The Conversation

What the historic snow drought means for water, wildfires and the future of the West

Written by Alejandro N. Flores, Professor of Geoscience, Boise State University

The snow drought was evident in Park City, Utah, on Feb. 9, 2026. This golf course is normally used for cross-country skiing in winter.Mario Tama/Getty Images

Across much of the Western United States, winter 2026 was the year the snow never came. Many ski resorts got by with snowmaking but shut down their winter operations early. Fire officials and...

On Passover, some Sephardic Jews revisit not only the story of their ancestors, but also their Ladino language

Written by Bryan Kirschen, Associate Professor of Spanish and Linguistics, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Decorated 'guevos haminados,' or slow-cooked eggs, are a common Passover food for Sephardic Jewish families.sbossert/iStock via Getty Images Plus

When Passover arrives each spring, Jewish families around the world gather at their tables to retell a story passed down for thousands of years. At ritual dinners known as Seders, they recount the Exodus,...

Teens are driving the demand for online abortion pills via telehealth – new research

Written by Dana Johnson, Postdoctoral Fellow in Health Disparities Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Abortion pills have been shown to be safe and effective.MementoJpeg/Moment via Getty Images

Teens in the U.S. are obtaining medication abortion pills through telehealth, and young people age 18 to 24 are ordering medication abortion at much higher rates than older adults.

Those are the key findings of a new study that my colleagues and I published...

New federal student loan limits affect social work graduate students, with impacts for survivors of domestic violence in Colorado and elsewhere

Written by Kaitlyn M. Sims, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, University of Denver; Institute for Humane Studies

The status change cuts the amount of federal student aid by half.Royalty-free/Getty Images

As of July 2026, graduate degree programs in nursing, public health, social work, public policy and more will no longer be defined as professional degrees by the Department of Education.

The change limits how much federal financial aid students in those...

Food aid doesn’t make people loafers – research shows government benefits help low-income people find jobs

Written by Claudia Strauss, Professor of Anthropology, Pitzer College

Millie Morales believes in hard work.

“I feel that as an American citizen, we all have a great opportunity to be able to improve our life,” the 58-year-old woman explained in an interview I conducted with her in 2025. “Are you willing to put in the work, or are you not?”

Morales, whose name I changed to protect her privacy,...

A connection to nature fuels well-being worldwide, according to a study of 38,000 people

Written by Stylianos Syropoulos, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University

Across cultures, languages and economic systems, feeling connected to the natural world is consistently linked to living a more hopeful, purposeful and resilient life. nymphoenix/iStock via Getty Images Plus

When life feels overwhelming, many people instinctively turn to nature. A walk in a park. Sitting by the ocean. Watching a sunset. Is this...

Anthrax-causing bacteria have dwelled in soil for centuries – cycling through people, animals and earth

Written by Hannah Kinzer, Ph.D. Candidate in Public Health, Washington University in St. Louis

Without timely treatment, _Bacillus anthracis_ can cause fatal infection.CDC

The bacteria that cause deadly anthrax disease persist in the earth, a place their ancestors preferred over petri dishes and blood-filled tissues.

The bacteria that cause anthrax are called Bacillus anthracis. In the soil, they hang out and can form communities around plant...

Pittsburgh’s post-steel economy is a success – and a warning for other cities

Written by Christopher Briem, Regional Economist, Center for Social and Urban Research, University of Pittsburgh

Slow and steady growth in higher education and health care led to economic advantages for Pittsburgh.YT412/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Few regions pose as much of an economic conundrum as Pittsburgh.

Is the city and region – once the center of American steelmaking – a paragon of postindustrial transformation, or a left-behind region...

If using ChatGPT is cheating, what about ghostwriting? The old debate behind a new panic

Written by Emily Hodgson Anderson, Professor of English and Dean of Undergraduate Education, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Ghostwriting sits at the nexus of collaboration and deception. EThamPhoto/The Image Bank via Getty Images

In February 2023, a little more than a year after the launch of ChatGPT, Vanderbilt University sent an email to its student body in the wake of a fatal campus shooting at Michigan State.

“The recent Michigan shootings are a tragic reminder...

How far can Iran’s ballistic missiles reach? A defense expert explains how the missiles work, and what Iran can and can’t hit

Written by Iain Boyd, Director of the Center for National Security Initiatives and Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

Iran launched two missiles, possibly modified versions of this Khorramshahr ballistic missile, at the island of Diego Garcia.Iranian Defense Ministry via AP

Iran fired two ballistic missiles on March 20, 2026, at the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, which hosts a strategically important joint U.S.-U.K. military base, according to U.S., U.K. and...