The Conversation

Water fights, magical decapitated heads and family reunions – the Southeast Asian festival of Songkran has it all

Written by Andrew Alan Johnson, Visiting Scholar of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley

People celebrating the Songkran Festival in Luang Prabang, Laos, in April 2021.Xinhua/Kaikeo Saiyasane via Getty Images

In many countries in Southeast Asia, such as Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, the arrival of spring also marks the beginning of the new year. Songkran (สงกรานต์), as the...

Penance and plague: How the Black Death changed one of Christianity's most important rituals

Written by Nicole Archambeau, Associate Professor of History, Colorado State University

Confession, circa 1460/1470. Artist unknown.Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images

The 14th century is known for catastrophe. By midcentury, the first wave of plague spread through a Europe already weakened by successive famines and the Hundred Years War between England and France. And crises just kept coming. After the first wave,...

Will Smith's slap shows 'honor culture' is alive and well

Written by H. Colleen Sinclair, Associate Professor of Social Psychology, Mississippi State University

A culture of honor is more likely to develop in areas where law enforcement is inconsistent or nonexistent.20th Century Fox/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

After witnessing the “slap heard around the world” during the 2022 Oscars, I wasn’t surprised when the internet split into two camps: #TeamWill and #TeamChris.

As a social...

Ukrainian teens' voices from the middle of war: 'You begin to appreciate what was common and boring for you'

Written by Alexander Motyl, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University - Newark

A residential building destroyed by Russian army shelling in Borodyanka, Kyiv province. Hennadii Minchenko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A colleague from Kyiv, Ukraine, whom I’ll call N.M., sent me brief essays her students wrote on what they would do when the war ends. As both a scholar and a novelist, I knew that these voices, which...

Will French presidential election be a case of 'plus ca change, moins ca change?' -- 5 things to watch as nation heads to the poll

Written by Garret Martin, Senior Professorial Lecturer, Co-Director Transatlantic Policy Center, American University School of International Service

Is France heading for Macron vs. Le Pen rematch?Chesnot/Getty Images

With polls suggesting a narrowing gap among the front-runners, French voters will begin the two-stage process of choosing a president on April 10, 2022.

A lot has changed since incumbent Emmanuel Macron captured the presidency in 2017 – with a global pandemic and a major...

To protect wildlife from free-roaming cats, a zone defense may be more effective than trying to get every feline off the street

Written by Daniel Herrera, PhD Student in Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University

Killer on the loose.Alex Walker via Getty Images

Should domestic cats be allowed to roam freely outdoors? It’s a contentious issue. Those who say yes assert that they’re defending outdoor cats and the people who care for them. Critics respond that free-roaming cats kill so many birds, reptiles, mammals and important insects like...

UN Security Council is powerless to help Ukraine – but it's working as designed to prevent World War III

Written by Thomas G. Weiss, Presidential Professor of Political Science, CUNY Graduate Center

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the U.N. Security Council on April 5, 2022. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A clearly anguished Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on April 5, 2022, castigated the U.N. Security Council members for their inaction on alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine: “Are you ready to close the U.N.? Do you...

What is a 529 college savings plan? An economist explains

Written by Robert H. Scott III, Professor, Dept. of Economics, Finance & Real Estate, Monmouth University

A 529 plan can pay for up to $10,000 a year for tuition at K-12 schools.MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images

The college savings plan known as a “529” is often touted as a smart way to save for a child’s college education. But these plans involve more than just putting away money for college. Here, Robert H. Scott III,...

Fishing, strip clubs and golf: How male-focused networking in medicine blocks female colleagues from top jobs

Written by Jennifer R. Grandis, Distinguished Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco

Building relationships with colleagues outside of work is important for career development. 10'000 Hours/Digital Vision via Getty Images

Women have been entering academic medicine at nearly the same rate as men for decades, but very few women reach the top levels of leadership. For example, as of April 2022, of the 71 U.S. cancer centers designated...

Your digital footprints are more than a privacy risk – they could help hackers infiltrate computer networks

Written by Ravi Sen, Associate Professor of Information and Operations Management, Texas A&M University

Your digital footprints can give hackers clues about you that they can use to trick you.Ivan/Flickr, CC BY-SA

When you use the internet, you leave behind a trail of data, a set of digital footprints. These include your social media activities, web browsing behavior, health information, travel patterns, location maps, information about your mobile...