The Conversation

How race and religion have always played a role in who gets refuge in the US

Written by Laura E. Alexander, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Goldstein Family Community Chair in Human Rights, University of Nebraska Omaha

Ukrainian refugees wait near the U.S. border in Tijuana, Mexico.AP Photo/Gregory Bull

In the weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians have fled the country as refugees. Hundreds of those refugees have now arrived at the southern border of the United States seeking asylum, after flying to Mexico on tourist visas.

At the border,...

Despite $400 boost, Pell Grants fall far short of original goal to make college more affordable for low- and middle-income students

Written by Donald E. Heller, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, University of San Francisco

The Pell Grant covers less than 30 percent of the costs to attend a four-year public college. Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Back around when the Pell Grant was created by Congress in 1973 to help students from low-income families pay for higher education, it covered 80% of the costs of attending a public four-year college or...

How burying the dead keeps the living human

Written by Dimitris Xygalatas, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut

A man identified only as Viktor shows his neighbor's grave in Bucha, Ukraine. It was too dangerous to go to the cemetery.Jana Cavojska/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Olena Koval found out that her husband was dead via text message. He was shot by Russian soldiers inside their home in Bucha while she was sheltering nearby, their neighbors...

Harriet Tubman led military raids during the Civil War as well as her better-known slave rescues

Written by Kate Clifford Larson, Visiting Scholar Women's Studies Research Center, Brandeis University

A portrait of Harriet Tubman in 1878. Library of Congress/Getty Images

Harriet Tubman was barely 5 feet tall and didn’t have a dime to her name.

What she did have was a deep faith and powerful passion for justice that was fueled by a network of Black and white abolitionists determined to end slavery in America.

“I had reasoned this out...

How to protect your family from horrific news images – and still stay informed

Written by Arash Javanbakht, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University

Staying constantly attuned to disastrous news can take a lasting toll on your mental health.Wachirawit Jenlohakit/Moment via Getty Images

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a bitter reminder that there is no end to the horrific suffering that humans are sometimes willing to inflict on others.

Over the past several years, a seemingly endless stream...

Diaper need emerges as health indicator during pandemic

Written by Emily Belarmino, Assistant Professor of Public Health Nutrition, University of Vermont

Thirty-six percent of surveyed families with young children said they did not have enough diapers during the pandemic.Tony Arruzza/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images

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

The big idea

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than a third of Massachusetts households with a...

What is Paxlovid and how will it help the fight against coronavirus? An infectious diseases physician answers questions on the COVID-19 pill

Written by Patrick Jackson, Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases, University of Virginia

Paxlovid may help prevent severe illness in patients at highest risk for COVID-19 complications.picture alliance/picture alliance via Getty Images

The Biden administration announced plans on April 26, 2022, to increase the availability of the COVID-19 drug Paxlovid, vowing to get more of the treatment pills into the hands of Americans.

An oral...

Ukraine invasion threatens international collaboration in space and shows how power structures are changing – podcast

Written by Daniel Merino, Assistant Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation

Russia threatened to withdraw from the International Space Station over sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine. 3Dsculptor via Shutterstock

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is challenging the structures of international collaboration in space. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we talk to two experts...

4 things to know about Moldova and Transnistria – and why Russia's war may spread beyond Ukraine to reach them soon

Written by Tatsiana Kulakevich, Assistant Professor of Instruction at School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, Affiliate Professor at the Institute on Russia, University of South Florida

Ukraine destroyed a railway, shown on April 2, 2022, to prevent passage from Transnistria to Ukraine.Andrea Mancini/NurPhoto via Getty Images

There is growing concern that Moldova and Transnistria could be dragged into Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Both Transnistria and Moldova are directly west of Ukraine. Transnistria, a small, breakaway...

'Nobody wants to run from the war' – a voice from Ukraine's displaced millions describes the conflicting pulls of home, family and safety

Written by Karen Jacobsen, Henry J. Leir Chair in Global Migration, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University

Many Ukrainians returned home after fleeing the Russian invasion, including this family that arrived on April 12, 2022, in Lviv, Ukraine, from refuge in Poland.Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

More than 5 million people left Ukraine as refugees between Feb. 24 and April 24, 2022, mostly to neighboring countries Poland,...