The Conversation

Avocados are a ‘green gold’ export for Mexico, but growing them is harming forests and waters

Written by Viridiana Hernández Fernández, Assistant Professor of Latin American Environmental History, University of Iowa

Harvesting avocados in Uruapan, in the Mexican state of Michoacan.Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images

Consumers’ love for avocados in the United States seems to know no bounds. From 2001 through 2020, consumption of this fruit laden with healthy fats tripled nationwide, rising to over 8 pounds per person yearly.

On average, 90% of those...

What QAnon supporters, butthole sunners and New Age spiritualists have in common

Written by Christopher T. Conner, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Missouri-Columbia

Former NBA player Royce White addresses a crowd after the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright in April 2021. Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via Getty Images

After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, former NBA player Royce White became an outspoken advocate of defunding the police. Over those ensuing months, he appeared at a number of...

Iran’s intervention in Sudan’s civil war advances its geopolitical goals − but not without risks

Written by Eric Lob, Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations, Florida International University

Members of the Sudanese Armed Forces on Aug. 14, 2023.AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s role in funding and arming proxy groups in the Middle East has been well documented and has gotten extra attention since the Hamas-led attack in Israel in October 2023. Similarly, Tehran’s arms shipments to Russia are well known and have prompted...

Risky business: Why executives keep finding themselves in political firestorms

Written by R. Michael Holmes Jr., Jim Moran Professor of Strategic Management, Florida State University

Back in March 2022, Disney’s then-CEO Bob Chapek said that his company wouldn’t take a public stand on Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Four days later, he yielded to rebukes from LGBTQ employees, reversed his decision and criticized the bill publicly.

In the ensuing political firestorm, the state of...

How the ‘model minority’ myth harms Asian Americans

Written by Eddy Ng, Smith Professor of Equity and Inclusion in Business, Queen's University, Ontario

May is Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month, a time when Americans celebrate the profound contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders – a group that is commonly abbreviated as AAPI – to U.S. society. It’s also a time to acknowledge the complexity of AAPI experience.

And as a professor who studies equity and...

Americans break election ties in crazy ways − and jeopardize democracy in the process

Written by Ismar Volić, Professor of Mathematics, Director of Institute for Mathematics and Democracy, Wellesley College

Is one of these methods really the best way to break an election tie?Composite from Johner Images, Devonyu, kasezo via Getty Images

Commentators and observers are concerned about the possibility of a tie in the November 2024 presidential election. One possibility is that both major-party candidates end up with 269 electoral votes – one short...

Quick adoption in 34 states of Erin’s Law to prevent child abuse shows power of one individual to make policy

Written by Sanghee Park, Associate professor at O'Neill Indianapolis, Indiana University

Erin Merryn, center, flanked by Senators David J. Valesky, left, and Jeffrey D. Klein, at the New York state senate discussing Erin's Law in October 2011.New York State Senate

Policymaking, a process by which governments make decisions about how to address social issues, is shaped by various factors, such as the political climate, socioeconomic...

2 knights, 1 horse − how a legendary Knights Templar symbol has puzzled and fascinated since the Middle Ages

Written by Andrew Latham, Professor of Political Science, Macalester College

Did this seal symbolize the order's poverty, homosexuality or companionship with Christ?Hinterkappelen/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

The Knights Templar, a legendary monastic military order forged in the fires of the Crusades, continue to enthrall 21st-century audiences.

From the time of their founding in 1119 C.E. to their dissolution in 1312 C.E.,...

For American Jews, interfaith weddings are a new normal – and creatively weave both traditions together

Written by Samira Mehta, Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies & Jewish Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

A chuppah is used in many Jewish weddings, but how it's decorated can weave other cultures into the ceremony, too.Jason Finn/iStock via Getty Images Plus

More than 10 years ago, I attended a college friend’s wedding in New York City.

My friend is Muslim, her husband Jewish. They were married under a Jewish wedding canopy made from the...

Understanding how ions flow in and out of the tiniest pores promises better energy storage devices

Written by Ankur Gupta, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

The physics of how ions flow in supercapacitors required an update.Weiquan Lin/Moment via Getty Images

Modern life relies on electricity and electrical devices, from cars and buses to phones and laptops, to the electrical systems in homes. Behind many of these devices is a type of energy storage device, the supercapacitor. My team of engineers is...