The Conversation

bell hooks will never leave us – she lives on through the truth of her words

Written by Karsonya Wise Whitehead, Executive Director, Karson Institute for Race, Peace, & Social Justice, Loyola University Maryland

Bell hooks' books provide a window into her hugely influential theories.Karjean Levine/Getty Images

I was introduced to the work of bell hooks for the first time when I was 14 years old, sitting on my Nana’s porch, complaining about the mosquitoes and the heat.

My Nana, who was probably frustrated by my endless complaints about being bored,...

The US is making plans to replace all of its lead water pipes from coast to coast

Written by Gabriel Filippelli, Chancellor's Professor of Earth Sciences and Executive Director, Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute, IUPUI

Workers prepare to install new water pipes in Walnut Creek, California, on April 22, 2021.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Biden administration has released a plan to accelerate removal of lead water pipes and lead paint from U.S. homes. As a geochemist and environmental health researcher who has studied the heartbreaking impacts of lead poisoning...

A Persian festival, Yalda, celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, with pomegranates, poetry and sacred rituals

Written by Pardis Mahdavi, Dean of Social Sciences, Arizona State University

A table set for the celebration of the Persian festival of Yalda. Jasmin Merdan/Moment via Getty images.

As the days become shorter and the nights become longer and darker, we are reminded that indeed winter is coming. As a child I would dread this time of the year. Not only was there was less time to play outside, but there was a string of...

Taking out a student loan for your child can hurt your own financial well-being

Written by Thomas Korankye, Assistant Professor, Personal and Family Financial Planning, University of Arizona

Parents who borrow for their children's college education say finances control their lives.kali9/E+ via Getty Images

When people take out student loans for themselves, certain risks are involved. The debt can negatively affect a person’s mental, emotional and even physical well-being. It can also harm a person’s financial well-being.

But...

Convenient but susceptible to fraud: Why it makes sense to regulate charitable crowdfunding

Written by Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame

A woman searches through debris near where her Dawson Springs, Ky. home stood before a tornado flattened it in December 2021.Scott Olson/Getty Images

Within 24 hours of devastating tornadoes striking six states in December 2021, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear launched the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund. That the leader of the state this...

The 'runner's high' may result from molecules called cannabinoids – the body's own version of THC and CBD

Written by Hilary A. Marusak, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University

Exercise spurs the release of the body's natural cannabinoids, which have myriad benefits for mental health and stress relief.Luca Sage/Stone via Getty Images

Many people have experienced reductions in stress, pain and anxiety and sometimes even euphoria after exercise. What’s behind this so-called “runner’s high”? New...

How to help those who have lost loved ones to suicide cope with grief during the holidays

Written by Michael R. Nadorff, Associate Professor of Psychology, Mississippi State University

Nearly 50,000 Americans kill themselves every year, leaving behind millions of family members and friends.svetikd/E+ via Getty Images

No matter the merriment of the season, the holidays remain a struggle for those who have lost a loved one to suicide.

In 2020, COVID-19 isolated many people from their families. Ironically, that isolation may have...

Sold-out supplies, serving a public need and other adventures of doing science during a pandemic – 4 researchers share their experiences

Written by Christian L'Orange, Assistant Research Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University

Like much else, scientific labs have been shut down by the pandemic.Cavan Images/Cavan via Getty Images

Closures, remote work, supply chain issues and changing priorities have affected almost everyone’s lives at some point during the nearly two years of the coronavirus pandemic. The process of science itself was no exception. The many people...

'Twas the night before Christmas' helped make the modern Santa – and led to a literary whodunit

Written by Melissa Chim, Adjunct Professor and Reference Librarian, General Theological Seminary

If you picture Santa Claus as plump and jolly and pulled by reindeer, you may have this poem to thank.Clement Clark Moore/New-York Historical Society

The poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” better known by its opening line “‘Twas the Night before Christmas,” has a special place among Christmas traditions, right alongside...

Why spending $2 trillion on child care, health care and fighting climate change won't make inflation any worse than it already is

Written by Michael Klein, Professor of International Economic Affairs at The Fletcher School, Tufts University

You get the metaphor. Edwin Remsberg/The Image Bank via Getty Images

One of the main concerns raised by critics of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan is that it will drive up inflation, which is already running at the fastest pace in four decades.

The Senate is currently considering a roughly US$2 trillion bill passed by the House th...