The Conversation

Kamala Harris memes questioning her cultural background highlight Americans’ contradictions with race

Written by Raven Maragh-Lloyd, Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies and Film and Media Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate on Sept. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas.AP Photo/John Locher

Even after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential election, Americans continue to argue about her race.

During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump accused Harris, who is biracial, of toggling between being Indian and being Black. Once,...

In eyeing Greenland, Trump is echoing long-held American designs on the Arctic expanse

Written by Colin Gordon, Professor of History, University of Iowa

Donald Trump Jr. visited Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 7, 2025, after his father spoke in favor of U.S. control of the Danish territory.Emil Stach / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP/ Getty Images

At a news conference in early January 2025, President-elect Donald Trump rambled through a grab bag of grievances and proposals, including his disdain for wind power and...

Catholic cardinals play a key role in secular politics as well as the Catholic Church–and the importance of Pope Francis’ choice to head the church in DC

Written by Joanne M. Pierce, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

Cardinal Robert McElroy, who will head the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File

Pope Francis recently appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy, a harsh critic of President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration policy, to head the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

The move has led to concerns among some Catholics...

Spending, regulations and DOGE: Office of Management and Budget director plays vital role helping government get stuff done

Written by Martha Coven, Visiting Lecturer in Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

One of the Office of Management and Budget's biggest roles is writing an administration's federal budget – but that's far from its only job. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

The Office of Management and Budget sounds obscure, yet the agency plays a crucial role throughout the federal government. Presidents rely on the office to turn their ideas and...

This class uses museums to show law students the high art of curating ideas

Written by Patrick Barry, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Digital Academic Initiatives, University of Michigan

Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel's 'The Trial of Joan of Arc,' circa 1910.Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

Art and Advocacy

What prompted the idea for the course?

I like taking lawyers and law students to...

My beautiful ‘practicing’ Christians: As churchgoers’ numbers shrink, their social views grow more similar

Written by Michael Emerson, Fellow in Religion and Public Policy, Rice University

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump spoke at a gathering of conservative Protestants, imploring them to vote for him “just this time.”

In “four more years, it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians,” he said.

As a scholar of religion and public...

Rents rise faster after disasters, but a federal program can help restrain excesses

Written by Anthony W. Orlando, Assistant Professor of Finance, Real Estate and Law, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Two people embrace on Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif., amid property destroyed by the Eaton Fire.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The wildfires raging across Los Angeles are setting the scene for a real estate nightmare.

Thousands of homes and other structures are destroyed and hundreds of thousands of residents have been evacuated at various times....

How the CIA director helps the US navigate a world of spies, threats and geopolitical turbulence

Written by Matthew Clary, Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Auburn University

The CIA is the U.S.’s premiere spy agency.Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Today, the United States is navigating an increasingly unsettled world. The positions advising the president on national security are as important as ever. One such position, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is key to providing the president and Cabinet with...

Terrorist groups respond to verbal attacks and slights by governments with more violence against civilians

Written by Brandon J. Kinne, Professor of Political Science, University of California, Davis

Yazidi women in Iraq mourn the victims of Islamic State group attacks.Ismael Adnan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

After an Islamic State group-inspired attack in New Orleans killed 14 people on New Year’s Day 2025, President Joe Biden warned that terrorists would find “no safe harbor” in the U.S.

Governments often...

We study aging family business incumbents who refuse to let go − here’s why the 2024 race felt familiar

Written by Nancy Forster-Holt, Clinical Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, URI Aging Fellows, UMaine Center on Aging Research Associate, University of Rhode Island

Succession planning is one of the biggest challenges family businesses face, with aging leaders often reluctant to let go of their power.

While we’re experts in family business and not politics, we couldn’t help but notice striking parallels between our research and the dynamics of the 2024 election campaign. For much of the race, the...