The Conversation

Happy Twosday! Why numbers like 2/22/22 have been too fascinating for over 2,000 years

Written by Barry Markovsky, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of South Carolina

Is "Twosday" as special as some corners of the internet seem to think?articular/iStock via Getty Images Plus

This Feb. 22, the world hits an unprecedented milestone. It’s the date itself: 2/22/22. And this so-called “Twosday” falls on a Tuesday, no less.

It’s true the number pattern stands out, impossible to miss. But does...

The Supreme Court could hamstring federal agencies' regulatory power in a high-profile air pollution case

Written by Albert C. Lin, Professor of Law, University of California, Davis

Coal piles outside of PacifiCorp's Hunter power plant in Castle Dale, Utah.George Frey, AFP, via Getty Images

On Feb. 28, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in West Virginia v. EPA, a case that centers on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. How...

Want better child care? Invest in entrepreneurial training for child care workers

Written by Anne Douglass, Professor of Early Care and Education Leadership, Policy, and Practice, UMass Boston

Entrepreneurial leadership values expertise from providers, educators and parents. SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images

Christine Heer – a veteran preschool teacher – had long harbored a passion to run a nature-based preschool. So in 2015 she opened Sprouts Farm and Forest Kindergarten in central Massachusetts.

Diana Stinson did...

Female business travelers pay less than their male colleagues because they tend to book earlier

Written by Javier D. Donna, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Florida

Women tend to book business travel earlier than men.Michael Duva/Stone via Getty Images

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

The big idea

Female employees consistently pay lower airfares than men do for the same flights because they tend to book earlier, according to a new peer-reviewed article I co-authored.

To reach...

Can religion and faith combat eco-despair?

Written by Rita D. Sherma, Associate Professor of Dharma Studies, Graduate Theological Union

There's a growing belief that teachings from religious faiths belong in the discussion around environmental protection. ImagineGolf/E+/Getty Images

Scientists regularly study the ongoing degradation of Earth’s environment and track the changes wrought by a warming planet. Economists warn that intensifying disasters are harming people’s...

Yoko Ono's prophetic vision of self-care

Written by Brigid Cohen, Associate Professor of Music, New York University

To Yoko Ono, imaginative acts were a form of survival.Susan Wood/Getty Images

Light a match and watch till it goes out. Go to the middle of Central Park Pond and drop all your jewelry. Scream against the sky.

When a young Yoko Ono formulated these actions in the 1950s and 1960s, they heralded a bracingly quirky vision for the arts as a therapeutic...

Anti-Asian violence spiked in the US during the pandemic, especially in blue-state cities

Written by Arie Perliger, Director of Security Studies and Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell

Anti-Asian attacks killed nine people in 2021, including 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, seen in a photo held by his daughter Monthanus Ratanapakdee.AP Photo/Terry Chea

It’s widely known that Asian Americans felt – and were – persecuted during the pandemic. But the extent of this violence, and its uneven geographic distribution...

Deer, mink and hyenas have caught COVID-19 – animal virologists explain how to find the coronavirus in animals and why humans need to worry

Written by Sue VandeWoude, University Distinguished Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology and Director of the One Health Institute, Colorado State University

White-tailed deer are one of the few wild species that scientists have found to be infected with the coronavirus – at least so far.Andrew C/WikimediaCommons, CC BY

In April 2020, tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo made the news when they came down with COVID-19. In the months following these surprising diagnoses, researchers and veterinarians...

Invading Ukraine may never have been Putin's aim – the threat alone could advance Russia's goals

Written by Ronald Suny, Professor of History and Political Science, University of Michigan

What he wants. What he really, really wants?Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images

An invasion is not the only way the crisis in Ukraine can play out.

A diplomatic solution may yet provide an off-ramp for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose placement of tens of thousands of troops along Russia’s border with its smaller neighbor...

All American presidents have lied – the question is why and when

Written by Michael Blake, Professor of Philosophy, Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington

Critics of President Joe Biden have accused him of lying. Most American presidents have been accused of deception.Win McNamee/Getty Images

Those who dislike a president tend to emphasize the frequency or skill with which he lies.

During the Trump administration, for instance, The Washington Post kept a running database of the president’s...