The Conversation

The first mobile phone call was 75 years ago – what it takes for technologies to go from breakthrough to big time

Written by Daniel Bliss, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Arizona State University

An engineer demonstrates a car phone five months before the historic first call on a competing company's commercial mobile telephone service in 1946.Bettmann via Getty Images

I have a cellphone built into my watch. People now take this type of technology for granted, but not so long ago it was firmly in the realm of science fiction. The transition...

Racial bias makes white Americans more likely to support wars in nonwhite foreign countries -- new study

Written by Vladimir Enrique Medenica, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Delaware

White Americans who hold racist attitudes are likely to prefer military action over diplomacy in foreign countries like Iran and, in particular, China.Frank Rossoto Stocktrek via Getty

The effects of American racial bias and anti-Asian sentiment do not end at the nation’s borders. The racial attitudes of white people also influence their...

A court ruling on Shell's climate impact and votes against Exxon and Chevron add pressure, but it's the market that will drive oil giants to change

Written by Paul Griffin, Distinguished Professor of Management, University of California, Davis

Fossil fuel stocks haven't kept up with the market in recent years.Anton Petrus via Getty Images

From news reports, it might sound like the fossil fuel industry is on the defensive after a landmark court ruling and two shareholder votes challenging the industry’s resistance to curbing its greenhouse gas emissions.

But how much power do...

Why nobody will ever agree on whether COVID lockdowns were worth it

Written by James D. Long, Associate Professor of Political Science, Co-founder of the Political Economy Forum, Host of "Neither Free Nor Fair?" podcast, University of Washington

Stuffed bears in windows were a common sight during the early 2020 lockdowns.Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

As an increasingly vaccinated world emerges from lockdowns, lots of people are talking about whether the fight against the pandemic was too strong or too weak. Some people argue restrictions did not go far enough; others maintain the...

Biden's Supreme Court commission probably won't sway public opinion

Written by David Ryan Miller, Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Vanderbilt University

Amid strong political pressure to pack the Supreme Court, President Biden formed a commission to study ways to reform the court.Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

In late 2020, President Donald Trump nominated conservative jurist Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. She was quickly confirmed to fill the seat previously held by the late Ruth...

5 ways MacKenzie Scott’s $8.5 billion commitment to social and economic justice is a model for other donors

Written by Elizabeth J. Dale, Associate Professor of Nonprofit Leadership, Seattle University

Graduates of Cal State Fullerton, one of many universities with nonwhite majorities that billionaire MacKenzie Scott is supporting.Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images

The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced on June 15, 2021, that she and her husband Dan Jewett had given US$2.7 billion to 286...

Faith still shapes morals and values even after people are 'done' with religion

Written by Philip Schwadel, Professor of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

For many, leaving religion does not mean leaving behind religious morals and values.Jesus Gonzalez/Moment via Getty

Religion forms a moral foundation for billions of people throughout the world.

In a 2019 survey, 44% of Americans – along with 45% of people across 34 nations – said that belief in God is necessary “to be moral and...

Smelling in stereo – the real reason snakes have flicking, forked tongues

Written by Kurt Schwenk, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut

Long misunderstood, snake tongues have fascinated naturalists for centuries.reptiles4all/iStock via Getty Images Plus

As dinosaurs lumbered through the humid cycad forests of ancient South America 180 million years ago, primeval lizards scurried, unnoticed, beneath their feet. Perhaps to avoid being trampled by their giant kin, some of these early...

US bishops set collision course with Vatican over plan to press Biden not to take Communion

Written by Steven P. Millies, Associate Professor of Public Theology and Director of The Bernardin Center, Catholic Theological Union

The Vatican has warned U.S. bishops not to deny Communion to President Biden.L'Osservatore Romano/Pool photo via AP

A rift between conservative American bishops and the Vatican could be laid bare on June 16 as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meets amid talk of a growing divide in the church over Pope Francis’ leadership.

During the...

Joe Biden, a father’s love and the legacy of 'daddy issues' among presidents

Written by Chris Lamb, Professor of Journalism, IUPUI

Joe Biden, right, and his son Beau had a strong relationship until Beau's death in 2015.Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden often talks about the close relationship he had with his father and how this influenced him growing up as “the scrappy kid from Scranton,” Pennsylvania.

Biden was born into wealth, the son of...