The Conversation

The ancient Irish get far too much credit for Halloween

Written by Lisa Bitel, Dean’s Professor of Religion & Professor of History, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The Celtic festival of Samhain celebrates a time of year when the division between Earth and the otherworld collapses, allowing spirits to pass through.Matt Cardy/Getty Images

This time of year, I often run across articles proclaiming Halloween a modern form of the pagan Irish holiday of Samhain – pronounced SAW-en. But as a historian of...

Grow fast, die young? Animals that invest in building high-quality biomaterials may slow aging and increase their lifespans

Written by Chen Hou, Associate Professor of Biology, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Allocating more energy for growth versus for maintenance comes with longevity trade-offs.Matthias Clamer/Stone via Getty Images

Fancy, high-quality products such as Rolex watches and Red Wing boots often cost more to make but last longer. This is a principle that manufacturers and customers are familiar with. But while this also applies to biology,...

On foreign policy, Trump opts for disruption and Harris for engagement − but they share some of the same concerns

Written by Garret Martin, Senior Professorial Lecturer, Co-Director Transatlantic Policy Center, American University School of International Service

Who will represent the U.S. better on the global stage?Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

According to conventional wisdom, U.S. voters are largely motivated by domestic concerns and especially the economy.

But the upcoming presidential election may be somewhat of an outlier. In a September 2024 poll, foreign policy actually ranks quite high in...

Beyond bottled water and sandwiches: What FEMA is doing to get hurricane victims back into their homes

Written by Shannon Van Zandt, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University

Two people survey their beachfront home and business, which was destroyed in Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Oct. 13, 2024.AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

In a pattern all too familiar to people affected by disasters, hurricanes Helene and Milton have disappeared from the headlines, just a few weeks after these disasters ravaged the Southeast....

How Trump’s racist talk of immigrant ‘bad genes’ echoes some of the last century’s darkest ideas about eugenics

Written by Shannon Bow O'Brien, Associate Professor of Instruction, The University of Texas at Austin

Donald Trump speaks at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27, 2024. John Salangsang/Invision/AP

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly denounced immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally and the danger he says that poor immigrants of color pose for the U.S. – often using hateful language to make his point.

In early...

Corporate social responsibility disclosures are a double-edged sword, new research suggests

Written by Vivek Astvansh, Associate Professor of Quantitative Marketing and Analytics, McGill University

Hoping to win over customers, businesses from Amazon to Zoom have taken to touting their good deeds in corporate social responsibility reports.

CSR reports let companies spotlight what they’ve done for workers, consumers, communities and the environment – essentially all their goals beyond simply making a profit. Research shows that CSR...

RFK Jr.’s pivot to Trump is a journey taken by many populists swept along the left-to-right alternative media pipeline

Written by Rachel Meade, Lecturer of Political Science, Boston University

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ended his independent presidential run in August 2024 and endorsed Republican Donald Trump, it might have seemed a surprising turn of events.

Kennedy began his presidential run as a Democrat and is the scion of a Democratic dynasty. Nephew to former President John F. Kennedy and the son of former Attorney General Robert...

For an estimated 4 million people with felony convictions, restoring their right to vote is complicated – and varies state by state

Written by Naomi F. Sugie, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles

Desmond Meade, right, registers to vote in Florida on Jan. 8, 2019. after completing his sentence on a federal conviction.Phelan M. Ebenhack for The Washington Post via Getty Images

People who are convicted of felonies might think they can’t vote.

Even in California, where they do have the right to vote, people convicted of felonies cite...

Israel’s ban on UNRWA continues a pattern of politicizing Palestinian refugee aid – and puts millions of lives at risk

Written by Nicholas R. Micinski, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, University of Maine

The Israeli parliament’s vote on Oct. 28, 2024, to ban the United Nations agency that provides relief for Palestinian refugees is likely to affect millions of people – it also fits a pattern.

Aid for refugees, particularly Palestinian refugees, has long been politicized, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine...

Rising partisanship is making nonprofits more reluctant to engage in policy debates − new research

Written by Heather MacIndoe, Associate Professor of Public Policy, UMass Boston

Divisiveness is on the rise.wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Afraid of partisan rancor, nonprofits are biting their tongues, with divisive politics hindering public policy engagement by social service organizations. This is one of our findings in a new study we conducted on behalf of Independent Sector – a coalition of nonprofits,...