The Conversation

70 years ago Walter Plywaski fought for atheists' right to become citizens – here's why his story is worth remembering

Written by Kristina M. Lee, Ph.D. Candidate in Rhetoric, Colorado State University

Walter Plywaski fought for atheists to be given citizenship rights.Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Walter Plywaski’s death earlier this year from complications related to COVID-19 went largely unnoticed by national media.

Only an invitation by his family to donate to the civil liberties group ACLU in Plywaski’s...

Pandemic pushed defendants to plead guilty more often, including innocent people pleading to crimes they didn’t commit

Written by Shi Yan, Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University

When people are held in jail, they're likely to accept quick release – even if it means admitting to something they didn't do.Caspar Benson via Getty Images

Despite a constitutional right to a jury trial, more than 94% of criminal convictions in the United States result from guilty pleas, not jury verdicts. Even innocent people, those who did...

What is Section 230? An expert on internet law and regulation explains the legislation that paved the way for Facebook, Google and Twitter

Written by Abbey Stemler, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics; Faculty Associate Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, Indiana University

Democrats and Republicans in Congress have asked sharp questions of social media CEOs as lawmakers consider changes to landmark internet legislation.Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP

Almost any article you read about Section 230 reminds you that it contains the most important 26 words in tech and that it is the law that made the modern internet. This is...

What's driving the huge blooms of brown seaweed piling up on Florida and Caribbean beaches?

Written by Stephen P. Leatherman, Professor of Coastal Science, Florida International University

Mats of Sargassum seaweed off the coast of St. Martin in April 2018.ELY Michel CC BY-SA 4.0, , CC BY-SA

Here’s a handy geography question for your next trivia match: What is the world’s only sea that doesn’t have a land border?

The answer is the Sargasso Sea – a 2-million-square-nautical-mile haven of biodiversity that lies...

What will the Earth be like in 500 years?

Written by Michael A. Little, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Binghamton University, State University of New York

The planet and the way we live on it are constantly changing.Buena Vista Images via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

What will the Earth be like in 500 years? — Lotte, Brookline, Massachusetts

Scientists can...

MacKenzie Scott's HBCU giving starkly contrasts with the approach of early white funders of historically Black colleges and universities

Written by Tyrone McKinley Freeman, Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Director of Undergraduate Programs, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, IUPUI

Attorneys George E.C. Hayes, left, Thurgood Marshall, center, and James M. Nabrit, all HBCU grads, successfully sought to defeat school segregation in court.AP Photo

Novelist and billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has so far given at least US$560 million to 23 historically Black colleges and universities. These donations are part of a bid...

Freeing Britney requires reconsidering how society thinks about decision-making capacity

Written by Elyn Saks, Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, University of Southern California

The stress and shame of conservatorships can sometimes do more harm than good to the people they're supposed to protect.Rich Fury/Staff via Getty Images Entertainment

Britney Spears’ impassioned remarks in court have raised many questions about conservatorships, including when they’re necessary and whether they effectively protect...

Male fertility is declining – studies show that environmental toxins could be a reason

Written by Ryan P. Smith, Associate Professor of Urology, University of Virginia

For decades, sperm counts and sperm health have been declining.Carol Yepes/Moment via Getty Images

In the U.S., nearly 1 in 8 couples struggles with infertility. Unfortunately, physicians like me who specialize in reproductive medicine are unable to determine the cause of male infertility around 30% to 50% of the time. There is almost nothing more...

Farmers markets are growing their role as essential sources of healthy food for rich and poor

Written by Edna Ledesma, Assistant Professor of Planning and Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin-Madison

A customer shops at a drive-thru farmers market in Overland Park, Kansas, on May 2, 2020. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

For many Americans, buying fresh local food at one of the estimated 9,000 farmers markets across the U.S. is one of summer’s pleasures. But farmers markets aren’t just nice amenities. Over the past 18 months, many have...

Fasting may have become a health fad, but religious communities have been doing it for millennia

Written by Iqbal Akhtar, Associate Professor, Florida International University

Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam.Prakash Mathema/AFP via Getty Images

The practice of fasting has entered popular culture in recent years as a way to lose extra pounds. Featured in the bestselling book “The Fast Diet,” it advocates eating normally on select days of the week while drastically reducing calories on the remaining...