The Conversation

Want to know why India has been soft on Russia? Take a look at its military, diplomatic and energy ties

Written by Sumit Ganguly, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and the Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations, Indiana University

A close relationship based on strategic needs.Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

As global democracies lined up to condemn the actions of Russia in Ukraine, one country was less forthcoming in its criticism – and it was the largest democracy of them all: India.

Throughout the ongoing crisis, the government in India has carefully avoided taking an...

Manifesto published in Russian media reflects Putin regime's ruthless plans in Ukraine

Written by Susanne Sternthal, Lecturer in Post-Soviet Government and Politics, Texas State University

A forensic worker exhumes several bodies from a grave in Bucha, Ukraine, on April 12, 2022. Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images

Shortly after footage emerged of the carnage Russian troops left behind in the town of Bucha, Ukraine, an article was published April 4, 2022, in one of the largest Russian state-run media companies.

The article called for even...

Why do peace talks fail? A negotiation expert answers 5 questions about the slim chances for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine

Written by Andrew Blum, Executive Director and Professor of Practice at Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Kroc School, University of San Diego

Peace activists demonstrate outside the European Commission building on March 22, 2022, in Brussels. Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

Ukraine and Russia have held intermittent peace talks since the end of February 2022, just days after Russia first launched a war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin squashed hope of an imminent peace deal on April 12 when...

Corporate do-gooder efforts can boost sales as long as they're tied to corporate harm

Written by Dionne A Nickerson, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Indiana University

Brands spend billions on the environment and the common good.onurdongel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

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

The big idea

Customers spent more buying stuff from companies that engaged in corporate social responsibility than those that didn’t – as long as those do-gooder efforts...

Jackie Robinson was a radical – don't listen to the sanitized version of history

Written by Peter Dreier, E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics, Occidental College

Jackie Robinson addresses civil rights supporters protesting outside the 1964 GOP National Convention.Ted Streshinsky/Corbis via Getty Images

In our new book, “Baseball Rebels: The Players, People, and Social Movements That Shook Up the Game and Changed America,” Rob Elias and I profile the many iconoclasts, dissenters and mavericks who...

The information age is starting to transform fishing worldwide

Written by Nicholas P. Sullivan, Senior Research Fellow, Fletcher Maritime Studies Program, and Senior Fellow, Council on Emerging Market Enterprises, Tufts University

A researcher at the advocacy group Oceana uses GPS data to trace the activity of fishing boats. Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

People in the world’s developed nations live in a post-industrial era, working mainly in service or knowledge industries. Manufacturers increasingly rely on sensors, robots, artificial intelligence and machine...

The FDA approved a new drug to treat Alzheimer's, but Medicare won't always pay for it – a doctor explains what researchers know about Biogen's Aduhelm

Written by Andrew Williams, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

An illustration of amyloid plaques within the human brain, characteristic features of Alzheimer's. By 2060, approximately 14 million Americans are expected to have the disease.Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Medicare finalized its decision to restrict its coverage of Aduhelm, Biogen’s new Alzheimer’s disease drug, on...

A decade of science and trillions of collisions show the W boson is more massive than expected – a physicist on the team explains what it means for the Standard Model

Written by John Conway, Professor of Physics, University of California, Davis

Measuring the mass of W bosons took 10 years – and the result was not what physicists expected.PM Images/Digital Vision via Getty Images

“You can do it quickly, you can do it cheaply, or you can do it right. We did it right.” These were some of the opening remarks from David Toback, leader of the Collider Detector at Fermilab, as...

Police presence on school grounds poses potential risks to kids

Written by Elizabeth K. Anthony, Associate Professor of Social Work, Arizona State University

Evidence shows that students are being arrested for minor misbehavior. Watchara Phomicinda/MediaNews Group/The Press-Enterprise via Getty Images

In fall 2020, I got an email from the Phoenix Elementary School District #1, a K-8 school district, requesting feedback on whether to continue using school resource officers in seven of the...

Sacred hares, banished winter witches and pagan worship – the roots of Easter Bunny traditions are ancient

Written by Tok Thompson, Professor of Anthropology and Communication, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Children celebrating Easter, with their Easter Bunnies and Easter eggs.Sanja Radin/Collection E+ via Getty Images

The Easter Bunny is a much celebrated character in American Easter celebrations. On Easter Sunday, children look for hidden special treats, often chocolate Easter eggs, that the Easter Bunny might have left behind.

As a folklorist,...