The Conversation

How hip-hop learned to call out homophobia – or at least apologize for it

Written by Matthew Oware, Professor of Sociology, University of Richmond

Rapper Offset apologized over a homophobic slur.Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

In the 2018 song “Boss Life,” the rapper Offset, part of the multiplatinum-selling rap group Migos, rhymed: “I do not vibe with queers.”

Such casual use of a perceived anti-gay slur is not uncommon in the history of hip-hop. But...

Sudan’s war is wrecking a lot, including its central bank – a legacy of trailblazing African American economist and banker Andrew Brimmer

Written by Christopher Tounsel, Associate Professor of History, University of Washington

Andrew Brimmer gets sworn in as a member of the Federal Reserve Board. President Lyndon Johnson, right, Brimmer's wife and daughter look on. Robert L. Knudsen via Wikimedia Commons

The war in Sudan between two rival generals for control of the country is devastating in so many ways. Hundreds of civilians have been killed, thousands injured and more...

Saying that students embrace censorship on college campuses is incorrect -- here's how to discuss the issue more constructively

Written by Bradford Vivian, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, Penn State

It's not true that college students reject challenging ideas wholesale and oppose conservative views.SDI Productions/E+/Getty Images

The claim that college students censor viewpoints with which they disagree is now common. Versions of this claim include the falsehoods that students “shut down” most invited speakers to campuses, reject...

Baseless anti-trans claims fuel adoption of harmful laws – two criminologists explain

Written by Henry F. Fradella, Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Affiliate Professor, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law., Arizona State University

Kansas legislators Brenda Landwehr, left, and Chris Croft confer during a vote on an anti-transgender bathroom bill, which both support.AP Photo/John Hanna

It has been seven years since North Carolina made headlines for enacting a “bathroom bill” – legislation intended to prevent transgender people from using restrooms that align...

Birth of a story: How new parents find meaning after childbirth hints at how they will adjust

Written by Darby Saxbe, Associate Professor of Psychology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Having a new baby can upend everything about your old life.Cavan Images/Cavan via Getty Images

Gather a group of new parents and the conversation will likely turn to their childbirth stories – ranging from the joyful to the gnarly to the positively traumatic. Birth story podcasts and websites feature a curated range of birth experiences, and...

Charities can get a 6% donations boost when Charity Navigator gives them more stars – but to get there, they might game the system

Written by Jennifer Mayo, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia

Getting all four stars has its rewards.ikonacolor/iStock via Getty Images Plus

CC BY-ND

With multitudes of worthy charities to choose from – and the possibility that a poorly run or fake nonprofit might trick you into thinking it’s a good cause – it’s sometimes hard to know which ones to support.

That’s why many donors...

Judging the judges: Scandals have the potential to affect the legitimacy of judges – and possibly the federal judiciary, too

Written by Ali S. Masood, Assistant Professor of Politics, Oberlin College and Conservatory

Activists call for ethics reform in the Supreme Court at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 2, 2023. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is no stranger to controversy.

In 1991, during his confirmation hearings in the Senate, Thomas faced accusations of sexual harassment from a former colleague and law...

How AI could take over elections – and undermine democracy

Written by Archon Fung, Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government, Harvard Kennedy School

An AI-driven political campaign could be all things to all people.Eric Smalley, TCUS; Biodiversity Heritage Library/Flickr; Taymaz Valley/Flickr, CC BY-ND

Could organizations use artificial intelligence language models such as ChatGPT to induce voters to behave in specific ways?

Sen. Josh Hawley asked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman this question in a May...

The allure of the ad-lib: New research identifies why people prefer spontaneity in entertainment

Written by Jacqueline Rifkin, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Cornell University

What makes improvised stage patter more appealing than a canned script?FangXiaNuo/E+ via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Audiences love to see athletes and entertainers behaving spontaneously, according to our recent research, because ad-libbed lines, spectacular catches, improvised set...

Moldova is trying to join the EU, but it will have a hard time breaking away from Russia's orbit

Written by Tatsiana Kulakevich, Associate Professor of Instruction in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, Affiliate Professor at the Institute for Russian, European, and Eurasian Studies, University of South Florida

People take part in a pro-European Union rally in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, on May 21, 2023.Elena Covalenco/AFP via Getty Images

Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, straddles Ukraine to its east and European Union countries to its west – placing it in an arguably vulnerable position in the ongoing war between Ukraine...