The Conversation

TikTok, #BamaRush and the irresistible allure of mocking Southern accents

Written by Kathryn Cunningham, Assistant Professor of Theatre, University of Tennessee

The University of Alabama's Alpha Phi sorority runs out of Bryant-Denny Stadium during bid day in 2014.AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

As college students across the country return to campuses grappling with the COVID-19 delta variant, Greek letters of a different variety have captivated social media feeds with stunning virality.

The #BamaRush trend on...

How public health partnerships are encouraging COVID-19 vaccination in Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana and South Carolina

Written by Debra Furr-Holden, Associate Dean for Public Health Integration, Michigan State University

A Delta Health Center worker at a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic in rural Mississippi in April 2021.Spencer Platt/Getty Images

About 18 months into the coronavirus pandemic, roughly 61% of all Americans have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In some states, however, the share of vaccinated people is as low as 43.6%. There are many...

Assassinations and invasions – how the US and France shaped Haiti's long history of political turmoil

Written by Jean Eddy Saint Paul, Professor of Sociology, Brooklyn College

Police patrol outside the Embassy of Taiwan in Port-au-Prince on July 9, 2021, after 11 suspected assassins of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse broke into its embassy in an attempt to flee.Valerie Baeriswyl/AFP via Getty Images

The powerful earthquake that struck Haiti on Aug. 14, 2021, followed a long series of natural and human-caused...

The invasive emerald ash borer has destroyed millions of trees – scientists aim to control it with tiny parasitic wasps

Written by Kristine Grayson, Associate Professor of Biology, University of Richmond

Emerald ash borer larva cut these feeding galleries on the trunk of a dead ash tree in Michigan. corfoto via Getty Images

The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is a deceptively attractive metallic-green adult beetle with a red abdomen. But few people ever actually see the insect itself – just the trail of destruction it leaves behind...

Do I need a booster shot if I got the Johnson Johnson vaccine? A virologist answers 5 questions

Written by Maureen Ferran, Associate Professor of Biology, Rochester Institute of Technology

A little more than 8% of vaccinated people in the U.S. have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. SOPA Images/Contributor/Light Rocket via Getty Images

For people who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, the past few months have been a bit of a bumpy ride with news of side effects, pauses and restarts and now boosters. Maureen...

Vaccines could affect how the coronavirus evolves - but that's no reason to skip your shot

Written by Andrew Read, Professor of Biology, Entomology and Biotechnology, Penn State

Vaccines against COVID-19 are the safest – and fastest – way to prevent the spread of variants.Luis Alvarez/ DigitalVision via Getty Images

Takeaways

A 2015 paper on a chicken virus showed vaccines could enable more deadly variants to spread – in chickens.
But that outcome is rare. Only a minority of human and animal vaccines have...

What is ISIS-K? Two terrorism experts on the group behind the deadly Kabul airport attack and its rivalry with the Taliban

Written by Amira Jadoon, Assistant Professor at the Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy West Point

ISIS-K, an affiliate of the Islamic State group, has claimed responsibility for the Kabul terrorist attack.Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images

An attack on a crowd gathered outside Kabul’s airport on Aug. 26, 2021, has left at least 100 people dead, including at least 13 U.S. troops. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the coordinated suicide bomb...

Racial income and wealth gaps are huge – but the Fed doesn't have the right tools to fix them

Written by Paul Wachtel, Emeritus Professor of Economics, New York University

Does Fed Chair Jerome Powell have the tools to tackle racial disparities?AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Central bankers and economists from around the world are convening remotely for the annual Jackson Hole symposium on Aug. 27, 2021, to discuss the future of monetary policy.

For the second year in a row, the annual conference will be virtual and the...

American religious groups have a history of resettling refugees – including Afghans

Written by Stephanie J. Nawyn, Associate Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Center for Gender in Global Context, Michigan State University

Many of the organizations helping refugees resettle are faith-based groups.AP Photo/Airman 1st Class Kylie Barrow

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, on Aug. 15, 2021, there has been a frenetic evacuation of foreigners and Afghan nationals. Thousands of these Afghans assisted the United States government, which now...

Do star athletes who want to play for the NBA really need college? What LaMelo Ball got right – and wrong – about why they don't

Written by John Holden, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies, Oklahoma State University

NBA star LaMelo Ball stirred controversy recently with comments that school doesn't hold much value for superstar athletes.Kevin Mazur

In a recent interview published in GQ, NBA star LaMelo Ball downplayed the importance of college for athletes who aspire to play professional basketball. When asked about his decision to forgo college and play...