The Conversation

Trump’s idea to use military to deport over 10 million migrants faces legal, constitutional and practical hurdles

Written by Cassandra Burke Robertson, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Professional Ethics, Case Western Reserve University

A sweeping crackdown on immigration was the centerpiece of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

“On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America,” Trump promised at a rally in Madison Square Garden in late October 2024.

After winning, he suggested in a Nov. 18 post on his...

Why is the sky blue?

Written by Daniel Freedman, Dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Management, University of Wisconsin-Stout

Light at the blue end of the rainbow is scattered more efficiently than the other colors.shomos uddin/Moment via Getty Images

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 is the sky blue? – Mariana A-E., age 11, Tucson, Arizona

Yo...

What’s happening on RedNote? A media scholar explains the app TikTok users are fleeing to – and the cultural moment unfolding there

Written by Jianqing Chen, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures and of Film and Media Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

TikTok users fleeing to the app RedNote are mingling with Chinese social media users.VCG/VCG via Getty Images

TikTok refugees fled by the millions to RedNote, a Chinese app, in response to the TikTok ban, which went into effect Jan. 19, 2025. The company shut down the app shortly before midnight on Jan. 18.

Through cat memes, shared jokes about the...

Texas is already policing the Mexican border − and will play an outsize role in any Trump plan to crack down on immigration

Written by Dan DeBree, Associate Professor of the Practice, Texas A&M University

Maverick County Sheriff's Office Deputy Sgt. Aaron Horta, EMT operators and Border Patrol officers carry a body out of a canal on June 28, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Over the past half-decade, the state of Texas has been pushing an evolution in the administration and enforcement of immigration law. Stepping into a...

Biden helped bring science out of the lab and into the community − emphasizing research focused on solutions

Written by Arthur Daemmrich, Professor of Practice in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University

Biden began his presidency in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.Evan Vucci/AP Photo

President Joe Biden was inaugurated in January 2021 amid a devastating pandemic, with over 24 million COVID-19 cases and more than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. recorded at that point.

Operation Warp Speed, initiated by the Trump administration in May 2020, meant an...

China tech shrugged off Trump’s ‘trade war’ − there’s no reason it won’t do the same with new tariffs

Written by Yu Zhou, Professor of Economic Geography, Vassar College

When it comes to slowing down China's tech rise, tariffs won't do the trick. Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

When Donald Trump returns to the White House, he’ll be accompanied by a coterie of China hawks, all vowing to use tariffs and export bans to stop Beijing from challenging the United States’ supremacy in technology.

This...

David Lynch exposed the rot at the heart of American culture

Written by Billy J. Stratton, Professor of English and Literary Arts, University of Denver

Lynch, the director of 'Twin Peaks' and 'Mulholland Drive,' died in January 2024 at the age of 78.Hector Mata/AFP via Getty Images

“There’s a sort of evil out there,” says Sheriff Truman in an episode of David Lynch’s iconic TV series, “Twin Peaks.”

That line gets to the heart of the work of the filmmaker, whose...

Climate misinformation is rife on social media – and poised to get worse

Written by Jill Hopke, Associate Professor of Journalism, DePaul University

Flooding in Asheville, N.C., caused by Hurricane Helene in September 2024 sparked climate misinformation.Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

The decision by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to end its fact-checking program and otherwise reduce content moderation raises the question of what content on those social media platforms...

How do you create a workplace that people want to work in? We embedded in a company to find out

Written by Radostina Purvanova, Professor of Management and Organizational Leadership, Drake University

It’s been five years since the pandemic lockdowns of 2020 disrupted the traditional office workplace. For a while, it seemed COVID-19 killed the office.

Companies are now returning to the office in ever greater numbers. As professors who have researched remote work and collaboration for decades, we have our counterarguments. But there are...

News coverage boosts giving after disasters – Australian research team’s findings may offer lessons for Los Angeles fires

Written by Cassandra Chapman, Associate Professor, The University of Queensland

People who lost their possessions in the fire that swept through Altadena, Calif., look through donated shoes and clothing on Jan. 15, 2025.AP Photo/Richard Vogel

In late 2019 and early 2020, a series of devastating wildfires, known as the “black summer” bushfire disaster, left Australia reeling: More than 20% of the country’s...