The Conversation

Anger in Tokyo over the Summer Olympics is just the latest example of how unpopular hosting the games has become

Written by Mark Wilson, Professor, Urban & Regional Planning, School of Planning, Design and Construction, Michigan State University

Protesters speak out against the Olympics in Tokyo on May 17, 2021.AP Photo/Koji Sasahara

The Summer Olympics, postponed in 2020 by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled to begin on July 23, 2021, in Tokyo. Even though surfing and four other sports will debut at these games, the locals aren’t exactly thrilled.

According to a...

10 hip-hop songs to take you on a voyage into space

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

Hip-hop has a long history in referencing space exploration. Taylor Hill/Getty Images for The Meadows Music & Arts Festival

From the earliest days of hip-hop, rap artists have referenced the extraterrestrial to help us escape our earthbound existence.

In “Rapper’s Delight” – the pioneering 1979 rap song by the Sugarhill...

Politicized science drove lunar exploration and Stalinist pseudoscience – but polarized scientific views are worse than ever

Written by Liv Grjebine, Postdoctoral Fellow in History of Science, Harvard University

President Trump frequently and loudly disagreed with scientists. AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File

Last year one of my students in a history of science class commented that “no one knows which doctors to trust because they are politicizing the pandemic, just like politicians are.” The interactions between science and politics are now so...

Colonial Pipeline forked over $4.4M to end cyberattack – but is paying a ransom ever the ethical thing to do?

Written by Scott Shackelford, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics; Executive Director, Ostrom Workshop; Cybersecurity Program Chair, IU-Bloomington, Indiana University

What would happen if companies stopped paying ransoms?Liu Jie/Xinhua via Getty Images

It took little over two hours for hackers to gain control of more than 100 gigabytes of information from Colonial Pipeline on May 7, 2021 – causing the firm to shut down its fuel distribution network and sparking widespread fears of a gasoline shortage. The...

Think like a virus to understand why the pandemic isn't over yet – and what the US needs to do to help other countries

Written by Karen Levy, Associate Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington

To stop the spread of COVID-19 across the globe, it's important to understand the evolutionary imperative that viruses have to spread their genetic material.Dazeley/Getty Images

Kill every human on the planet.

This is the first assignment I give students in my public health classes, filled with do-gooders passionate about saving the world. Their...

Why more public libraries are doubling as food distribution hubs

Written by Noah Lenstra, Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science, University of North Carolina – Greensboro

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank held a distribution event at the LA county library's headquarters on Jan. 22, 2021.Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group via Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images

In the summer of 2021, public libraries everywhere, from Idaho and Oklahoma to Tennessee and Arizona, will offer free meals to families with children in...

Fast computers, 5G networks and radar that passes through walls are bringing 'X-ray vision' closer to reality

Written by Aly Fathy, Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Tennessee

Seeing through walls has long been a staple of comics and science fiction. Something like it could soon be a reality.Paul Gilligan/Photodisc via Getty Images

Within seconds after reaching a city, earthquakes can cause immense destruction: Houses crumble, high-rises turn to rubble, people and animals are buried in the debris.

In the immediate...

Can people vaccinated against COVID-19 still spread the coronavirus?

Written by Sanjay Mishra, Project Coordinator & Staff Scientist, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University

Vaccinated people are well protected from getting sick, but could they inadvertently transmit the coronavirus?Noam Galai/Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Takeaways:

Vaccines can be great at preventing you from getting sick, while at the same time not necessarily stopping you from getting infected or spreading the germ.
Preliminary evidence...

Marriage trends, political views undermining the notion of a unified American Jewish identity

Written by Jonathan D. Sarna, University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University

A recent Pew survey found that American Jews are increasingly becoming more diverse and politically polarized.Mario Tama/Getty Images

The notion of a united Jewish American community bound together by common beliefs has been eroded by rising interfaith marriages and a growing divide between religious and nonreligious Jews.

That is one of the main...

Giving food pantry clients choices – and gently nudging them toward nutritious foods – can lead to healthier diets

Written by Caitlin Caspi, Associate Professor of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut

Prominently placing fresh produce can encourage healthier choices.Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

Food banks and pantries across the U.S. were forced in the pandemic to dispense with something that is central to most people’s grocery experience: choice.

Faced with social-distancing rules and a large uptick in need –...