The Conversation

Why kids shouldn't eat added sugar before they turn 2, according to a nutritional epidemiologist

Written by Lisa Bodnar, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences

Avoiding or reducing added sugar in your child's diet can be tricky.Andrii Zorii/iStock via Getty Images Plus

I remember a decade ago sitting in front of my 9-month-old daughter, who was in her high chair, and trying to spoon-feed her a pureed green vegetable. It didn’t matter if it was peas, green beans or something else, because the outcome...

Regret can be all-consuming – a neurobehavioral scientist explains how people can overcome it

Written by J. Kim Penberthy, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia

Regret can increase stress and negatively affect one's physical health.JGI/Tom Grill via Getty Images

A friend of mine – we will call him “Jay” – was working for IBM in New York City in the early ‘90s. He was a computer programmer and made a good salary. Occasionally, competitors and startups approached Jay to join...

The metaverse offers a future full of potential – for terrorists and extremists, too

Written by Joel S. Elson, Assistant Professor of IT Innovation, University of Nebraska Omaha

Violent extremists could find the metaverse a useful recruiting and organizing tool – and a target-rich environment.D-Keine/E+ via Getty Images

The metaverse is coming. Like all technological innovation, it brings new opportunities and new risks.

The metaverse is an immersive virtual reality version of the internet where people can interact...

Women are finding new ways to influence male-led faiths

Written by Emily Costello, Managing Editor, The Conversation US

The number of women religious leaders is growing, but the 2018-2019 National Congregations Study, which surveyed 5,300 U.S. religious communities, found that only 56.4% of these communities would allow a woman to “be head clergy person or primary religious leader.”AP Photo/Young Kwak

In some religions, women are barred from serving as...

School closure debates put teachers unions front and center

Written by Katharine O. Strunk, Professor of Education Policy and Economics, Michigan State University

Schools in Chicago have suffered days of disruption.Scott Olson/Getty Images

Classes in Chicago were canceled for a third day on Jan. 7, 2022, amid a bitter standoff between the teachers union and public school leaders over in-person instruction during a spike in COVID-19 infections.

The dispute echoes those that occurred earlier in the pandemic when...

Biden urges America to see the truth of Jan. 6 – and understand its place in history

Written by John M. Murphy, Professor of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Delivered under the eyes of history.Jabin Botsford//The Washington Post via AP

President Joe Biden closed his speech commemorating and deploring the events of Jan. 6, 2021, by asking God to “bless those who stand watch over democracy.”

To “stand watch” is to stand guard, but as a metaphor, it runs deeper. To stand watch on a...

How democracy gets eroded – lessons from a Nixon expert

Written by Ken Hughes, Research Specialist, the Miller Center, University of Virginia

Security fences stand near the U.S. Capitol on January 5, 2022. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Now that a full year has passed since the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, the 2020 election and the republic, it’s evident that the attack never really ended. Instead, it spread out to other, less visible, more vulnerable targets.

Donald Trump had...

Can a Christian flag fly at city hall? The Supreme Court will have to decide

Written by Mark Satta, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Wayne State University

Organizations can apply to have their flag temporarily replace the Boston city flag, shown on far right, in front of City Hall.gregobagel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

There are three flagpoles outside Boston City Hall. One flies the United States flag. Another flies the Massachusetts state flag. What can – and can’t – fly from the...

The 'China shock' of trade in the 2000s reverberates in US politics and economics – and warns of the dangers for fossil fuel workers

Written by Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology

Containers are seen stacked at a port in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province on Jan. 14, 2020. STR/AFP via Getty Images

In December 1978, the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping introduced economic reforms that dramatically altered China’s economy by strengthening trade and cultural ties with the West.

Beginning in the 1990s, these reforms...

College students with young kids – especially mothers – find themselves in a time crunch

Written by Claire Wladis, Professor of Urban Education, CUNY Graduate Center

Mothers in college have less time to study than students without children. 10'000 Hours/Getty Images

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

The big idea

We found that college students who have children had significantly less time for college than their childless peers – about 4.3 hours less per week, to be specific...