The Conversation

New Orleans attacker’s apparent loyalty to Islamic State group highlights persistent threat of lone wolf terrorism

Written by Sara Harmouch, Ph.D. candidate in Public Affairs, American University

Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a white Ford F-150 pickup truck into a crowd of New Year's revelers in the French Quarter of New Orleans.Matthew Hinton/AFP via Getty Images

The deadly Jan. 1, 2025, attack in New Orleans serves as a reminder of the persistent threat to the U.S. from individuals inspired by extremist Islamist groups.

While the investigation...

Mindfulness is about ‘remembering’ − a practice of coming back to the now

Written by Jeremy David Engels, Liberal Arts Endowed Professor of Communication, Penn State

Mindfulness has become the world's most popular meditation practice.skynesher/ E+ via Getty Images

To many, New Year’s Day represents the possibility for beginning anew.

Of late, individuals are welcoming the start of another year with a resolution to practice mindfulness, a type of meditation. Many believe mindfulness will help them relax,...

Selling fear: Marketing for cybersecurity products often leaves consumers less secure

Written by Doug Jacobson, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University

Scare tactics might help sell security products, but they can actually make you less safe.selimaksan/E+ via Getty Images

You have likely seen multiple ads for products and services designed to make you more secure online. When you turn on your television, see online ads, or even when you get in-app notifications, you are likely to encounter...

Righting a wrong, name by name − the Irei monument honors Japanese Americans imprisoned by the US government during World War II

Written by Susan H. Kamei, Adjunct Professor (Teaching) of History and Affiliated Faculty, USC Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Cultures, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The Aochi family in the Rohwer, Arkansas, detention camp.Photo courtesy of June Aochi Berk

June Aochi Berk, now 92 years old, remembers the trepidation and fear she felt 80 years ago on Jan. 2, 1945. On that date, Berk and her family members were released by military order from the U.S. government detention facility in Rohwer, Arkansas, where they...

How effective is tutoring in the United States? – 4 essential reads

Written by Jusneel Mahal, Freelance editor, The Conversation

The private tutoring market has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic.SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images

The private and in-schooling tutoring market in the United States has grown substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic.

It helps that the U.S. Education Department has been offering US$220 million of funding since 2022 to help schools build tutoring...

Brain implants, agentic AI and answers on dark matter: what to expect from science in 2025 – podcast

Written by Elsa Couderc, Cheffe de rubrique Science + Technologie, The Conversation France

ZinetroN/Shutterstock

In a special episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast to start 2025, we’ve brought together three science editors from The Conversation’s editions around the world to discuss what to look out for in the world of science and technology in the coming year.

Host Gemma Ware is joined by Paul Rincon from The...

Faced with Trump’s tariffs − and crackdowns on migration and narcotrafficking − Mexico is weighing retaliatory options

Written by Scott Morgenstern, Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

Donald Trump has made clear his intent to supercharge his “America First” approach to foreign policy in his second term – and Mexico looks set to be at the tip of the spear.

While many of Trump’s predecessors have also followed a “realist” strategy – that is, one where relative power is at the forefront of...

NASA’s micro-mission Lunar Trailblazer will make macro-measurements of the lunar surface in 2025

Written by César León Jr., Ph.D. Student of Planetary Geology, Washington University in St. Louis

Lunar Trailblazer is planned to launch in early 2025.Lockheed Martin Space

NASA’s upcoming Artemis II mission is slated to return astronauts to the Moon no sooner than April 2026. Astronauts were last on the Moon in 1972 during the Apollo 17 mission.

Artemis II will utilize NASA’s Space Launch System, which is an extremely powerful...

Transform the daily grind to make life more interesting – a philosopher shares 3 strategies to help you attain the good life

Written by Lorraine Besser, Professor of Philosophy, Middlebury

Approaching your regular day with a new mindset can send you in an interesting direction.d3sign/Moment via Getty Images

Imagine it’s Monday morning, too cold and too dark, but once that alarm goes off, you know you’ve got to rally. The kids have to get to school. You’ve got to get to work. And, of course, your ever-growing to-do...

What if you could rank food by ‘healthiness’ as you shopped? Nutrient profiling systems use algorithms to simplify picking healthy groceries

Written by Christopher Damman, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, University of Washington

Certain amounts and types of food processing can diminish the nutritional value of the original ingredients.Deanna Kelly/Moment via Getty Images

Imagine a world where food on grocery store shelves is ranked by its healthiness, with simple, research-backed scores. In some countries, that world already exists.

Nutrient profiling systems, or NPSs,...