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The Conversation

The midterms will see a number of nonreligious candidates – but why is it so hard for atheists to get voted into Congress?

  • Written by Phil Zuckerman, Professor of Sociology and Secular Studies, Pitzer College
imageAbove it, only skies. Inside, very few nonbelievers.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The midterm elections are likely to return to Congress elected representatives who hold a range of religious beliefs.

But while self-identified Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus currently rub shoulders in the corridors of power, one group is noticeably...

Read more: The midterms will see a number of nonreligious candidates – but why is it so hard for atheists to...

There's no one 'Latino vote' – religion and geography add to voters' diversity

  • Written by Laura E. Alexander, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Goldstein Family Community Chair in Human Rights, University of Nebraska Omaha
imageVolunteers laugh during a 2020 meeting of Jolt, a nonprofit that works to increase civic participation of Latinos in Texas.Mark Felix/AFP/AFP via Getty Images

Nearly 1 in 5 people in the United States today are Latino, and “the Latino vote” has attracted significant news coverage as their political voice grows stronger. Yet considering a...

Read more: There's no one 'Latino vote' – religion and geography add to voters' diversity

Halloween's celebration of mingling with the dead has roots in ancient Celtic celebrations of Samhain

  • Written by Tok Thompson, Professor of Anthropology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
imageHow did Halloween get associated with the spooky?SolStock/Collection E+ via Getty Images

As Halloween approaches, people get ready to celebrate the spooky, the scary and the haunted. Ghosts, zombies, skeletons and witches are prominently displayed in yards, windows, stores and community spaces. Festivities center around the realm of the dead, and...

Read more: Halloween's celebration of mingling with the dead has roots in ancient Celtic celebrations of...

4 reasons affordable housing is slow to recover after disasters like hurricanes, and what communities can do about it

  • Written by Shannon Van Zandt, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University
imageHurricane damage to affordable housing can leave business owners struggling to find employees. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

How a community recovers after a disaster like Hurricane Ian is often a “chicken and egg” question: Which returns first – businesses or households?

Businesses need employees and customers to be able to function....

Read more: 4 reasons affordable housing is slow to recover after disasters like hurricanes, and what...

Why do people have slips of the tongue?

  • Written by Cecile McKee, Professor of Linguistics, University of Arizona
imageWhat's he trying to say?nojustice via iStock / Getty Images Plus

Have you visited Yew Nork? Does your stummy ache? What dog of bag food will we get?

In case you’ve wondered what causes such speech errors or slips of the tongue, you might like to know that all speakers – of all ages and abilities – make them sometimes. Even people...

Read more: Why do people have slips of the tongue?

Using the ocean to fight climate change raises serious environmental justice and technical questions

  • Written by Sonja Klinsky, Associate Professor and Senior Global Futures Scientist, Arizona State University
imageHumans could sink more carbon in the ocean to fight climate change, but should we?Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images

Heat waves, droughts and extreme weather are endangering people and ecosystems somewhere in the world almost every day. These extremes are exacerbated by climate change, driven primarily by increasing emissions...

Read more: Using the ocean to fight climate change raises serious environmental justice and technical questions

What's a cold war? A historian explains how rivals US and Soviet Union competed off the battlefield

  • Written by Robert J. McMahon, Professor of History, The Ohio State University
imageSoviet leader Nikita Krushchev, left, met with U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Vienna in 1961.Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Imagesimage

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

In the Cold War, was there any...

Read more: What's a cold war? A historian explains how rivals US and Soviet Union competed off the battlefield

Republicans say crime is on the rise – what is the crime rate and what does it mean?

  • Written by Justin Nix, Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska Omaha
imageRepublican candidate for U.S. Senate Mehmet Oz has talked a lot about the crime rate during his campaign in Pennsylvania.AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

In the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections, Republican candidates across the nation are blaming Democrats for an increase in crime.

But as a scholar of criminology and criminal justice, I believe...

Read more: Republicans say crime is on the rise – what is the crime rate and what does it mean?

With memories of embarrassments still fresh, election pollsters face big tests in 2022 midterm elections

  • Written by W. Joseph Campbell, Professor of Communication Studies, American University School of Communication
imageIn Maine's 2020 Senate race, not one poll showed the GOP incumbent, Susan Collins, in the lead. But she trounced her Democratic challenger by 9 points.AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

When it became clear his poll had erred in the 2021 New Jersey governor’s race, Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, acknowledged:

&ldq...

Read more: With memories of embarrassments still fresh, election pollsters face big tests in 2022 midterm...

Why are so many people delighted by disgusting things?

  • Written by Bradley J. Irish, Associate Professor of English, Arizona State University
imageIn what's called 'benign masochism,' some people find the feeling of disgust pleasurable.Ocskaymark/iStock via Getty Images.

Halloween is a time to embrace all that is disgusting, from bloody slasher films to haunted houses full of fake guts and gore.

But the attraction to stuff that grosses us out goes beyond this annual holiday.

Flip through TV...

Read more: Why are so many people delighted by disgusting things?

More Articles ...

  1. When Filipino parents in the US encourage their children to talk about their feelings and promote cultural pride, their children's mental health improves
  2. Newly available over-the-counter hearing aids offer many benefits, but consumers should be aware of the potential drawbacks
  3. Georgia's GOP overhauled the state's election laws in 2021 – and critics argue the target was Black voter turnout, not election fraud
  4. Corporate spending in state politics and elections can affect everything from your wallet to your health
  5. The US isn't at war with Russia, technically – but its support for Ukraine offers a classic case of a proxy war
  6. Why so many people have moved to Florida – and into harm's way
  7. Disasters like Hurricane Ian can affect academic performance for years to come
  8. Not all Asian Americans vote Democratic -- and the political leanings of different Asian ethnic groups vary
  9. A new type of material called a mechanical neural network can learn and change its physical properties to create adaptable, strong structures
  10. UK prime minister forced from office amid economic turmoil, chaos in parliament and a party in disarray
  11. Wildfires reshape forests and change the behavior of animals that live there
  12. How college in prison is leading professors to rethink how they teach
  13. Why the GOP’s battle for the soul of ‘character conservatives’ in these midterms may center on Utah and its Latter-day Saint voters
  14. Colonoscopy is still the most recommended screening for colorectal cancer, despite conflicting headlines and flawed interpretations of a new study
  15. HBO's 'House of the Dragon' was inspired by a real medieval dynastic struggle over a female ruler
  16. AI is changing scientists' understanding of language learning – and raising questions about an innate grammar
  17. 'Nobody said anything because they feared being benched' – how abuse is baked into American sports
  18. Experts grade Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube on readiness to handle midterm election misinformation
  19. How Bob Dylan used the ancient practice of 'imitatio' to craft some of the most original songs of his time
  20. Anxiety detection and treatment in early childhood can lower risk for long-term mental health issues – an expert panel now recommends screening starting at age 8
  21. Getting to 'net-zero' emissions: How energy leaders envision countering climate change in the future
  22. How the costs of disasters like Hurricane Ian are calculated – and why it takes so long to add them up
  23. Crippling civilian infrastructure has long been part of Russian generals' playbook – Putin is merely expanding that approach
  24. Soaring inflation prompts biggest Social Security cost-of-living boost since 1981 – 6 questions answered 
  25. Bees face many challenges – and climate change is ratcheting up the pressure
  26. It's taking more time to cast a ballot in US elections – and even longer for Black and Hispanic voters
  27. Jan. 6 Committee's fact-finding and bipartisanship will lead to an impact in coming decades, if not tomorrow
  28. Rainbow fentanyl – the newest Halloween scare
  29. Russia is enlisting hundreds of thousands of men to fight against Ukraine, but public support for Putin is falling
  30. What the Jan. 6 committee could learn from the failures of truth commissions to bring justice and accountability
  31. Male birth control options are in development, but a number of barriers still stand in the way
  32. Challenges to voters are growing before the midterms -- and have a long history as a way of keeping down the Black vote
  33. Black women endure legacy of racism in homeownership and making costly repairs
  34. 'Silent Spring' 60 years on: 4 essential reads on pesticides and the environment
  35. Quiet quitting and the great resignation have a common cause – dissatisfied workers feel they can't speak up in the workplace
  36. Body piercings may be artistic, but they bring risks of infection, allergic reactions, scarring and urine leakage
  37. Young immigrants are looking to social media to engage in politics and elections – even if they are not eligible to vote
  38. Good faith and the honor of partisan election officials used to be enough to ensure trust in voting results – but not anymore
  39. Genetically engineered bacteria make living materials for self-repairing walls and cleaning up pollution
  40. Who invented music? The search for stone flutes, clay whistles and the dawn of song
  41. The 5,000-year history of writer's block
  42. Headcovers have always been political in Iran – for women on all sides
  43. How to steer money for drinking water and sewer upgrades to the communities that need it most
  44. Nobel-winning quantum weirdness undergirds an emerging high-tech industry, promising better ways of encrypting communications and imaging your body
  45. Effort to recover Indigenous language also revitalizes culture, history and identity
  46. New satellite mapping with AI can quickly pinpoint hurricane damage across an entire state to spot where people may be trapped
  47. Our *Homo sapiens* ancestors shared the world with Neanderthals, Denisovans and other types of humans whose DNA lives on in our genes
  48. A Pennsylvania prison gets a Scandinavian-style makeover – and shows how the US penal system could become more humane
  49. Investing in indoor air quality improvements in schools will reduce COVID transmission and help students learn
  50. Census data hides racial diversity of US 'Hispanics' – to the country's detriment