The Conversation

Why Gil Scott-Heron's 'Whitey on the Moon' still feels relevant today

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

Recent space flights by multi-billionaires highlight the extreme economic inequality in America.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Not long after the July 20, 1969, Moon landing, Gil Scott-Heron – a poet hailed as the “Godfather of Rap” – released a scathingly critical song called “Whitey on the Moon.”

While others lauded...

Why women need male allies in the workplace – and why fighting everyday sexism enriches men too

Written by Meg Warren, Associate Professor of Management, Western Washington University

Women who perceive their male colleagues as allies are more likely to feel included in a workplace. 10'000 Hours/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Women and groups advocating for gender equality are increasingly urging men to become allies in the fight.

Research has shown that in the absence of male support, women have to shoulder the burden of...

Insulin was discovered 100 years ago – but it took a lot more than one scientific breakthrough to get a diabetes treatment to patients

Written by James P. Brody, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine

A single brilliant insight is only part of the story of how diabetes became a manageable disease.Douglas Grundy/Three Lions via Getty Images

Diabetes was a fatal disease before insulin was discovered on July 27, 1921. A century ago, people diagnosed with this metabolic disorder usually survived only a few years. Physicians had no way to treat their...

Lawsuits over bans on teaching critical race theory are coming – here's what won't work, and what might

Written by Frank LoMonte, Director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, University of Florida

Republican politicians have championed legislation to limit the teaching of material exploring how race and racism influence American politics, culture and law. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File

As states and school districts started threatening teachers with disciplinary action for teaching about systemic racism, the question naturally arose: Does...

COVID-19 recession: One of America's deepest downturns was also its shortest after bailout-driven bounceback

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Senior Lecturer, Questrom School of Business, Boston University

The U.S. economy bounced back in record time. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Thanks to a roaring economy, plunging joblessness and a consumer spending spree, it probably won’t come as a surprise that the COVID-19 recession is officially over.

We didn’t know this, formally, however, until July 19, 2021, when a group of America’s top...

Effects of childhood adversity linger during college years

Written by Toni Watt, Professor of Sociology, Texas State University

A study found that 22.8% of college students had experienced at least four adverse childhood experiences. Carol Yepes/Getty Images

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

The big idea

College students who experienced a high level of adversity in childhood have lower levels of social support, such as having someone to...

Why a 19th-century Russian anarchist is relevant to the mask and vaccine debate

Written by Michael Locke McLendon, Professor of Political Science, California State University, Los Angeles

Beards? Yes. Masks? Perhaps not.Wikimedia Commons

Americans who refused to don masks or get vaccinated during the pandemic don’t have an easy task constructing a valid philosophical defense of their behavior.

The go-to philosophical authorities typically cited to defend individual liberty in the U.S. – John Locke and John Stuart Mill...

How to avoid food-borne illness – a nutritionist explains

Written by Ruth S. MacDonald, Associate Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Iowa State University

After the meal, putting food away quickly is key to keeping it free from pathogens.Getty Images / Thomas Barwick

Summer means cookouts, picnics and backyard barbecues. But a generous spread of food eaten outside raises some serious health questions. Nobody wants food poisoning – or to make their guests sick. But how do you know when...

Free school meals for all children can improve kids' health

Written by Matthew J. Landry, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Stanford University

Many children, especially from low-income communities or communities of color, eat up to half their daily calories in school. SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images

Recognizing that millions of U.S. children are at risk of hunger, Maine and California have approved funding to offer free school meals to all students within their state. Meanwhile, a bill...

The US Army tried portable nuclear power at remote bases 60 years ago – it didn't go well

Written by Paul Bierman, Fellow of the Gund Institute for Environment, Professor of Natural Resources, University of Vermont

Part of a portable nuclear power plant arrives at Camp Century in 1960.Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

In a tunnel 40 feet beneath the surface of the Greenland ice sheet, a Geiger counter screamed. It was 1964, the height of the Cold War. U.S. soldiers in the tunnel, 800 miles from the North Pole, were dismantling the Army’s first portable...