The Conversation

America’s clean air rules boost health and the economy − here’s what EPA’s new deregulation plans ignore

Written by Richard E. Peltier, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, UMass Amherst

Regulations have cleaned up cars, power plants and factories, leaving cleaner air while economies have grown. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

The Trump administration announced on March 12, 2025, that it is “reconsidering” more than 30 air pollution regulations in a series of moves that could impact air quality across the United States.

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Mass layoffs at Education Department signal Trump’s plan to gut the agency

Written by Joshua Cowen, Professor of Education Policy, Michigan State University

The Department of Education is seen on Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Trump administration on Tuesday slashed staff at the Department of Education – firing roughly 1,300 employees – as part of its long-planned effort to eliminate the agency entirely. The move leaves the department with 2,183 employees, down...

Is the US heading for a government shutdown? 5 essential reads to occupy the mind while we wait to find out

Written by Matt Williams, Senior International Editor

Hello, shutdown, my old friend ...Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Brinkmanship, a political scramble to keep the lights on in Washington and finger-pointing over who is to the blame – we’ve been here before, right?

The threat of government shutdowns seems to be a regular feature of modern American politics.

And while this is...

How do researchers determine how toxic a chemical is? A toxicologist explains alternatives to animal testing

Written by Brad Reisfeld, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Public Health, Colorado State University

A vast number of chemicals are registered for production and use around the world. But only a portion have been thoroughly evaluated for their toxicity due to time, cost, ethical concerns and regulatory limitations.

To safeguard public health, researchers at organizations such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Food and Drug...

The fediverse promises social media without Big Tech – if it can avoid familiar pitfalls

Written by Aram Sinnreich, Professor of Communication Studies, American University School of Communication

In the fediverse, you can have your own social media platform but also connect to many others.Aram Sinnreich, CC BY-ND

You’ve probably noticed lately that a lot of people are trying out alternatives to the big social media networks X, Instagram and Facebook. For example, after Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and started allowing far more...

For superfans, comic-con culture is more than fun – it’s sacred, a sociologist explains

Written by Michael Elliott, Professor of Sociology, Towson University

An attendee dressed as Dvalin from the video game 'Genshin Impact' poses during New York Comic Con in October 2024. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Picture a packed stadium of fans in extreme weather, all clad in their favorite jerseys, cheering and cursing at their favorite American football team or European soccer club. Or a crush of screaming fans,...

Alien and Sedition Acts were reviled in their time, and John Adams was not sorry to see them go

Written by Marianne Holdzkom, Associate Professor of History, Kennesaw State University

When John Adams became the second president of the United States in 1797, he inherited from George Washington a new experiment in government and a bit of a mess. The country’s two political parties – the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans – were increasingly hostile to one another, and the young nation was sinking deeper...

Pennsylvania’s mushroom industry faces urgent labor shortage − and latest immigration policies will likely make it worse

Written by Hazel Velasco Palacios, Ph.D. Candidate in Rural Sociology & Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Penn State

Pennsylvania's mushroom farmers have been struggling for decades to recruit and retain workers.John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

“I had never worked with mushrooms before,” Luis said, reflecting on his time in Chester County’s mushroom industry. “But my family has always worked in agriculture, so I like it. I’m...

US workers with remote-friendly jobs are still working from home nearly half the time, 5 years after the pandemic began

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

Where did everybody go?AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey

CC BY-ND

Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted office life, American workplaces are settling into a new rhythm. Employees in remote-friendly jobs now spend an average of 2.3 days each week working from home, a research team that tracks remote employment has found. And when you look at all...

How Jesse Jackson embodied Southern politics − and changed American elections

Written by Gibbs Knotts, Professor of Political Science, Coastal Carolina University

Holding hands with other prominent Black leaders, the Rev. Jesse Jackson crossed the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 9, 2025, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” Like several survivors of that violent day in 1965, when police brutally attacked civil rights protesters, Jackson crossed the bridge in a...