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Papal elections aren’t always as dramatic as ‘Conclave’ – but the history behind the process is

  • Written by Joelle Rollo-Koster, Professor of Medieval History, University of Rhode Island
imageA view of the Sistine Chapel, where electors choose the new pope, on March 9, 2013, before the start of the conclave that resulted in the election of Pope Francis.AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

I’m a historian of the medieval papacy and editor of the forthcoming three volumes of the Cambridge History of the Papacy. So it was more or less...

Read more: Papal elections aren’t always as dramatic as ‘Conclave’ – but the history behind the process is

Here’s what happens when a school is located near a cannabis dispensary

  • Written by Angus Kittelman, Assistant Professor of Special Education, University of Missouri-Columbia
imageMiddle schoolers are more likely to walk to school than their younger and older peers.Prostock-Studio via Getty Images

As more states legalize marijuana, researchers are examining the effects of legalization on society. Angus Kittelman, an assistant professor of special education at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and Gulcan Cil, a senior...

Read more: Here’s what happens when a school is located near a cannabis dispensary

Most US book bans target children’s literature featuring diverse characters and authors of color

  • Written by Katherine Spoon, Ph.D. Candidate in Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder
imageA display of banned books sits in a Barnes & Noble bookstore in Pittsford, N.Y. AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey

Book bans in U.S. schools and libraries during the 2021-22 school year disproportionately targeted children’s books written by people of color – especially women of color – according to a peer-reviewed study we published....

Read more: Most US book bans target children’s literature featuring diverse characters and authors of color

Jails and prisons often fail to protect incarcerated people during natural disasters

  • Written by Benika Dixon, Assistant Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M University
imagePeople who are incarcerated can't protect themselves when a hurricane or wildfire threatens.Brian Vander Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The United States has almost 2 million people behind bars in prisons, jails and detention centers – the largest such population in any country. Although incarcerated people are locked away from the...

Read more: Jails and prisons often fail to protect incarcerated people during natural disasters

Missing link to Snowball Earth history emerges from some unusual rocks on Colorado’s Pikes Peak

  • Written by Liam Courtney-Davies, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Geological Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
imageRocks can hold clues to history dating back hundreds of millions of years.Christine S. Siddoway

Around 700 million years ago, the Earth cooled so much that scientists believe massive ice sheets encased the entire planet like a giant snowball. This global deep freeze, known as Snowball Earth, endured for tens of millions of years.

Yet, miraculously,...

Read more: Missing link to Snowball Earth history emerges from some unusual rocks on Colorado’s Pikes Peak

Evidence from Snowball Earth found in ancient rocks on Colorado’s Pikes Peak – it’s a missing link

  • Written by Liam Courtney-Davies, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Geological Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
imageRocks can hold clues to history dating back hundreds of millions of years.Christine S. Siddoway

Around 700 million years ago, the Earth cooled so much that scientists believe massive ice sheets encased the entire planet like a giant snowball. This global deep freeze, known as Snowball Earth, endured for tens of millions of years.

Yet, miraculously,...

Read more: Evidence from Snowball Earth found in ancient rocks on Colorado’s Pikes Peak – it’s a missing link

Soaring inflation helped lead Trump to victory – here’s why some of his policies might drive prices higher again

  • Written by Veronika Dolar, Associate Professor of Economics, Pace University
imageCould inflation pick back up?AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

President-elect Donald Trump owes his political comeback in large part to voters’ concerns over the soaring price of everything from gasoline and housing to coffee and bagels.

Inflation has since come down to levels close to normal thanks in large part to a steep rise in interest rates. But in...

Read more: Soaring inflation helped lead Trump to victory – here’s why some of his policies might drive...

Trump voters said they were angry about the economy – many of them had a point

  • Written by Don Leonard, Assistant Professor of Practice in City and Regional Planning, The Ohio State University

Inflation has slowed down, and real incomes – typical wages adjusted for inflation – have bounced back to levels last seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Democrats campaigned in 2024 on the overall strength of the economy. President Joe Biden proclaimed in the days following the election that the U.S. economy is “the strongest in...

Read more: Trump voters said they were angry about the economy – many of them had a point

I’m a neuroscientist who taught rats to drive − their joy suggests how anticipating fun can enrich human life

  • Written by Kelly Lambert, Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Richmond
imageRats will choose to take a longer route if it means they get to enjoy the ride to their destination.Kelly Lambert, CC BY-ND

We crafted our first rodent car from a plastic cereal container. After trial and error, my colleagues and I found that rats could learn to drive forward by grasping a small wire that acted like a gas pedal. Before long, they...

Read more: I’m a neuroscientist who taught rats to drive − their joy suggests how anticipating fun can enrich...

Why does everything look flat even though the Earth is round?

  • Written by Kelly R. MacGregor, Professor of Geology, Macalester College
imageThis 2014 image of a tropical storm from the International Space Station clearly shows Earth's curvature.NOAA/Getty Imagesimage

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Why does everything look flat even though the Earth is round? –...

Read more: Why does everything look flat even though the Earth is round?

More Articles ...

  1. How the Taliban are seeking to reshape Afghanistan’s schools to push their ideology
  2. How updated Vatican rules on validating supernatural appearances of Mary will affect the famed pilgrimage site of Medjugorje
  3. Companies are buying up cheap carbon offsets − data suggest it may be more about greenwashing than helping the climate
  4. Companies are buying up cheap carbon offsets − data suggest it’s more about greenwashing than helping the climate
  5. ‘Inflation is radioactive’: Trump’s victory is part of a global populist wave of voters throwing out incumbents
  6. Voters in Arab American strongholds likely tipped Michigan in Trump’s favor
  7. Pennsylvania will keep its divided legislature thanks to split-ticket voters
  8. Boeing workers secure big gains after strike, but the future for organized labor under Trump is uncertain
  9. What should journalists do when the facts don’t matter?
  10. What’s the ‘standard deduction’? An accounting expert explains how it simplifies tax filing and saves most Americans money
  11. Trump’s plans to extend tax cuts and slash red tape will likely spur economic growth − but there’s a cost
  12. Disaster survivors want to rebuild safer, more sustainable homes, but cost misperceptions often stand in the way
  13. Strength training early in life can set up kids and adolescents for a lifetime of health and well-being
  14. 10 states had abortion measures on the ballot – where they passed, where they failed, and what it all means
  15. Compassion amid chaos − how one of America’s greatest poets became a lifeline for wounded soldiers
  16. The election is over − but what is a ‘lame duck’ anyway?
  17. Is AI dominance inevitable? A technology ethicist says no, actually
  18. New Apostolic Reformation evangelicals see Trump as God’s warrior in their battle to win America from satanic forces and Christianize it
  19. How Trump might target DACA recipients and other immigrant groups
  20. How Trump won Pennsylvania − and what the numbers from key counties show about the future of a pivotal swing state
  21. What Trump can do to reverse US climate policy − and what he probably can’t change
  22. The 4 ‘ashramas’ of Hinduism and what they can teach us about aging gracefully
  23. Religions talk about the value of humility − but it can be especially hard for clergy to practice what they preach
  24. Ballot measures to legalize recreational use of cannabis fail in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota
  25. ‘Yellowstone’ highlights Montana’s long-forgotten connection to the Confederacy
  26. Military veterans are disproportionately affected by suicide, but targeted prevention can help reverse the tide
  27. Microplastics promote cloud formation, with likely effects on weather and climate
  28. America’s glass ceiling remains − here are some of the reasons why a woman may have once again lost the presidency
  29. Iran’s currency was already tumbling − and then news of Trump’s victory broke
  30. Now the Electoral College votes for president – 4 essential reads
  31. What Buddhism can teach in this moment of deep divisions: No person is ‘evil,’ only ‘mistaken’
  32. This course uses crime novels to teach critical thinking
  33. Trump’s comeback victory, after reshaping his party and national politics, looks a lot like Andrew Jackson’s in 1828
  34. What is ‘ballot curing’? Election expert explains the method for fixing errors made when voters cast their ballots
  35. 2024’s quick win for Trump will go down in the history books alongside 1964 and 1980 Election Day landslides
  36. Will the lights go out on Cuba’s communist leaders? With fewer options to prop up economy, their future looks dimmer
  37. Kristallnacht’s legacy still haunts Hamburg − even as the city rebuilds a former synagogue burned in the Nazi pogrom
  38. Carl Sagan’s scientific legacy extends far beyond ‘Cosmos’
  39. Cells have more mini ‘organs’ than researchers thought − unbound by membranes, these rogue organelles challenge biology’s fundamentals
  40. Only 5.3% of welders in the US are women. After years as a writing professor, I became one − here’s what I learned
  41. Beefing up Border Patrol is a bipartisan goal, but the agency has a troubled history of violence and impunity
  42. Is the election making you feel adrift and wobbly? That’s ‘zozobra’ – and Mexican philosophers have some advice
  43. How Native Americans guarded their societies against tyranny
  44. Quincy Jones mastered the art of arrangement, transforming simple tunes into epic soundscapes
  45. The 27 Club isn’t true, but it is real − a sociologist explains why myths endure and how they shape reality
  46. What poll watchers can − and can’t − do on Election Day
  47. Political bickering and policy uncertainty take a toll on business investment, research shows
  48. I’m a Muslim immigrant and a psychiatrist living in Michigan – I haven’t decided how to vote yet
  49. How can Jupiter have no surface? A dive into a planet so big, it could swallow 1,000 Earths
  50. As the stars of hip-hop’s golden age approach their golden years, some confront questions about whether old blood can make new music