The Conversation

Why Poland’s new government is challenged by abortion

Written by Patrice McMahon, Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Dariusz Matecki, a conservative lawmaker in the Polish Parliament, displays a poster showing a fetus during a vote on abortion on April 12, 2024.AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski

When Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk formed a coalition government in 2023 committed to making “historic changes,” he promised to improve the country’s track...

How Detroit techno is preserving the city’s beating heart in the face of gentrification

Written by Carla Vecchiola, Lecturer in History, University of Michigan-Dearborn

Detroit, the birthplace of techno, is facing the pressures of gentrification.Willie Orlando Ford, CC BY

For over two decades, Detroit has celebrated its status as the birthplace of techno with an electronic music festival held over Memorial Day weekend.

But like the city around it, the festival has changed. At its inception, the event was free and...

Hurricane forecast points to a dangerous 2024 Atlantic season, with La Niña and a persistently warm ocean teaming up to power fierce storms

Written by Jhordanne Jones, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Climate and Weather Extremes, Purdue University

The U.S. is in for another busy hurricane season. Here are hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia in 2017.NOAA

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1, and forecasters are predicting an exceptionally active season.

If the National Hurricane Center’s early forecast, released May 23, is right, the North Atlantic could see 17 to 25 named...

Most Israelis dislike Netanyahu, but support the war in Gaza – an Israeli scholar explains what’s driving public opinion

Written by Arie Perliger, Director of Security Studies and Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell

Protesters wave Israeli flags and protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on May 20, 2024.Matan Golan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Eight months after Israel invaded the Gaza Strip, some critics observe that the Israeli military hasn’t met either of its goals of destroying Hamas and rescuing all of the...

A 25-year study reveals how empathy is passed from parents to teens to their future children

Written by Jessica A. Stern, Research Scientist, Psychology, University of Virginia

The longitudinal study traced how empathy develops across three generations.Morsa Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Our new research shows that parents who express empathy toward their teenagers may give teens a head start in developing the skill themselves. In addition, adolescents who show empathy and support toward their friends are more...

Here’s how machine learning can violate your privacy

Written by Jordan Awan, Assistant Professor of Statistics, Purdue University

If your data was used to train an AI, it might – or might not – be safe from prying eyes.ValeryBrozhinsky/iStock via Getty Images

Machine learning has pushed the boundaries in several fields, including personalized medicine, self-driving cars and customized advertisements. Research has shown, however, that these systems memorize aspects...

Phone cameras can take in more light than the human eye − that’s why low-light events like the northern lights often look better through your phone camera

Written by Douglas Goodwin, Visiting Assistant Professor in Media Studies, Scripps College

A May 2024 solar storm made the northern lights visible across parts of the northern U.S.AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

Smartphone cameras have significantly improved in recent years. Computational photography and AI allow these devices to capture stunning images that can surpass what we see with the naked eye. Photos of the northern lights, or aurora...

Calls for divestment from apartheid South Africa gave today’s pro-Palestinian student activists a blueprint to follow

Written by Amanda Joyce Hall, Assistant Professor of History, University of California, Santa Barbara

Students erect 'shantytowns' at Johns Hopkins University in 1986 to call for divestment from South Africa.JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado via Getty Images

In recent weeks, college campuses across the U.S. have been roiled by pro-Palestinian protests, with the police called in to arrest demonstrators and students threatened with expulsion.

But...

Militia extremists, kicked off Facebook again, are regaining comfort in public view

Written by Amy Cooter, Director of Research, Academic Development, and Innovation at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, Middlebury

Militias have been kicked off Facebook as they seek to reemerge into the public sphere.gorodenkoff/iStock / Getty Images Plus

When journalists sounded alarm bells in early May 2024 that more than 100 extremist militia groups had been organizing and communicating on Facebook, it wasn’t the first time militias had garnered attention for their...

9 justices, many opinions: How the Supreme Court tells lawyers, judges and the public about its decisions and disagreements

Written by Ilisabeth S. Bornstein, Lecturer in Legal Studies, Bryant University

The decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court are important to Americans, including these people demonstrating on April 25, 2024. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

When the U.S. Supreme Court issues opinions, you may hear that the nine justices reached a 6-3 or a 5-4 decision. You may also hear that certain justices wrote a concurrence or that there were...