The Conversation

Did artificial intelligence deny you credit?

Written by Anupam Datta, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

Can an algorithm explain itself?Robot decision via shutterstock.com

People who apply for a loan from a bank or credit card company, and are turned down, are owed an explanation of why that happened. It’s a good idea – because it can help teach people how to repair their damaged credit – and it’s a federal law, the Equal...

Whose votes count the least in the Electoral College?

Written by Dale R. Durran, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and Adjunct Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington

Weighing up your votesnorthcharleston/flickr, CC BY

In the days following the 2016 presidential election, many pundits and voters alike were stunned by the disparity between the popular vote, which went for Hillary Clinton, and the Electoral College, which favored Donald Trump.

If the president were elected by popular vote, every voter’s...

Upgrading our infrastructure: Targeting repairs for locks, dams and bridges

Written by Hussam N. Mahmoud, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director, Structural Laboratory, Colorado State University

Maintenance work on Lock and Dam 8 on the Mississippi River near Genoa, Wisconsin.Patrick Moes, USACE/Flickr, CC BY

For the second time in a row, America’s infrastructure has earned a grade of D+ from the American Society of Civil Engineers. ASCE issues these report cards every four years, grading the state of U.S. bridges, dams, parks,...

What's the purpose of President Trump's Navy?

Written by Simon Reich, Professor in The Division of Global Affairs and The Department of Political Science, Rutgers University Newark

The USS Gerald Ford in Newport News, Virginia, cost nearly $13 billion to build. AP Photo/Steve Helber

President Trump visited Newport News at the beginning of March to deliver a speech aboard the soon-to-be commissioned USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. It provided a timely reminder of his campaign pledge that he would increase the size of the...

Could the individual insurance market collapse in some states? Here's how that could happen

Written by Bill Custer, Director of Center for Health Services Reseach, Associate Professor, Georgia State University

Much of the early analysis of the Republicans’ American Health Care Act (AHCA) has focused on the change in subsidies for people purchasing coverage in the individual health insurance market. The plan does away with subsidies and instead offers tax credits to help people pay for health insurance.

While the change is important, it may be a...

Why prison building will continue booming in rural America

Written by John M. Eason, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University

The federal prison in Forrest City, Arkansas.AP Photo/Danny Johnston

The election of Donald Trump signals an end to the recent optimism about reducing the mass imprisonment of two million U.S. citizens each year.

Trump supports policies like the immigrant ban and increased stop-and-frisk that will undoubtedly lead to more arrests and strain an...

Curbing climate change has a dollar value — here's how and why we measure it

Written by Joseph Aldy, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University

Coal train in Missouri. Assigning a social cost to carbon emissions puts a price on activities that generate them, such as burning fossil fuels.Scott Granneman/Flickr, CC BY-SA

President Trump is expected to issue an executive order soon to reverse Obama-era rules to cut carbon pollution, including a moratorium on leasing public lands for coal...

Mixing glitter and protest to support LGBTQ rights

Written by Anya M. Galli Robertson, Doctoral Candidate in Sociology, University of Maryland

On Ash Wednesday 2017 glitter was used to show support for LGBTQ rights. Parity , CC BY

On Ash Wednesday, March 1, a number of churches and Christian groups in the U.S. blended purple glitter into the blessed ashes before applying them to the foreheads of Christians to mark the beginning of Lent.

The use of glitter was intended as a display of...

3.14 essential reads about pi; for Pi Day

Written by Jeff Inglis, Editor, Science + Technology, The Conversation

We need just a little more party hat...Yelp/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Editor’s note: The following is a roundup of archival stories.

On March 14, or 3/14, mathematicians and other obscure-holiday aficionados celebrate Pi Day, honoring π, the Greek symbol representing an irrational number that begins with 3.14. Pi, as schoolteachers everywhere...

The House health plan: Here's how the numbers don't add up for the poor

Written by Megan Foster Friedman, Health Policy Analyst, University of Michigan

Melva Watt, right, senior Medicaid interviewer, assists a patient with her application for Medicaid through the New York State Marketplace. Julie Jacobson/AP

House Republicans introduced the American Health Care Act (AHCA), their proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare).

At a press conference, Speaker...