The Conversation

CNN-Reddit saga exposes tension between the internet, anonymity and power

Written by Bree McEwan, Assistant Professor of Communication and Technology, DePaul University

It originated as a Reddit post. The president tweeted it. Then all hell broke loose.HanAssholeSolo/Reddit

On July 2, President Trump tweeted a video of himself fighting Vince McMahon in a WWE match with a CNN logo superimposed over McMahon’s head.

By July 5, CNN political reporter Andrew Kaczynski had tracked down the identity of the...

Is it ever a good idea to arm violent nonstate actors?

Written by Patricia Sullivan, Associate Professor of Public Policy and the Curriculum in Peace, War, and Defense, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

In May, President Donald Trump authorized a plan to arm the YPG, a Kurdish militia in Syria. A month later, the YPG and their Arab partners in the Syrian Democratic Forces began the fight to take the Syrian city of Raqqa back from the Islamic State. While the U.S., Russia and Jordan agreed to a ceasefire in southwest Syria that went into effect...

Banning smartphones for kids is just another technology-fearing moral panic

Written by Nicholas Bowman, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, West Virginia University

Should children under the age of 13 be given access to smartphones?Africa Studio/Shutterstock

If a few concerned parents have their way, Colorado will be among the first states to ban the sale of smartphones for use by children under the age of 13. After witnessing what he called a “dramatic, very violent outburst” from one of his sons...

Why we need to save the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Written by Jeff Sovern, Professor of Law, St. John's University

Republicans in Congress and the White House have been very blunt about their desire to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The agency was launched in 2011 in the aftermath of the financial crisis as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The goal was to protect consumers from deceptive or misleading...

Give and take: Credentials could aid panhandling

Written by Brendan O'Flaherty, Professor of Economics, Columbia University

People have always asked for alms, including the men depicted in this 17th-century European etching.Wenceslaus Hollar/The Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio recently said on a radio show that he would like to ban panhandling but wouldn’t try because the courts wouldn’t allow it. Many panhandlers “are not...

Revisiting the legacy of Jerry Falwell Sr. in Trump's America

Written by Richard Flory, Senior Director of Research and Evaluation, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Recently, President Donald Trump appointed evangelical Christian leader Jerry Falwell Jr. to head the White House education reform task force. Not much is known about the task force or what its work will be. And, tapping Falwell Jr. as its leader may seem odd to some observers given that he is president of Liberty University, a Christian...

Dancing toward better physical rehabilitation

Written by Lena Ting, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Physical Therapy, Emory University

Ballet dancers can apply their intensive training to tasks they haven’t practiced.bezikus/Shutterstock.com

To dance is human; people of all ages and levels of motor ability express movements in response to music. Professional dancers exert a great deal of creativity and energy toward developing their skills and different styles of dance. How...

How environmentalists can regroup for the Trump era

Written by Robert Percival, Professor of Environmental Law, University of Maryland, Baltimore

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has launched an all-out assault on regulations that protect the environment. In addition to retreating from the Paris climate accord, he wants to slash the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by more than 30 percent and he has issued executive orders instructing EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt...

Lessons for first responders on the front lines of terrorism

Written by Mahshid Abir, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Director of the Acute Care Research Unit, Affiliated Adjunct and Natural Scientist, RAND Corporation, University of Michigan

After two terror attacks the prior week, police patrolled the Westminster Bridge on election day 2017 in London.AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

Acts of terrorism are on the rise globally. Over the past several weeks alone, the world has seen stabbings, shootings and bombings in Flint, Tehran, London, Kabul and Bogota.

We’ve spent the past several...

Don't hate your gut: It may help you lose weight, fight depression and lower blood pressure

Written by Jasenka Zubcevic, Assistant Professor, University of Florida

Trillions of microorganisms live inside your gut. Anatomy Insider/Shutterstock.com

A universe of organisms living inside you may affect every part of your body, from your brain to your bones, and even your thoughts, feelings and your attempts to lose weight.

This is a universe of trillions of microorganisms – or what we biologists call microbi...