The Conversation

Taxing bachelors and proposing marriage lotteries – how superpowers addressed declining birthrates in the past

Written by Amy Froide, Professor of History, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

In England, children were seen as a way to replenish the military and sustain the economy.Universal Images Group via Getty Images

There’s growing awareness – and concern – about declining birthrates in the U.S. and other countries around the world.

Falling birth rates are usually seen as a sign of societal decline, a nation’s...

Why refusing the COVID-19 vaccine isn't just immoral – it's 'un-American'

Written by Christopher Beem, Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy, Co-host of Democracy Works Podcast, Penn State

Many individuals are rejecting the COVID-19 vaccines for personal reasons.Mark Felix / AFP via Getty Images

Decades ago I helped organize a conference that brought together vaccine skeptics and public health officials. The debate centered on what governments can and cannot demand from citizens, and what behaviors one can rightly expect from others.

I...

In Moscow, Idaho, conservative 'Christian Reconstructionists' are thriving amid evangelical turmoil

Written by Crawford Gribben, Professor of history, Queen's University Belfast

Members of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, protest an order to either socially distance or wear a face mask in public.Geoff Crimmins/The Moscow-Pullman Daily News, CC BY-SA

Evangelical groups in the U.S. have for years faced dwindling numbers. And a messy cultural fight over the direction of the movement might serve to drive further defections.

But...

Hip-hop holiday signals a turning point in education for a music form that began at a back-to-school party in the Bronx

Written by A.D. Carson, Assistant Professor of Hip-Hop, University of Virginia

DJ Kool Herc is considered the "sonic originator" of hip-hop. Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images

Whenever I teach courses on hip-hop at the University of Virginia, I provide a brief overview of where hip-hop music began. One of the important dates I use is Aug. 11, 1973. That’s when DJ Kool Herc, who was 18 at the time, threw a “Back To...

What is Pegasus? A cybersecurity expert explains how the spyware invades phones and what it does when it gets in

Written by Bhanukiran Gurijala, Assistant Professor of Computer Science & Information Systems, West Virginia University

A woman holds a phone in front of the office of NSO Group, which makes a tool that can see and hear everything a phone is used for.Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

End-to-end encryption is technology that scrambles messages on your phone and unscrambles them only on the recipients’ phones, which means anyone who intercepts the messages in...

What is ranked choice voting? A political scientist explains

Written by Joshua Holzer, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Westminster College

Absentee ballots for the New York City mayoral primary, which used ranked-choice voting, are counted.AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Ranked choice voting is on the rise in the United States, with nearly two dozen places now using the system for various offices including, most recently, New York City for its mayoral primary elections.

By the end of 2021, more...

Shutting down school vaccine clinics doesn't protect minors – it hurts people who are already disadvantaged

Written by Katherine A. Foss, Professor of Media Studies, Middle Tennessee State University

A high school student gets his COVID-19 shot at a pop-up vaccine clinic at a public charter school in Los Angeles.Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

A 1918 newspaper article captures public attitudes toward a typhoid vaccine clinic at the Oakdale schoolhouse in Louisville, Kentucky. “Everybody comes – railroad men, children,...

Is drinking good for you in any way? If not, why is alcohol legal for adults?

Written by Margie Skeer, Associate Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine; Weiner Hailey Family Professor, Tufts University

Beer, wine and hard liquor are causing nearly 100,000 U.S. deaths a year.AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Is alcohol consumption of any benefit to humans? If not, why aren’t we thinking about banning...

People living with HIV face harmful stigma daily – DaBaby's rant was just more public than most

Written by Sannisha Dale, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Miami

HIV stigma manifests in many ways, including microaggressions that could lead to a higher risk of depression, PTSD and suicidality.ASphotowed/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Rapper DaBaby drew sharp criticism after he delivered a rant during a concert on July 25, 2021, insulting people living with HIV or sexually transmitted illnesses. He not only...

The water cycle is intensifying as the climate warms, IPCC report warns – that means more intense storms and flooding

Written by Mathew Barlow, Professor of Climate Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Extreme downpours and flooding like northern England experienced in 2015 can put lives at risk.Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

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The world watched in July 2021 as extreme rainfall became floods that washed away centuries-old homes in Europe, triggered landslides in Asia and inundated subways in China. More than 900 people died in the...