The Conversation

Church without God: How secular congregations fill a need for some nonreligious Americans

Written by Jacqui Frost, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Purdue University

Sunday Assembly is one of the larger secular congregations aiming to provide community and ritual for nonreligious people. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Shared testimonies, collective singing, silent meditation and baptism rituals – these are all activities you might find at a Christian church service on a Sunday morning in the United States. But what...

Blizzards are inescapable − but the most expensive winter storm damage is largely preventable

Written by Michel Bruneau, Professor of Engineering, University at Buffalo

Wrecks during snowstorms can shut down highways, stranding drivers in the cold for hours.Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

Winter storms can easily become billion-dollar disasters as the snow piles up on interstates and collapses roofs and power lines. Yet, while canceled flights and business interruptions can’t be...

Tahoe avalanche: What causes seemingly safe snow slopes to collapse? A physicist and avid skier explains

Written by Nathalie Vriend, Associate Professor of Thermo Fluid Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

A skier at Palisades Tahoe, home of the 1960 Winter Olympics and site of a small but deadly avalanche in 2024.AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

An avalanche swept up skiers at Lake Tahoe’s largest ski resort on Jan. 10, 2024, as a 150-foot-wide sheet of snow slid down a mountain slope into a pile 10 feet deep. One person died in the avalanche and...

Tahoe avalanches: What causes innocent-looking snow slopes to collapse? A physicist and skier explains, with tips for surviving

Written by Nathalie Vriend, Associate Professor of Thermo Fluid Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

A skier at Palisades Tahoe, home of the 1960 Winter Olympics and site of a small but deadly avalanche in 2024.AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

In the 'big tent' of free speech, can you be too open-minded?

Written by John Corvino, Dean of the Irvin D. Reid Honors College and Professor of Philosophy, Wayne State University

In the 'big tent' philosophy of free speech, the more views, the better. But how does that hold up in practice?imageBROKER/Manuel Kamuf via Getty Images

People often extol the virtue of open-mindedness, but can there be too much of a good thing?

As a college dean, I regularly observe campus controversies about the Israel-Hamas war, race relations...

Iran terror blast highlights success – and growing risk – of ISIS-K regional strategy

Written by Amira Jadoon, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Clemson University

More than 100 peope were killed in the blast in Kerman, Iran, on Jan. 3, 2024.Mahdi/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the terror group Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, has sought to internationalize its operational and recruitment campaign. Utilizing a sweeping propaganda campaign...

7 strategies to help gifted autistic students succeed in college

Written by Joseph Madaus, Professor of Education, University of Connecticut

Only 39% of autistic students who start college finish.Hill Street Studios / Getty Images

About 1 out of every 100 students in American public schools has autism. A subset of these students also have academic gifts and talents in a broad range of areas, including math, science, technology, the humanities and the arts. These students are often...

To protect endangered sharks and rays, scientists are mapping these species' most important locations

Written by David Shiffman, Faculty Research Associate in Marine Biology, Arizona State University

A tiger shark swims among surgeonfish off Fuvahmulah Atoll, Maldives, in the Indian Ocean.imageBROKER/Norbert Probst via Getty Images

All of the saltwater bodies on Earth make up one big ocean. But within it, there is infinite variety – just ask any scuba diver. Some spots have more coral, more sea turtles, more fish, more life.

“I&rsquo...

Sellout! How political corruption shaped an American insult

Written by Ian Afflerbach, Associate Professor of American Literature, University of North Georgia

Alf Bruseth, 'Politician Coin Bank' (1938). Index of American Design

If you follow politics, sports, Hollywood or the arts, you’ve no doubt heard the insult “sellout” thrown around to describe someone perceived to have betrayed a core principle or shared value in their pursuit of personal gain.

The term has recently been hurled...

Otters, beavers and other semiaquatic mammals keep clean underwater, thanks to their flexible fur

Written by Andrew Dickerson, Assistant Professor of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee

Otters and other semiaquatic mammals can keep clean even in dirty water. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Underwater surfaces can get grimy as they accumulate dirt, algae and bacteria, a process scientists call “fouling.” But furry mammals like beavers and otters that spend most of their lives wet manage to avoid getting their fur slimy....