The Conversation

How donors can help make nonprofits more accountable

Written by Aseem Prakash, Walker Family Professor and Founding Director, Center for Environmental Politics, University of Washington

Wasteful and fake charities are usually harder to spot than this. jefftakespics2/Shutterstock.com

As the devastating 2017 hurricane season got underway, the Internal Revenue Service warned Americans to watch out for scammers asking for donations to nonexistent charities.

But, especially as fundraising pitches pile up in their inboxes and mailboxes...

US shouldn't give up benefits of 'green card lottery' over low risk of terrorism

Written by Ethan Lewis, Associate Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College

The Statue of Liberty casts a wary eye at the bike path that runs along the western edge of Manhattan, where the Oct. 31 attack occurred. Songquan Deng/Shutterstock.com

After a man barreled down a New York City bike path on Oct. 31, killing eight, President Donald Trump reacted by calling for an end to the “green card lottery” program...

What draws 'lone wolves' to the Islamic State?

Written by James L. Gelvin, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of California, Los Angeles

Police work near a damaged Home Depot truck on Nov. 1, 2017, after a motorist drove onto a bike path near the World Trade Center memorial. AP Photo/Andres Kudacki

The recent attack on a bike path in lower Manhattan once again compels us to ask: Why do people pledge allegiance to the Islamic State?

Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in the attack, isn&rsquo...

After months of feuding, Ecuador's president is ousted by his party

Written by Soledad Stoessel, Postdoctoral Researcher, Latin American Political Processes, National University of La Plata

After months of internal dissent and public feuding, Ecuador’s president, Lenin Moreno, has been kicked out of his party, the Alianza Pais. He will remain in office, though, and the decision – technically justified by Moreno’s absence from several meetings – is being hotly contested within the party.

Moreno served as vice...

What ancient cultures teach us about grief, mourning and continuity of life

Written by Daniel Wojcik, Professor, English and Folklore Studies, University of Oregon, University of Oregon

Day of the dead at a Mexican cemetery. © Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

At this time of the year, Mexican and Mexican-American communities observe “Día de los Muertos” (the Day of the Dead), a three-day celebration that welcomes the dead temporarily back...

Surprise! How Obamacare is beginning to look a lot like Medicaid

Written by J.B. Silvers, Professor of Health Finance, Weatherhead School of Management & School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University

A computer screen showing the Healthcare.gov website for this year's open enrollment.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

In a great irony, the Republicans, who promised to eliminate the Affordable Care Act and roll back Medicaid expansions, are in essence about to do the reverse – at a huge cost to the U.S. Treasury. This year Obamacare will become what...

Guyana, one of South America's poorest countries, struck oil. Will it go boom or bust?

Written by Anthony T. Bryan, Professor of International Relations, The University of the West Indies: St. Augustine Campus

Today, Guyana is one of South America’s poorest countries, with an average per capita annual income of around US$4,000.

But within the decade, it could be among the richest. In 2015, ExxonMobil and its international partners discovered vast oil reserves off the Caribbean coast of this small country. By 2018, five new wells will be pumping out...

Why tax cuts make us less happy

Written by Michael Krassa, Chair, Human Dimensions of Environmental Systems and Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Why so grim? Oh, tax cuts. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Republicans recently announced their tax plan and are hoping to turn it into law before Thanksgiving. While details are in flux, it would likely eliminate the estate tax, lower the top marginal rate and slash corporate rates, producing, in sum, what the president has dubbed a “gigan...

Beyond October: Things to be aware of all year about breast cancer

Written by Karuna Mittal, Doctoral Candidate, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Georgia State University

Inflammatory breast cancer, a pernicious form of the disease. David Litman/Shutterstock.com

Almost all of us have a friend or relative who has battled breast cancer, and that is in large part because the disease is so common. One in eight women has a lifetime risk of being diagnosed with the disease. Breast cancer causes about 15 percent of...

In scandal after scandal, NCAA takes fall for complicit colleges

Written by Rick Eckstein, Professor of Sociology, Villanova University

North Carolina head coach Roy Williams looks on during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game agaist Notre Dame.AP Photo/Robert Franklin

College sports fans probably weren’t surprised to learn that the University of North Carolina (UNC) had been engaged in academic fraud for decades. In this particular instance, students,...