The Conversation

Deported veterans, stranded far from home after years of military service, press Biden to bring them back

Written by Jennifer Martinez-Medina, PhD Candidate/Political Science Instructor, Portland State University

Mexican-American deported veterans at a Memorial Day ceremony held annually on the bridge that connects Texas to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, May 28, 2018. Herika Martinz/ AFP via Getty Images

Ivan Ocon thought he would be headed back to civilian life as a U.S. citizen after serving the U.S. Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

Ocon, who was born in...

What is fascism?

Written by John Broich, Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University

A Donald Trump supporter wears a gas mask and holds a bust of him after he and hundreds of others stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Since before Donald Trump took office, historians have debated whether he is a fascist.

As a teacher of World War II history who has written about fascism, I’ve...

Audio chatrooms like Clubhouse have become the hot new media by tapping into the age-old appeal of the human voice

Written by Damian Radcliffe, Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism, University of Oregon

The name "clubhouse" conveys a sense of exclusivity, belonging and connection.wundervisuals/E+ via Getty Images

Google “What is Clubhouse?” and you’ll find a flurry of articles written in the past few weeks about this fast-growing social network. It’s not yet a year old, and much of the buzz stems from the fact that...

What public school students are allowed to say on social media may be about to change

Written by Scott F. Johnson, Professor of Law, Concord Law School

Student speech in public schools has less protection than speech by adults in the community at large.Noam Galai/Getty Images

After a high school cheerleader in Pennsylvania dropped a series of F-bombs about her school in a Snapchat post over a weekend in the spring of 2017, she was suspended from the cheerleading team and sued the school district,...

Giving while female: Women are more likely to donate to charities than men of equal means

Written by Tessa Skidmore, Research Associate of Philanthropy, Women's Philanthropy Institute; Doctoral student of Philanthropy, IUPUI

Women who are collectively donating to an all-girls school in Peru discuss their charitable giving in a Vienna, Virginia dining room.Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The American poet Ambrose Bierce wrote in 1906 that a philanthropist is “a rich (and usually bald) old gentleman who has trained himself to grin while...

The exercise pill: How exercise keeps your brain healthy and protects it against depression and anxiety

Written by Arash Javanbakht, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University

The author, Arash Javanbakht, at his gym. Javanbakht did not like to exercise until he found an activity he enjoyed. Arash Javanbakht, CC BY-SA

As with many other physicians, recommending physical activity to patients was just a doctor chore for me – until a few years ago. That was because I myself was not very active. Over the years, as I...

Many Black Americans aren’t rushing to get the COVID-19 vaccine – a long history of medical abuse suggests why

Written by Esther Jones, Associate Professor of English, affiliate with Africana Studies and Women's & Gender Studies, Clark University

Black patients can be wary of the medical establishment.Maskot via Getty Images

Black Americans have been the least inclined of any racial or ethnic group to say they’d get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The proportion of Black people who said they’ll probably or definitely take the shot has risen over time – but even by...

What's behind $15,000 electricity bills in Texas?

Written by Seth Blumsack, Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics and International Affairs, Penn State

Power to the people, but it will cost you.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Texans who made it through February’s extreme cold weather without losing power or natural gas must have felt lucky.

But for some, keeping their electricity through the blackout may turn out to be more traumatic than losing it. An undetermined number of homeowners have...

In Texas, price gouging during disasters is illegal – it is also on very shaky ethical ground

Written by Elizabeth Brake, Professor of Philosophy, Rice University

Price gouging during disasters further shuts out those living in poverty.AP Photo/Eric Gay

In Houston, as millions suffered power and water outages, food shortages and subfreezing temperatures, another problem confronted families: price hikes.

Steep increases in the price of food, gas and fuel have been reported across Texas. And as millions of...

AI is killing choice and chance – which means changing what it means to be human

Written by Nir Eisikovits, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director, Applied Ethics Center, University of Massachusetts Boston

AI promises to make life easier, but what will humans lose in the bargain?AP Photo/Frank Augstein

The history of humans’ use of technology has always been a history of coevolution. Philosophers from Rousseau to Heidegger to Carl Schmitt have argued that technology is never a neutral tool for achieving human ends. Technological innovations...