The Conversation

Trump's friendly meeting with Putin further blurs US-Russia relations

Written by Stephen Benedict Dyson, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Connecticut

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit AP Photo/Evan Vucci

It emerged early this morning: a few seconds of grainy footage showing U.S. President Donald Trump shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

Trump, the taller man, stoops to meet Putin on...

How being friends with someone who has dementia can be good for you both

Written by Janelle Taylor, Professor, Medical Anthropology, University of Washington

Friendship helps protect against loneliness even when oldsters do not have dementia. It can be especially beneficial for those who do. sirtravelalot/Shutterstock.com

Each year, in the final few hours of the last day of December, many people all across North America gather with friends to raise a glass and sing Robert Burns’ famous ballad,...

Will global warming change Native American religious practices?

Written by Rosalyn R. LaPier, Research Associate of Women's Studies, Environmental Studies and Native American Religion, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University

What does the shrinking of the Colorado River mean for Native American religions?Ken Lund, CC BY-SA

The Colorado River, one of the longest rivers in the United States, is gradually shrinking. This is partly a result of overuse by municipalities and seasonal drought. The other reason is global warming.

The decline in the river reservoir will have...

Andrew Wyeth and the artist's fragile reputation

Written by Henry Adams, Ruth Coulter Heede Professor of Art History, Case Western Reserve University

Andrew Wyeth stands by a creek on his Chadd's Ford, Pennsylvania property in 1964.AP Photo/Bill Ingraham

I vividly recall my first encounter with Andrew Wyeth’s art when I was 14 years old, in the dingy galleries of Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum.

While giants like Picasso painted a world of artistic contrivance, Wyeth seemed to directly...

Can Congress pressure the White House on human rights?

Written by Sarah Snyder, Associate Professor, American University School of International Service

In June, the Senate tried to block a US$500 million arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi intervention in Yemen’s civil war has produced high numbers of civilian casualties, human rights abuses and a humanitarian crisis. The White House’s decision to sell arms to the Saudis is just one indication that the Trump administration may be...

Is Trump actually popular in Poland?

Written by Brian Porter-Szücs, Professor of History, University of Michigan

As Donald Trump began speaking in Warsaw at noon on July 6, I was sitting in my apartment a few blocks away.

Police helicopters kept buzzing past my building, and nearly all the main streets were blocked off. A government-sponsored “picnic” was being staged in a field near the National Stadium to celebrate Trump’s visit, and...

How China could use trade to force North Korea to play nice with the West

Written by Greg Wright, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of California, Merced

Chinese President Xi Jinping may be the only person able to rein in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, Michael Dinneen

North Korea got the world’s attention – and President Donald Trump’s – when it said on July 4 that it had successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time....

Does Scott Pruitt have a solid case for repealing the Clean Water Rule?

Written by Patrick Parenteau, Professor of Law, Vermont Law School

Snow geese settle on a wetland in North Dakota. If the Trump administration successfully rescinds the Clean Water Rule, many wetlands might lose federal protection.Krista Lundgren USFWS/Flickr, CC BY

On June 27, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt signed a proposed rule rescinding the Obama administration’s “Clean...

Millennial bashing in medieval times

Written by Eric Weiskott, Assistant Professor of English, Boston College

In Sir Thomas Malory's 'Le Morte d'Arthur,' a character complains that young people are too sexually promiscuous.The British Library

As a millennial and a teacher of millennials, I’m growing weary of think pieces blaming my generation for messing everything up.

The list of ideas, things and industries that millennials have ruined or are...

Suturing a divided world: How providing access to surgery drives global prosperity

Written by David Ljungman, Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellow, Harvard Medical School

Boston Children's Hospital

Earlier this year, three days after giving birth to her fourth child by cesarean section, Salome Karwah had sudden convulsions. When she was admitted to a hospital in Liberia, the staff panicked, as she was a famous Ebola survivor. Karwah, a nurse assistant, died the next day, likely from a easily treatable complication...