The Conversation

Caring for the environment has a long Catholic lineage – hundreds of years before Pope Francis

Written by Joanne M. Pierce, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

Pope Francis has laid emphasis on protecting the environment, but he's not the only pope to speak about caring for nature. AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

Pope Francis led dozens of religious leaders Oct. 4, 2021 in issuing a plea to protect the environment, warning that “Future generations will never forgive us if we miss the opportunity to...

Perseverance’s first major successes on Mars – an update from mission scientists

Written by Melissa Rice, Associate Professor of Planetary Science, Western Washington University

Perseverance took a selfie next to its biggest accomplishment yet – the two small drill holes where the rover took samples of Martian rocks. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

In the short time since NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in Mars’ Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021, it’s already made history.

At the moment, Mars and the Earth are...

Land acknowledgments meant to honor Indigenous people too often do the opposite – erasing American Indians and sanitizing history instead

Written by Elisa J. Sobo, Professor and Chair of Anthropology, San Diego State University

A portion of a map that erases the borders Colonial powers drew, and shows instead the Indigenous territories, treaties and languages of North America.Native Land Digital, CC BY-SA

Many events these days begin with land acknowledgments: earnest statements acknowledging that activities are taking place, or institutions, businesses and even homes are...

The Catholic Church sex abuse crisis: 4 essential reads

Written by Molly Jackson, Religion and Ethics Editor

People pray for the victims of child sex abuse during a special service at a Catholic church outside Paris on Oct. 5, 2021. A new French report estimates that more than 200,000 children were abused by clergy since 1950.AP Photo/Michel Euler

Revelations about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church have been emerging for decades. But in the seemingly...

Facebook's own internal documents offer a blueprint for making social media safer for teens

Written by Jean Twenge, Professor of Psychology, San Diego State University

What if there were a social media blackout for teens during certain hours of the night?NitaYuko/iStock via Getty Images

Right at the time social media became popular, teen mental health began to falter. Between 2010 and 2019, rates of depression and loneliness doubled in the U.S. and globally, suicide rates soared for teens in the U.S. and emergency...

Teachers say working with students kept them motivated at the start of the pandemic

Written by Nathan D. Jones, Associate Professor of Special Education, Boston University

Teachers experienced more positive emotions interacting with their students when schools closed during the pandemic. Barrie Fanton/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

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

The big idea

Of all the things teachers do on the job, we found that teachers enjoy interacting...

Indigenous Peoples' Day: why it's replacing Columbus Day in many places

Written by Susan C. Faircloth, Professor & Director of the School of Education, Colorado State University

Indigenous Peoples Day is celebrated in many states across the U.S.grandriver/E+ via Getty Images

Columbus Day celebrations in the United States – meant to honor the legacy of the man credited with “discovering” the New World – are almost as old as the nation itself. The earliest known Columbus Day celebration took place on...

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified that the company's algorithms are dangerous – here's how they can manipulate you

Written by Filippo Menczer, Luddy Distinguished Professor of Informatics and Computer Science, Indiana University

Whistleblower Frances Haugen called Facebook's algorithm dangerous.Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP

Former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen testified before the U.S. Senate on Oct. 5, 2021, that the company’s social media platforms “harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy.”

Haugen was the primary...

What's on the menu matters in health care for diverse patients

Written by Minakshi Raj, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Family members often take on the burden of preparing and delivering meals to their relatives.SoumenNath/E+ via Getty Images

Food is a powerful part of community and medicine. It has the potential to build connections, elicit nostalgia, spark joy, mark celebration and promote healing.

It also plays a role in determining whether the health care system...

The water you're drinking may be thousands of years old – growing demand for deeper wells is tapping ancient reserves

Written by Marissa Grunes, Environmental Fellow, Harvard University

Some of North America’s groundwater is so old, it fell as rain before humans arrived here thousands of years ago.Maria Fuchs via Getty Images

Communities that rely on the Colorado River are facing a water crisis. Lake Mead, the river’s largest reservoir, has fallen to levels not seen since it was created by the construction of the...