The Conversation

Kamala Harris has spoken of her racial backgrounds − but a shared identity isn’t enough to attract supporters

Written by Pawan Dhingra, Associate Provost and Professor of American Studies, Amherst College

Vice President Kamala Harris greets guests during a reception for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month at the White House in May 2022. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In one of the most memorable moments of the current presidential campaign, Donald Trump in July 2024 contended that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris...

‘No antidote for bad polls’: Recalling the New York Times’ 1956 election experiment in shoe-leather reporting

Written by W. Joseph Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Communication, American University School of Communication

President Dwight Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, left, with Vice President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, greet crowds after Adlai Stevenson conceded defeat on Nov. 7, 1956.Bettmann/Getty Images

In response to national pollsters’ failure in forecasting election outcomes in 1948 and 1952, The New York Times pursued in 1956 a weekslong,...

Why wildfires started by human activities can be more destructive and harder to contain

Written by Virginia Iglesias, Interim Earth Lab Director, University of Colorado Boulder

Heavy equipment working near dry brush sparked a destructive wildfire near Riverside, Calif., in September 2024.AP Photo/Eric Thayer

Wildfires are becoming increasingly destructive across the U.S., as the country is seeing in 2024. Firefighters were battling large blazes in several states from California to North Dakota in early October 2024, includ...

European court ruling finds just cause to award soccer players greater freedom of movement

Written by Stefan Szymanski, Professor of Sport Management, University of Michigan

A ruling that Harry Kane may be happy about?James Gill/Danehouse via Getty Images

Many of us have quit a job at some point in our lives – but how many have wondered if they had “just cause” to do so? Were you acting on a whim? Did your departure make life difficult for your employer? And did your desire to move on really outweigh...

Swing state voters along the Great Lakes love cleaner water and beaches − and candidates from both parties have long fished for support there

Written by Mike Shriberg, Professor of Practice & Engagement, School for Environment & Sustainability, University of Michigan

The Great Lakes account for 20% of the world's freshwater supply. Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images

If history holds true to form, I expect the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris to begin touting their support for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative as Election Day approaches.

The Great Lakes Restoration...

Hurricane Milton explodes into a powerful Category 5 storm as it heads for Florida − here’s how rapid intensification works

Written by Zachary Handlos, Atmospheric Science Educator, Georgia Institute of Technology

Satellite data shows Hurricane Milton on Oct. 8, 2024, as it moves across Gulf of Mexico.NOAA

Hurricane Milton became one of the most rapidly intensifying storms on record as it went from barely hurricane strength to a dangerous Category 5 storm in less than a day on a path across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida.

With sustained winds that reached...

Many stable atoms have ‘magic numbers’ of protons and neutrons − 75 years ago, 2 physicists discovered their special properties

Written by Artemis Spyrou, Professor of Nuclear Physics, Michigan State University

The linear accelerator at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, where researchers study rare isotopes of elements. Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

The word magic is not often used in the context of science. But in the early 1930s, scientists discovered that some atomic nuclei – the center part of atoms, which make up all matter – were...

MicroRNA is the Nobel-winning master regulator of the genome – researchers are learning to treat disease by harnessing how it controls genes

Written by Andrea Kasinski, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Purdue University

RNA is more than just a transitional state between DNA and protein.Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

When Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun discovered a new molecule they called microRNA in the 1980s, it was a fascinating diversion from what for decades had been called the central dogma of molecular biology.

Recognized with the...

How Hurricane Helene became a deadly disaster across six states

Written by Cary Mock, Professor of Geography, University of South Carolina

Helene's heavy rainfall devastated small mountain towns far from the coast, including Marshall, N.C.AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

Some hurricanes are remembered for their wind damage or rainfall. Others for their coastal flooding. Hurricane Helene was a stew of all of that and more. Its near-record-breaking size, storm surge, winds and rainfall together...

Air pollution inside Philly’s subway is much worse than on the streets

Written by Kabindra Shakya, Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Villanova University

Age of subway, frequency of trains and poor ventilation contribute to bad air quality. Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The air quality in the City Hall subway station in downtown Philadelphia is much worse than on the sidewalks directly above the station. That is a key finding of our new study published in the Journal of Exposure...