The Conversation

How the Catholic Church's hierarchy makes it difficult to punish sexual abusers

Written by Mathew Schmalz, Associate Professor of Religion, College of the Holy Cross

Cardinal George Pell, a top adviser to Pope Francis, returned to his native Australia July 10 to face criminal charges related to sexual assault. While the specific allegations and names of the accusers have not been made public, Cardinal Pell maintains that he has been a victim of “character assassination.” His case will be decided...

Cherishing stuff with a photo can help you let go of it

Written by Karen Winterich, Associate Professor of Marketing, Frank and Mary Smeal Research Fellow, Pennsylvania State University

Years from now, she'll probably be ready to part with her photo assistant.Angela Waye/Shutterstock.com

Picture your favorite childhood stuffed animal. Are you clinging to it even though neither you nor anyone else in your household has played with that creature in years?

If so, you’re not alone. Parting with possessions we don’t need is...

America's public housing crisis may worsen with Trump budget

Written by Lawrence Vale, Ford Professor of Urban Design and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A resident of New York City Housing Authority's Chelsea-Elliot Houses.AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

The loss of more than 80 lives in London’s Grenfell Tower fire on June 14 was tragic and wholly preventable.

It is no coincidence, though, that it happened in subsidized low-income housing.

As someone who has spent 25 years researching and writing...

The 5 faulty beliefs that have led to Republican dysfunction on health care

Written by JB Silvers, Professor of Health Finance, Case Western Reserve University

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, shown here in June, 2017, is the architect of the new version of the Senate health care bill released today. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Now that the new version of the Senate health care bill is available, an outside observer might think that Congress is just dysfunctional, lurching from one extreme to...

Energy-recycling stairs could add a spring to your step

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

Latching springs provide a boost.Yun Seong Song et al (2017), CC BY-ND

“Take the stairs!” we’ve all been implored, to help maintain our health. But what if taking the stairs is painful, difficult or, worse, potentially dangerous?

In most public buildings, we can opt for an elevator or escalator ride. But at home (unless you live...

How Trump's nominee for the Fed could turn central banking on its head

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Economist and Research Scientist, The Ohio State University

President Donald Trump on July 10 nominated Randal Quarles to be one of the seven governors of the Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United States.

Before I get to Quarles and his qualifications, it’s important to understand the Fed and what it does. Its decisions are vital to every person on the planet who borrows or lends...

Inside the minds of Trump’s 'true believers'

Written by Ronald W. Pies, Professor of Psychiatry, Lecturer on Bioethics & Humanities at SUNY Upstate Medical University; and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Tufts University

What is this man thinking?AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

When Donald Trump gave the commencement address at Liberty University this spring, he told the graduates that “America has always been the land of dreams because America is a nation of true believers.” Trump argued that, in America, “we don’t worship government; we worship...

How 'Game of Thrones' became TV's first global blockbuster

Written by Amanda Lotz, Fellow at the Peabody Media Center and Professor of Media Studies, University of Michigan

On July 16, viewers around the world will eagerly tune into the premiere of the seventh season of “Game of Thrones.”

That phrase – “viewers around the world” – hasn’t applied to television premieres before. For most of its history, television has been a profoundly national medium. While shows like...

On land or ship, port chaplains offer comfort to seafarers of the world

Written by Wendy Cadge, Professor of Sociology and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Brandeis University

Port chaplains provide much-needed services for those who make their living at sea.Randall Armor, CC BY-NC-ND

Boston celebrated its maritime heritage in June by welcoming tall ships from around the world into Boston Harbor for the celebratory event, Sail Boston. Thousands of people visited the magnificent vessels at anchor to learn about...

Death as a social privilege? How aid-in-dying laws may be revealing a new health care divide

Written by Jill D. Weinberg, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Tufts University

Debbie Ziegler, mother of the late Brittany Maynard, in Sacramento in September 2015, encouraging the passage of California's End-of-Life Options Act. Maynard, who had brain cancer, had to move to Oregon so she could end her life legally in 2014. AP Photo/Carl Costas

The California Department of Public Health has just released a report that...