The Conversation

How the Texas electricity system produced low-cost power but left residents out in the cold

Written by Theodore J. Kury, Director of Energy Studies, University of Florida

Waiting in line in freezing rain to fill propane tanks in Houston, Texas, Feb. 17, 2021.AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Americans often take electricity for granted – until the lights go out. The recent cold wave and storm in Texas have placed considerable focus on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, the nonprofit corporation that...

One month in, how Biden has changed disaster management and the US COVID-19 response

Written by Brian J. Gerber, Associate Professor, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and Co-Director, Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Arizona State University

The National Guard joined forces with FEMA to launch a mass vaccination site in Los Angeles.Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

After one month in office, the Biden administration has fundamentally changed how the federal government responds to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In direct contrast to his predecessor, President Joe Biden is treating this as a...

How a mass suicide by slaves caused the legend of the flying African to take off

Written by Thomas Hallock, Professor of English, University of South Florida

Like the best myths, the tale of Igbo Landing and the flying African seems to transcend boundaries of time and space.Victor_Tongdee/iStock via Getty Images

In May 1803 a group of enslaved Africans from present-day Nigeria, of Ebo or Igbo descent, leaped from a single-masted ship into Dunbar Creek off St. Simons Island in Georgia. A slave agent...

Americans still need a lifeline despite trillions in coronavirus aid

Written by Mary G. Findling, Research Associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University

Americas' financial desperation can be seen in the soaring demand for food assistance. AP Photo/John Minchillo

As Congress prepares another injection of COVID-19 aid for businesses and individuals, there’s been debate about whether it’s necessary on top of the US$3.5 trillion spent so far.

President Joe Biden had initially hoped to get...

I interviewed 48 bankrupt Americans – here's who they blame for their financial troubles

Written by Tess Wise, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Amherst College

Preventing home foreclosure is one reason middle-class people may declare Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy.fstop123/E+ via Getty Images

The people arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection had an 18% bankruptcy rate – twice as high as the national average – according to a Washington Post investigation. A quarter of the...

Air filters can scrub out pollutants near highways, reduce blood pressure

Written by Doug Brugge, Professor and Chair of Public Health Science and Community Medicine, University of Connecticut

Busy highways are large sources of air pollution. Larry D. Moore via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

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

The big idea

For people living near busy highways, using air filters indoors results in short-term improvements to blood pressure, according to a new study I co-authored.

Next to busy...

Election violence spiked worldwide in 2020 – will this year be better?

Written by Clayton Besaw, Research Affiliate and Senior Analyst, University of Central Florida

The U.S. was one of 33 countries to experience election-related violence in 2020 – the worst year for peaceful elections ever. Brent Stirton/Getty Images

The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 shocked Americans and the world. But the U.S. was not alone in its rocky transfer of power: Last year saw more election-related violence than...

What belief in extraterrestrial visitors to Earth reveals about trust in elections

Written by Joshua Lambert, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, University of Central Florida

People who believe aliens have visited Earth are less likely to trust the 2020 election results. Colin Anderson Productions pty ltd/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Partisanship is not enough to explain why so many Americans – mostly Republicans – distrust the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

As scholars in political behavior and...

6 important truths about COVID-19 vaccines

Written by Sarah Lynch, Director of Skills Education and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Binghamton University, State University of New York

For many, distinguishing between fact and fiction is difficult.Olemedia/E+ via Getty Images

One of the biggest barriers standing in the way of ending the pandemic isn’t medical or logistical. It’s the misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines.

Demand for vaccine currently exceeds supply, but there are many people who are either unsure...

Black sororities have stood at the forefront of Black achievement for more than a century

Written by Tamara L. Brown, Executive Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of North Texas

Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority members at a get-out-the-vote event in 2020Octavio Jones/Getty Images

In her speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention Kamala Harris saluted seven women who “inspired us to pick up the torch and fight on.”

All but two of them, one of whom was her mother, belonged to Black sororities. Harris also...