The Conversation

Too pretty to play? Stephen Curry and the light-skinned black athlete

Written by Ronald Hall, Professor of Social Work, Michigan State University

During a recent interview, Golden State Warriors Draymond Green discussed why players around the league have long doubted or dismissed the talents of his superstar teammate, Stephen Curry. But it was Green’s last point, mentioned almost as an aside – “And of course, Steph is light-skinned so [players] want to make him out to be...

Two key takeaways from the pope's TED talk

Written by Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University, Villanova University

Pope Francis giving a TED talk.TED Conference, CC BY-NC

Pope Francis gave a talk at the TED international conference, which brings in influential speakers, in Vancouver on the evening of Tuesday, April 25.

The talk – a surprise for all in the audience – recapitulated the key themes of the Argentinian pope’s view of the human...

How parents can help autistic children make sense of their world

Written by Allyssa McCabe, Professor of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Lowell

People with autism sometimes struggle to tell stories, but there are ways parents can help.Pressmaster / Shutterstock.com

Glenn, a high-functioning seventeen-year-old with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), comes home from school and tells his mother at dinner, “Allen was mean today.” His mother debates what to do. Should she ask for more...

The patients we do not see

Written by Dave A. Chokshi, Physician, New York University Langone Medical Center

An empty wheelchair – or is there a person there we do not see?From www.shutterstock.com

In medicine, we speak of “seeing patients” when we are rounding in the hospital or caring for those who come to our clinics. But what about those people who may be sick but do not seek care? What is our responsibility to the patients we do...

How Woodrow Wilson's propaganda machine changed American journalism

Written by Christopher B. Daly, Professor of Journalism, Boston University

The censorship board. George Creel is seated at far right.Harris & Ewing/Library of Congress

When the United States declared war on Germany 100 years ago, the impact on the news business was swift and dramatic.

In its crusade to “make the world safe for democracy,” the Wilson administration took immediate steps at home to curtail...

Can charity save journalism from market failure?

Written by Victor Pickard, Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania

As journalism loses its financial footing, it may need more support from foundations.Tim Karr/Free Press, CC BY-SA

A foundation created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam recently announced it’s giving US$100 million to investigative news outlets and other initiatives, a rare boon for media institutions under duress. Even a...

Is charter school fraud the next Enron?

Written by Preston Green III, John and Carla Klein Professor of Urban Education, Professor of Educational Leadership and Law, University of Connecticut

In 2001, Texas-based energy giant Enron shocked the world by declaring bankruptcy. Thousands of employees lost their jobs, and investors lost billions.

As a scholar who studies the legal and policy issues pertaining to school choice, I’ve observed that the same type of fraud that occurred at Enron has been cropping up in the charter school...

New statistical methods would let researchers deal with data in better, more robust ways

Written by Rand Wilcox, Professor of Statistics, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Collecting the data comes first, but then you have to analyze the data.Cameron Neylon, CC BY

No matter the field, if a researcher is collecting data of any kind, at some point he is going to have to analyze it. And odds are he’ll turn to statistics to figure out what the data can tell him.

A wide range of disciplines – such as the social...

Is there any way to stop ad creep?

Written by Mark Bartholomew, Professor of Law, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

It never ends.Daniel Oines/flickr, CC BY

Ethics lawyers and historians have argued that Donald Trump has blurred the line between his public office and private business interests in an unprecedented fashion.

In another sense, it’s part of a much larger social trend.

Commercial entreaties – whether in the form of magazine ads, radio...

National monuments: Presidents can create them, but only Congress can undo them

Written by Nicholas Bryner, Emmett/Frankel Fellow in Environmental Law and Policy, University of California, Los Angeles

Bears Ears National Monument, Utah.Bob Wick, BLM/Flickr, CC BY

On April 26 President Trump issued an executive order calling for a review of national monuments designated under the Antiquities Act. This law authorizes presidents to set aside federal lands in order to protect “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other...