The Conversation

When the sun goes dark: 5 questions answered about the solar eclipse

Written by Shannon Schmoll, Director, Abrams Planetarium, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University

NASA's projection of the August 21 solar eclipse.NASA

Editor’s note: A total solar eclipse will be visible across the U.S. on Monday, August 21. Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University, explains why and how it happens, and what we can learn from an eclipse.

How do we know when an eclipse is going to...

Watching children learn how to lie

Written by Gail Heyman, Professor of Psychology, University of California, San Diego

It's actually a big developmental milestone.BlurryMe/Shutterstock.com

For the liar, telling a lie has obvious costs. Keeping track of the lies one tells and trying to maintain the plausibility of a fictional narrative as real-world events intrude is mentally taxing. The fear of getting caught is a constant source of anxiety, and when it happens,...

If we keep subsidizing wind, will the cost of wind energy go down?

Written by Eric Williams, Associate Professor of Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology

As more wind turbines have been put in place, the cost of wind energy has gone down. Dad of T&S, CC BY-NC-SA

There are high hopes for renewable energy to help society by providing a more stable climate, better energy security and less pollution. Government actions reflect these hopes through policies to promote renewable energy. In the U.S....

Learning new tricks from sea sponges, nature's most unlikely civil engineers

Written by Michael A. Monn, PhD Student in Solid Mechanics, Brown University

The glass fibers that make up the _Euplectella aspergillum_ sponge are surprisingly strong and flexible.Michael A Monn, CC BY-ND

Imagine a future in which buildings tower miles over the streets below, tourists take day trips to the edge of our atmosphere, and multiple space stations can be spotted drifting across the night sky. To make this sci-fi...

How Greece could escape debtors' prison – if Europe opens the door

Written by C. Randall Henning, Professor of International Economic Relations, American University School of International Service

European Council President Donald Tusk and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras address the press. AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

Greece has acted out a European tragedy for more than seven years. But some signs suggest Greece may finally, in the words of its economy minister, be on the way to becoming a “normal country” again.

Greece&rsquo...

Imagining Russia post-Putin

Written by Peter Rutland, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the students on July 21, 2017. Alexei Nikolsky/via AP

On July 21, Vladimir Putin was asked at an audience with schoolchildren what he will do when he retires. He replied, “I haven’t decided yet if I will leave the presidency.”

While everyone is obsessed with following the twists and turns...

One way to promote green infrastructure in your city

Written by Thomas Fisher, Professor of Architecture, Director of the Metropolitan Design Center, and Dayton Hudson Chair in Urban Design, University of Minnesota

A public worker clears a storm drain in Carson City, Nevada.Cathleen Allison/AP Photo

Natural assets – “green infrastructure” – can provide communities with invaluable ecosystem services that clean our air, filter our water, mitigate natural disasters and improve our quality of life.

The Trump administration has called for a...

Why shifting regulatory power to the states won't improve the environment

Written by Michael A. Livermore, Associate Professor of Law, University of Virginia

To comply with air pollution laws, midwest energy companies built tall smokestacks to displace pollutants. This one at Indiana's Rockport Generating Station is 1,038 feet high, just 25 feet shorter than the Eiffel Tower.Don Sniegowski, CC BY-NC-SA

President Trump and his appointees, particularly Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott...

How welfare's work requirements can deepen and prolong poverty: Rose's story

Written by Kristin Seefeldt, Assistant Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan

Losing welfare benefits when they're between jobs can plunge nursing home aides into extreme economic hardship.GagliardiImages/Shutterstock.com

After “Rose” lost her low-wage job in a southeast Michigan nursing home, the single mother of four sought Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits.

People who are eligible for this...

Why the creators of '13 Reasons Why' should pay attention to the spike in suicide-related Google searches

Written by Jon-Patrick Allem, Research Scientist, University of Southern California

As the show's popularity surged, interest in suicide also grew.Nick Lehr/The Conversation via www.shutterstock.com, CC BY-NC-SA

Does it matter that people seem to have become more interested in suicide – expressing more suicidal thoughts, while becoming more likely to research ways to commit or prevent suicide – in the wake of the...