The Conversation

NASA crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid – photos show the last moments of the successful DART mission

Written by David Barnhart, Professor of Astronautics, University of Southern California

Didymos (bottom right) and its smaller moonlet Dimorphos (center) were the targets of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test.NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

In a world first, NASA has crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid in an attempt to push the rocky traveler off its trajectory. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test – or DART – is meant to test...

Ada Limón is a poet laureate for the 21st century, exploring 'what it looks like to have America in the room'

Written by Amy Cannon, Associate Professor of Writing, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Ada Limón is the 24th U.S. poet laureate.Shawn Miller/Library of Congress

“Ada Limón is a poet who connects.” This was how Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden introduced the 24th poet laureate of the United States.

From my perspective as a poet and writing teacher, “a poet who connects” is a perfect encapsulation...

Hurricane hunters are flying through Ian's powerful winds to forecast intensity – here's what happens when the plane plunges into the eyewall of a storm

Written by Jason Dunion, Research Meteorologist, University of Miami

Flying into Hurricane Harvey aboard a a P-3 Hurricane Hunter nicknamed Kermit in 2018.Lt. Kevin Doreumus/NOAA

As Hurricane Ian intensified on its way toward the Florida coast, hurricane hunters were in the sky doing something almost unimaginable: flying through the center of the storm. With each pass, the scientists aboard these planes take...

The same app can pose a bigger security and privacy threat depending on the country where you download it, study finds

Written by Renuka Kumar, Ph.D. student in Computer Science and Engineering, University of Michigan

Same app, same app store, different risks if you download it in, say, Tunisia rather than in Germany.NurPhoto via Getty Images

Google and Apple have removed hundreds of apps from their app stores at the request of governments around the world, creating regional disparities in access to mobile apps at a time when many economies are becoming...

Two wrongs trying to make a right – makeup calls are common for MLB umpires, financial analysts and probably you

Written by Steven J. Hyde, Assistant Professor of Management, Boise State University

After a mistake, people may try to correct the error with an intentional wrong judgment, this time in favor of the previously wronged party. Ed Zurga/Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

Major League Baseball has been trying something new in recent seasons: instant replay for umpire calls. After replay review, some erroneous calls on the field can...

People of color are as interested in buying electric cars as white consumers – the biggest obstacle is access to charging

Written by Andrea Marpillero-Colomina, Adjunct Lecturer in Urban Studies, The New School

More EV charging hookups in public locations like garages and parking lots would prompt more drivers of color to buy EVs.Extreme Media via Getty Images

A nationally representative survey of 8,027 Americans shows that across all racial demographics, overall interest in purchasing electric vehicles is high. Among those surveyed, 33% of white...

Kanye may not like books, but hip-hop fosters a love of literature

Written by A.D. Carson, Assistant Professor of Hip-Hop, University of Virginia

Kanye West provoked criticism recently when he compared reading to eating Brussels sprouts.Gotham via Getty Images

When Ye – the artist formerly known as Kanye West – stated during a recent podcast that he doesn’t read books, some people questioned whether he was sending the wrong message to children.

Those questions took on more...

How to get away with torture, insurrection, you name it: The techniques of denial and distraction that politicians use to manage scandal

Written by Jared Del Rosso, Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology, University of Denver

An image of a mock gallows on the grounds of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is shown during a House committee hearing. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The U.S. House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection intends to hold another public hearing, likely the last before it releases its official report. The hearing had been scheduled...

Brazil's election goes beyond a battle between left and right – democracy is also on the ballot

Written by Jeffrey W. Rubin, Associate Professor of History, Boston University

Winds of change in Brazil, or an ill breeze?Gustavo Minas/Getty Images

Two very different Brazils could emerge after voters go the polls to elect a president on Oct. 2, 2022.

In one scenario, Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s current president, will manage to stay in power – by either winning the vote or illegally ignoring it – and continue...

Unrest across Iran continues under state's extreme gender apartheid

Written by Haidar Khezri, Assistant Professor, University of Central Florida

In this Sept. 21, 2022, photo, Iranian demonstrators gather along a street in Tehran. AFP via Getty Images

Unrest continues to erupt across Iran following the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, who died after being arrested and reportedly beaten by Iran’s morality police.

The Iranian force took Mahsa (Zhina) Amini into detention...