter' concert at California's Altamont Speedway in 1969.AP Photo

Music is central to Ken Burns’s new Vietnam War documentary, with an original score accompanied by samples of the era’s most popular musicians, from the Rolling Stones to Bob Dylan. According to USA Today, the people...

Paris and Los Angeles bids to host Olympics expose deeper crisis at Olympic Games

Written by John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach stands between Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garrett to announce winning bids for the upcoming games. AP Photo/Martin Mejia

It’s official: We now have hosts for the next two Summer Olympics. Paris will host in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028.

It looks like a victory for...

Irma price gouging highlights sad truth: Consumer fleecing is the new normal

Written by Ramsi Woodcock, Professor of Legal Studies, Georgia State University

Many accused Delta, shown here over Tampa in 2014, and other carriers of price gouging ahead of Irma, but it's just business as normal.Drew Horne/Shutterstock.com

Since Hurricane Irma put Florida in its sights, there have been thousands of reports of price gouging on everything from water to gasoline.

The most notable complaint was not, however,...

5 things that have changed about FEMA since Katrina – and 5 that haven't

Written by Patrick Roberts, Associate Professor, Virginia Tech

FEMA's handling of Hurricane Katrina inspired resentment in the affected communities – but did it bring about real change in the organization?Dental Ben, CC BY-SA

Hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes – is the Federal Emergency Management Agency ready for the new era of disasters?

I’m a professor of public administration and...

Sleepy teenage brains need school to start later in the morning

Written by Kyla Wahlstrom, Senior Research Fellow in Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, University of Minnesota

Their hormones mean they still need zzz's even when they're already supposed to be in homeroom.Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock.com

Millions of high schoolers are fighting with their alarm clocks as they start another academic year. As they struggle to get up early, parents battle to get them out of bed and off to school – a stressful way for...

5 ways to stretch your disaster relief dollars

Written by David Campbell, Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Hurricane Irma caused major damage to Naples and other Florida cities.AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Many Americans want to help the people suffering from recent natural disasters in the U.S. and elsewhere.

There’s no shortage of media reports listing groups that are taking these donations, which may ultimately total billions of dollars. But how can...

Should the US put power lines underground?

Written by Theodore J. Kury, Director of Energy Studies , University of Florida

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused widespread power outages. AP Photo/Eric Gay

It is the height of a highly destructive hurricane season in the United States. The devastation of Harvey in Texas and Louisiana caused nearly 300,000 customers to lose electricity service, and Hurricane Irma has cut service to millions of people. Soon, winter storms will...

Do hurricanes feel the effects of climate change?

Written by Chanh Kieu, Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Science, Indiana University

Satellite image on Sept. 7, 2017 shows three hurricanes: Irma in the center just north of the island of Hispaniola, Katia on the left in the Gulf of Mexico and Jose in the Atlantic Ocean on the right.NOAA via AP

Hurricane Harvey, with its historical amount of rainfall over Texas, followed by a string of Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia in the North...

Want to fix America's health care? First, focus on food

Written by Dariush Mozaffarian, Professor of Nutrition, Tufts University

Poor diet hurts our health and our wallets.Lukas Goja/Shutterstock.com

The national debate on health care is moving into a new, hopefully bipartisan phase.

The fundamental underlying challenge is cost – the massive and ever-rising price of care which drives nearly all disputes, from access to benefit levels to Medicaid expansion.

So far,...

Is the new iPhone designed for cybersafety?

Written by Arun Vishwanath, Associate Professor of Communication, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

How safe is it to use an iPhone?Mesk Photography/Shutterstock.com

As eager customers meet the new iPhone, they’ll explore the latest installment in Apple’s decade-long drive to make sleeker and sexier phones. But to me as a scholar of cybersecurity, these revolutionary innovations have not come without compromises.

Early iPhones...