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Wars without clear purpose erode presidential legacies, and Trump risks political consequences with further military action in Venezuela

  • Written by Charles Walldorf, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Wake Forest University
imageThe body of U.S. Army Spc. Israel Candelaria Mejias is carried in a transfer case at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware after he was killed on April 5, 2009, near Baghdad. AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards via Getty Images

Despite public support in the U.S. for deposing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump is unlikely to find that...

Read more: Wars without clear purpose erode presidential legacies, and Trump risks political consequences...

Colorado ranks among the highest states in the country for flu – an emergency room physician describes why the 2025-26 flu season is hitting hard

  • Written by Jean Hoffman, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
imageNationally, doctor's visits for flu-like symptoms are at a 30-year high.Boston Globe/Getty Images

Colorado is in the midst of a record-breaking flu season. In the week ending Dec. 27, 2025, 831 people were hospitalized with influenza – the most since the state started tracking flu cases two decades ago. Hospitalizations eased the following...

Read more: Colorado ranks among the highest states in the country for flu – an emergency room physician...

DOJ criminal probe highlights risk of Fed losing independence – a central bank scholar explains what’s at stake

  • Written by Cristina Bodea, Professor of Political Science, Michigan State University
imageU.S. President Donald Trump with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on July 24, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

The Department of Justice’s decision to open a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has reignited concern over the independence of the central bank.

In unusually blunt remarks, Powell...

Read more: DOJ criminal probe highlights risk of Fed losing independence – a central bank scholar explains...

How social media is channeling popular discontent in Iran during ongoing period of domestic unrest

  • Written by Shirvin Zeinalzadeh, Graduate Teaching Associate, School of Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State University

Days of protest across Iran have left hundreds dead and many more injured.

Attempts by Iranian authorities to quell dissent through a near-total internet blackout point to the pivotal role that social media has played in organizing, spreading and documenting unrest.

The Conversation asked Shirvin Zeinalzadeh, an expert on the impact of media in...

Read more: How social media is channeling popular discontent in Iran during ongoing period of domestic unrest

Ukraine is under pressure to trade land for peace − if it does, history shows it might not ever get it back

  • Written by Peter Harris, Associate Professor of Political Science, Colorado State University
imageAn elderly Ukrainian walks through the rubble following a Russian aerial bomb strike in Donetsk Oblast.Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images

Asked in December 2025 what the biggest sticking point was in negotiating peace in Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump got straight to the point: land. “Some of that land has been taken. Some...

Read more: Ukraine is under pressure to trade land for peace − if it does, history shows it might not ever...

What is Christian Reconstructionism − and why it matters in US politics

  • Written by Art Jipson, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Dayton
imageElements of Christian reconstructionist thought appear in parts of the Christian homeschooling movement. Forest Trail Academy, CC BY-NC

Christian Reconstructionism is a theological and political movement within conservative Protestantism that argues society should be governed by biblical principles, including the application of biblical law to both...

Read more: What is Christian Reconstructionism − and why it matters in US politics

Eating less ultraprocessed food supports healthier aging, new research shows

  • Written by Moul Dey, Professor of Nutrition Science, South Dakota State University
imageStudies have linked ultraprocessed foods to poor health outcomes, but such foods make up about half the calories of a typical American diet.Kobus Louw/E+ via Getty Images

Older adults can dramatically reduce the amount of ultraprocessed foods they eat while keeping a familiar, balanced diet – and this shift leads to improvements across...

Read more: Eating less ultraprocessed food supports healthier aging, new research shows

Saudi-UAE bust-up over Yemen was only a matter of time − and reflects wider rift over vision for the region

  • Written by Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow for the Middle East at the Baker Institute, Rice University
imageSupporters of the UAE-backed and recently disbanded Southern Transitional Council hold flags of the former state of South Yemen during a rally in Aden, Yemen, on Jan. 2, 2026.AP Photo

Years of simmering tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates exploded into the open on Dec. 30, 2025.

That’s when Saudi officials accused the...

Read more: Saudi-UAE bust-up over Yemen was only a matter of time − and reflects wider rift over vision for...

Financial case for college remains strong, but universities need to add creative thinking to their curriculum

  • Written by Caroline Levander, Vice President Global Strategy & Carlson Professor in the Humanities, Rice University
imageUnemployment rates are lower among people who have a college degree, compared to those with a high school degree. Wong Yu Liang/iStock Images/Getty Images

A college degree was once seen as the golden ticket to landing a well-paying job. But many people are increasingly questioning the value of a four-year degree amid the rising cost of college.

Almo...

Read more: Financial case for college remains strong, but universities need to add creative thinking to their...

What is below Earth, since space is present in every direction?

  • Written by Jeff Moersch, Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee
imageOur solar system is mostly arranged along one plane in space, as in this not-to-scale artist's diagram.NASA/JPL, CC BY

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.

What is below Earth, since space is present in every direction? –...

Read more: What is below Earth, since space is present in every direction?

More Articles ...

  1. Trump lawsuits seek to muzzle media, posing serious threat to free press
  2. Venezuela’s oil industry has flailed under government control – Mexico and Brazil have had more success with nationalizing
  3. CPR on TV is often inaccurate – but watching characters jump to the rescue can still save real lives
  4. NASA’s Pandora telescope will study stars in detail to learn about the exoplanets orbiting them
  5. Damn the torpedoes! Trump ditches a crucial climate treaty as he moves to dismantle America’s climate protections
  6. Damn the torpedoes! Trump ditches a crucial climate treaty in latest move to dismantle America’s climate protections
  7. George Washington’s foreign policy was built on respect for other nations and patient consideration of future burdens
  8. Why the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s closure exposes a growing threat to democracy
  9. The 6-7 craze offered a brief window into the hidden world of children
  10. Meth inflames and stimulates your brain through similar pathways – new research offers potential avenue to treat meth addiction
  11. ‘Shared decision-making’ for childhood vaccines sounds empowering – but it may mean less access for families already stretched thin
  12. Live healthier in 2026 by breathing cleaner air at home
  13. Americans have had their mail-in ballots counted after Election Day for generations − a Supreme Court ruling could end the practice
  14. The 17th-century Pueblo leader who fought for independence from colonial rule – long before the American Revolution
  15. Superheavy-lift rockets like SpaceX’s Starship could transform astronomy by making space telescopes cheaper
  16. ICE killing of driver in Minneapolis involved tactics many police departments warn against − but not ICE itself
  17. New US dietary guidelines recommend more protein and whole milk, less ultraprocessed foods
  18. Illness is more than just biological – medical sociology shows how social factors get under the skin and cause disease
  19. Seeking honor is a double-edged sword – from ancient Greece to samurai Japan, thinkers have wrestled with whether it’s the way to virtue
  20. Racial profiling by ICE agents mirrors the targeting of Japanese Americans during World War II
  21. The western US is in a snow drought, and storms have been making it worse
  22. Taming the moral menace at capitalism’s core
  23. Grok produces sexualized photos of women and minors for users on X – a legal scholar explains why it’s happening and what can be done
  24. Cuba’s leaders just lost an ally in Maduro − if starved of Venezuelan oil, they may also lose what remains of their public support
  25. Congress takes up health care again − and impatient voters shouldn’t hold their breath for a cure
  26. Risks young chimps take as they swing through the trees underscore role of protective parenting in humans
  27. Today Venezuela, tomorrow Iran: can the Islamic Republic survive a second Trump presidency?
  28. Viral outbreaks are always on the horizon – here are the viruses an infectious disease expert is watching in 2026
  29. New federal loan limits will worsen America’s nursing shortage and leave patients waiting longer for care
  30. How facial recognition for bears can help ecologists manage wildlife
  31. Why 2026 could see the end of the Farm Bill era of American agriculture policy
  32. How tourism, a booming wellness culture and social media are transforming the age-old Japanese tea ceremony
  33. Wearing a weighted vest can promote bone health and weight loss, but it’s not a cure-all
  34. Venezuela’s civil-military alliance is being stretched — if it breaks, numerous armed groups may be drawn into messy split
  35. RFK Jr. guts the US childhood vaccine schedule despite its decades-long safety record
  36. Regime change means different things to different people. Either way, it hasn’t happened in Venezuela … yet
  37. Americans generally like wolves − except when we’re reminded of our politics
  38. The battle over a global energy transition is on between petro-states and electro-states – here’s what to watch for in 2026
  39. 2026 begins with an increasingly autocratic United States rising on the global stage
  40. ‘If you don’t like dark roast, this isn’t the coffee for you’: How exclusionary ads can win over the right customers
  41. ‘Neither Gaza nor Lebanon!’ Iranian unrest is about more than the economy − protesters reject the Islamic Republic’s whole rationale
  42. Colorado faces a funding crisis for child care − local communities hope to fill the gaps
  43. Virtual National Science Foundation internships aren’t just a pandemic stopgap – they can open up opportunities for more STEM students
  44. With less charitable giving flowing directly to charities, a tax policy scholar suggests some policy fixes
  45. Philly’s walkable streets and public parks offer older residents chances to stay active – but public transit and accessibility pose challenges
  46. Voters shrug off scandals, paying a price in lost trust
  47. LA fires: Chemicals from the smoke lingered inside homes long after the wildfires were out – studies tracked the harm
  48. LA fires 1 year later: Chemicals from smoke lingered inside homes long after the wildfires were out – studies tracked the harm
  49. The US used to be really dirty – environmental cleanup laws have made a huge difference
  50. How museums can help rebuild trust in a divided America