The Conversation

50 years after ‘Napalm Girl,’ myths distort the reality behind a horrific photo of the Vietnam War and exaggerate its impact

Written by W. Joseph Campbell, Professor of Communication Studies, American University School of Communication

Terrified children, including 9-year-old Kim Phuc, center, near Trang Bang, Vietnam, after a South Vietnamese plane on June 8, 1972, accidentally dropped its flaming napalm on its own troops and civilians.AP Photo/Nick Ut, File

The “Napalm Girl” photograph of terror-stricken Vietnamese children fleeing an errant aerial attack on their...

What 5 previous congressional investigations can teach us about the House Jan. 6 committee hearings

Written by Jennifer Selin, Co-director, Washington Office, Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy, Wayne State University

Chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee Sam Ervin sits with Chief Counsel Sam Dash, Sen. Howard Baker, staffer Rufus Edmiston and others as they listen to a witness during the Watergate hearings. Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

Six public hearings to be held in June by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol...

Qué hay detrás de la escasez de leche de fórmula para bebés en EEUU y cómo asegurarnos de que no se repita

Written by Steven A. Abrams, Professorof Pediatrics, University of Texas at Austin

La escena que encuentran muchos padres estadounidenses que buscan comprar leche de fórmula.Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

La escasez de leche de fórmula para bebés se ha sumado a los problemas de los padres estadounidenses, que ya se enfrentan a las presiones de criar a un bebé durante una pandemia en un...

Future COVID-19 booster shots will likely need fresh formulations as new coronavirus variants of concern continue to emerge

Written by David R. Martinez, Postdoctoral Fellow in Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Viral surveillance and prediction may be key parts of figuring out what goes into a vaccine.Pexels Cover/500px via Getty Images

Being up to date on COVID-19 vaccines means having had three or four doses of the same shot at this point. Current boosters are the same formulations as the first authorized shots, based on the original strain of the...

5 ways to reduce school shootings

Written by Paul Boxer, Professor of Psychology, Rutgers University - Newark

Restrictive gun laws bring down the murder rate.Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

After the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, psychology professor Paul Boxer and his colleagues reviewed research to see what could be learned from what they refer to as the “science of violence prevention.” In the wake of the May 24, 2022,...

Teachers often struggle to address mass traumatic events in class

Written by Jennifer Greif Green, Associate Professor of Special Education, Boston University

Educators get little to no training in how to deal with traumatic events.Pixelimage / Getty Images

After the Paris attacks of 2015 – a series of attacks in which gunmen opened fire on nightspots and a concert hall in Paris – a U.S.-based high school teacher of French described her failure to discuss the attacks in class as a “lost...

Supreme Court allows states to use unlawfully gerrymandered congressional maps in the 2022 midterm elections

Written by Henry L. Chambers Jr., Professor of Law, University of Richmond

Mississippi state legislators review an option for redrawing the state's voting districts at the state Capitol in Jackson on March 29, 2022. AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

In the upcoming midterm elections, states may use maps that a federal court has found unlawful.

You read that right: The U.S. Supreme Court recently barred federal courts from...

Listening to young people could help reduce pandemic-related harms to children

Written by Tammy Chang, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, University of Michigan

Kids say they have felt ignored amid policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic that seemed more focused on the fates of restaurants, bars and entertainment venues than keeping schools open and safe.kali9/E+ via Getty Images

As the COVID-19 pandemic extends into a third year, experts have gained a much better understanding of its consequences for...

Should we protect nature for its own sake? For its economic value? Because it makes us happy? Yes

Written by Bradley J. Cardinale, Department Head, Ecosystem Science and Management, Penn State

A ladybug crawls on a paloverde flower in Joshua Tree National Park, California.Hannah Schwalbe, NPS/Flickr

As spring phases into summer in North America, with trees flowering and birds migrating, nature seems abundant. In fact, however, the Earth is losing animals, birds, reptiles and other living things so fast that some scientists believe the...

As the UK celebrates Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, why will so many Americans also be cheering her on?

Written by Arianne Chernock, Professor of History, Boston University

Polling backs it up – Americans really do look favorably on Queen Elizabeth II.AP Photo/Alberto Pezzal

Whether it is reporting the role of the Sex Pistols or that of the royal corgis, U.S. media has suddenly taken an interest in a peculiar four-day ceremony taking place across the pond: Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.

Starting on...