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The Conversation

Continuing crackdown on churches and NGOs moves Nicaragua further from democracy to authoritarianism

  • Written by Richard Wood, President of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
imageA man prays at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, in August 2022.Oswaldo Rivas/AFP via Getty Images

The Nicaraguan government recently shut down more than 1,500 nonprofits – many of them civic and religious groups doing humanitarian work in a country long mired in political violence, economic upheaval and social...

Read more: Continuing crackdown on churches and NGOs moves Nicaragua further from democracy to authoritarianism

What America’s history can teach us about debates on religious freedom and its importance for democracy

  • Written by Corey D. B. Walker, Dean and Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities, Wake Forest University
imageThe decline in church attendance has not resulted in a diminished Christian presence in American public life.selimaksan/E+ via Getty images.

Supporters of both major U.S. political parties tend to claim their presidential candidate is the “real” Christian or the “better” Christian or just the “true” Christian.

For...

Read more: What America’s history can teach us about debates on religious freedom and its importance for...

America is increasingly dependent on foreign doctors − but their path to immigration is getting harder

  • Written by Selma Hedlund, Postdoctoral Associate at Center of Forced Displacement, Boston University
imageFor immigrant doctors, the path to permanent residency is fleeting and far from guaranteed.Stefano Spicca/iStock via Getty Images

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a pressing issue: The U.S. health care system is increasingly dependent on immigrant physicians, but it’s becoming harder for aspiring ones to work and settle in the U.S.

Today, 1 in 4...

Read more: America is increasingly dependent on foreign doctors − but their path to immigration is getting...

Lebanese civilians are fleeing the south, fearing an Israeli invasion − a look back at 1982 suggests they have every reason to worry

  • Written by Mireille Rebeiz, Chair of Middle East Studies & Associate Professor of Francophone & Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Dickinson College
imageIsraeli soldiers in armored vehicles drive through a Lebanese village in 1982.Bryn Colton/Getty Images

Lebanese families have been fleeing the country’s south in the thousands amid escalating tensions and an Israeli bombardment that has so far killed hundreds.

Their fear, echoed by many onlookers, is that Israel will accompany the airstrikes...

Read more: Lebanese civilians are fleeing the south, fearing an Israeli invasion − a look back at 1982...

US home insurance rates are rising fast – hurricanes and wildfires play a big role, but there’s more to it

  • Written by Andrew J. Hoffman, Professor of Management & Organizations, Environment & Sustainability, and Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan
imageThe U.S. has seen a large number of billion-dollar disasters in recent years.AP Photo/Mark Zaleski

Millions of Americans have been watching with growing alarm as their homeowners insurance premiums rise and their coverage shrinks. Nationwide, premiums rose 34% between 2017 and 2023, and they continued to rise in 2024 across much of the country.

To...

Read more: US home insurance rates are rising fast – hurricanes and wildfires play a big role, but there’s...

Why home insurance rates are rising so fast across the US – climate change plays a big role

  • Written by Andrew J. Hoffman, Professor of Management & Organizations, Environment & Sustainability, and Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan
imageThe U.S. has seen a large number of billion-dollar disasters in recent years.AP Photo/Mark Zaleski

Millions of Americans have been watching with growing alarm as their homeowners insurance premiums rise and their coverage shrinks. Nationwide, premiums rose 34% between 2017 and 2023, and they continued to rise in 2024 across much of the country.

To...

Read more: Why home insurance rates are rising so fast across the US – climate change plays a big role

A brief history of former presidents running for reelection: 3 losses, 1 win and 1 still TBD

  • Written by Graeme Mack, Visiting Assistant Professor of History, University of Richmond
imageTheodore Roosevelt speaks during the Progressive campaign of 1912.AP Photo

This year’s presidential election has a former president, Donald Trump, running for a nonconsecutive term. It’s the fifth time in U.S. history that’s happened.

Historically, a former president running for a nonconsecutive term has prompted voters to change...

Read more: A brief history of former presidents running for reelection: 3 losses, 1 win and 1 still TBD

No, immigrants aren’t eating dogs and cats – but Trump’s claim is part of an ugly history of myths about immigrant foodways

  • Written by Adrienne Bitar, Lecturer, Cornell University
imageRepublican presidential nominee Donald Trump debates Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Sept. 10, 2024. Win McNamee/Getty Images

When Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said during the presidential debate on Sept. 10, 2024, that Haitian immigrantsare eating pets, food historians like me were not surprised at the slur....

Read more: No, immigrants aren’t eating dogs and cats – but Trump’s claim is part of an ugly history of myths...

On the US-Mexico border, the records of Trump and Harris reflect the national mood of less immigration, not more

  • Written by William McCorkle, Assistant Professor of Education, College of Charleston
imageMigrants at a shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, watch the first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Sept. 10, 2024. Carlos Moreno/NurPhoto/Getty Image

In late July 2024, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris released a campaign ad about the U.S.-Mexico border that resembled something out of the Republican playbook.

In...

Read more: On the US-Mexico border, the records of Trump and Harris reflect the national mood of less...

How to archive your photos in the digital age

  • Written by Wasim Ahmad, Assistant Teaching Professor of Journalism, Quinnipiac University
imageWhat's the right choice for storing your photos?Wasim Ahmad, CC BY

Taking photographs used to be a careful, conscious act. Photos were selective, frozen moments in time carefully archived in albums and frames. Now, taking a photograph is almost as effortless and common as breathing – it’s something that people do all the time in the age...

Read more: How to archive your photos in the digital age

More Articles ...

  1. Parents with disabilities have faced discrimination for years in the US, but new rules will help ensure that child welfare systems treat them more fairly
  2. Customers like diversity from brands − but can smell hypocrisy a mile away
  3. Sri Lankans throw out old guard in election upset: What nation’s new Marxist-leaning leader means for economy, IMF loans
  4. Can you trust companies that say their plastic products are recyclable? US regulators may crack down on deceptive claims
  5. Mixed emotions – neuroscience is exploring how your brain lets you experience two opposite feelings at once
  6. View politics critically but charitably and with good old common sense: cowboy commentator Will Rogers’ wisdom for 2024
  7. Gun violence in Philadelphia plummeted in 2024 − researchers aren’t sure why, but here are 3 factors at play
  8. How sheriffs define law and order for their counties depends a lot on their views − and most are white Republican men
  9. Here’s how to maintain healthy smartphone habits
  10. Sharks and rays leap out of the water for many reasons, including feeding, courtship and communication
  11. Climate change is a pollution problem, and countries know how to deal with pollution threats – think DDT and acid rain
  12. A video game based on the Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’ is the most recent example of innovative retelling of this popular story
  13. Inside the collapse of Disney’s America, the US history-themed park that almost was
  14. Goodwill created a new high school for dropouts − it led to better jobs and higher wages
  15. A weakened Hezbollah is being goaded into all-out conflict with Israel – the consequences would be devastating for all
  16. Why can’t it always be summer? It’s all about the Earth’s tilt
  17. Gentrification isn’t inevitable − it can hinge on how residents view their neighborhood
  18. Trump and Harris vocabularies signal their different frames of mind
  19. Men are carrying the brunt of the ‘loneliness epidemic’ amid potent societal pressures
  20. Wind phones help the bereaved deal with death, loss and grief − a clinical social worker explains the vital role of the old-fashioned rotary phone
  21. Half of Black gay men will be diagnosed with HIV, despite highly effective preventive treatments − why?
  22. College can be confusing for first-generation students – but it doesn’t have to be
  23. Self-forgiveness is more than self-comfort − a philosopher explains
  24. Nepal’s revamped truth commissions will need to go beyond ‘ritualism’ to deliver justice to civil war victims
  25. Rare Florida fossil finally ends debate about how porcupine jaws and tails evolved
  26. Pager attack on Hezbollah was a sophisticated ‘booby-trap’ operation − it was also illegal
  27. Immigrants are unsung heroes of global trade and value creation
  28. How Israel’s Netanyahu survives in his job
  29. Why the cost of water for poor Black Detroit voters may be key to Kamala Harris winning – or losing – Michigan
  30. Invasive caterpillars can make aspen forests more toxic for native insects – a team of ecologists explains how
  31. TRUTH in Labeling Act would heighten the warning for shoppers looking to cut sugar, salt and saturated fat intake
  32. You want to vote in the 2024 election − here is how to make sure that your voice is heard
  33. 50 years after the first procedure, Tommy John surgery is more common than ever − especially for young athletes
  34. Collaboratively imagining the future can bring people closer together in the present
  35. Fed slashes rates by a half-point – what that means for the economy and the presidential election
  36. Pagers and walkie-talkies over cellphones – a security expert explains why Hezbollah went low-tech for communications
  37. Preventive care is free by law, but many Americans get incorrectly billed − especially if you’re poor, a person of color or don’t have a college degree
  38. What the jet stream and climate change had to do with the hottest summer on record − remember all those heat domes?
  39. What James Earl Jones can teach us about activism and art in times of crisis
  40. To American revolutionaries, patriotism meant fair dealing with one another
  41. UN’s pact to protect future generations will be undermined by Security Council’s veto and its use in cases of mass atrocity
  42. Why Pennsylvania is the key to a Harris or Trump Electoral College victory
  43. Young professionals are struggling to socially adapt in the workplace – educators can help
  44. Abortion rights are on 10 state ballots in November − Democrats can’t count on this to win elections for them
  45. How the Israeli settlers movement shaped modern Israel
  46. Eviction filings can destabilize tenants’ lives – even when they win their case
  47. Trump’s second assassination attempt is shocking, but attempts on presidents’ lives are not rare in US history
  48. Happiness swings votes – and America’s current mood could scramble expectations of young and old voters
  49. Why holding kids back fails − and what to do about it
  50. Denver’s experiment in providing a soft landing for newly arrived migrants and asylum-seekers isn’t cheap – but doing nothing might cost more