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Why people stay after local economies collapse − a story of home among the ghosts of shuttered steel mills

  • Written by Amanda McMillan Lequieu, Assistant Professor of Environmental Sociology, Drexel University
imageSteelworkers line up for their paychecks at U.S. Steel's South Works in Chicago in 1959. Bettman Collection via Getty Images

It was midday on a Saturday, and Simonetta led me from the open front door of her home in southeast Chicago to her sitting room and settled next to her husband, Christopher, on the couch.

In the 1980s, Christopher had worked...

Read more: Why people stay after local economies collapse − a story of home among the ghosts of shuttered...

Each Jewish couple’s story starts long before the wedding − and so does the celebration of their life together

  • Written by Shulamit Reinharz, Professor of Sociology, Emerita, Brandeis University
imageA Jewish wedding canopy, or 'chuppah,' made in the 1860s, from the Jewish Museum's collection.Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

Anita Diamant, the prolific writer and Jewish feminist activist, begins her book “The Jewish Wedding Now” with a simple statement: “According to Jewish law, the requirements for a kosher...

Read more: Each Jewish couple’s story starts long before the wedding − and so does the celebration of their...

An unseen problem with the Electoral College – it tells bad guys where to target their efforts

  • Written by Barry C. Burden, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Elections Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
imageA person holds an electoral certificate from the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6, 2021.Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Over the past four years, Congress and state governments have worked hard to prevent the aftermath of the 2024 election from descending into the chaos and threats to democracy that occurred around the 2020 U.S. presidential...

Read more: An unseen problem with the Electoral College – it tells bad guys where to target their efforts

In a new era of campus upheaval, the 1970 Kent State shootings show the danger of deploying troops to crush legal protests

  • Written by Brian VanDeMark, Professor of History, United States Naval Academy
imageOhio National Guard soldiers move in on war protesters at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. AP Photo

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has expressed his intention, if elected to a second term, to use the U.S. armed forces to suppress domestic protests. The New York Times reports that Trump’s allies are marshaling legal...

Read more: In a new era of campus upheaval, the 1970 Kent State shootings show the danger of deploying troops...

Ancient viral genomes preserved in glaciers reveal the history of Earth’s climate – and how viruses adapt to climate change

  • Written by Zhi-Ping Zhong, Research Associate at the Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University
imageThe researchers drilling on the Guliya Glacier.Lonnie Thompson, CC BY-ND

As humans alter the planet’s climate and ecosystems, scientists are looking to Earth’s history to help predict what may unfold from climate change. To this end, massive ice structures like glaciers serve as nature’s freezers, archiving detailed records of...

Read more: Ancient viral genomes preserved in glaciers reveal the history of Earth’s climate – and how...

How US military planning has shifted away from fighting terrorism to readying for tensions and conflict with China and Russia

  • Written by Eric Rosenbach, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
imageThree nations are in a global competition for power and influence.Ruma Aktar/iStock / Getty Images Plus

President Joe Biden’s recent approval of a major shift in U.S. nuclear weapons strategy highlights the attention the country’s national security officials are paying to Chinese ambitions for influence in the world.

As changes emerge in...

Read more: How US military planning has shifted away from fighting terrorism to readying for tensions and...

What is mental imagery? Brain researchers explain the pictures in your mind and why they’re useful

  • Written by Lynne Gauthier, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy and Kinesiology, UMass Lowell
imageSome people can visualize things perfectly in their mind's eye, while others can't.designer491/iStock via Getty Images Plusimage

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 are some people able to visualize scenarios in their minds, with...

Read more: What is mental imagery? Brain researchers explain the pictures in your mind and why they’re useful

A third of the world’s population lacks internet connectivity − airborne communications stations could change that

  • Written by Mohamed-Slim Alouini, Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
imageAn experimental aircraft like this solar-powered airship could someday play a role in providing internet access to rural areas or disaster zones.Thales Alenia Space via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

About one-third of the global population, around 3 billion people, don’t have access to the internet or have poor connections because of infrastruct...

Read more: A third of the world’s population lacks internet connectivity − airborne communications stations...

All politicians change their minds – and have been flip-flopping on positions for hundreds of years

  • Written by Shannon Bow O'Brien, Associate Professor of Instruction, The University of Texas at Austin
imageKamala Harris and Donald Trump are far from the first politicians to be accused of flip-flopping on issues. Francesco Zerilli/Zerillimedia/Science Photo Library

People change their opinions. As my husband says, “I always reserve the right to get smarter,” paraphrasing Konrad Adenauer, the former chancellor of Germany.

But when...

Read more: All politicians change their minds – and have been flip-flopping on positions for hundreds of years

From Kursk to Kursk: Putin’s attempt to project an image as Russia’s ‘protector’ has been punctured throughout his 25 years in power

  • Written by Lena Surzhko Harned, Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science, Penn State

In the quarter-century of Vladimir Putin’s rule – he has served as prime minister or president since August 1999 – the former KGB man has attempted to sell to the public the image of strongman, savior and defender of the Russian people.

Indeed, the “special military operation” in Ukraine, as the Kremlin has described...

Read more: From Kursk to Kursk: Putin’s attempt to project an image as Russia’s ‘protector’ has been...

More Articles ...

  1. Urban wildfires disrupt streams and their tiny inhabitants − losing these insects is a warning of bigger water problems
  2. In domestic violence cases, police are more likely to make arrests when pets are abused, too
  3. People with physical and mobility disabilities need to work out, but there are a lot of obstacles in their way
  4. South Sudan’s long-delayed election will be a landmark moment − but economic decline and political strife put vote at risk
  5. Kamala’s kicks, Tim’s lids, and the red ties that bind Trump and Vance – what’s behind the fashion choices of each candidate
  6. ‘Coconut farmers for Harris,’ influencers and vertical signs – Smithsonian curators’ encounters at the Democratic National Convention
  7. Polaris Dawn mission to Earth’s orbit will test SpaceX’s capabilities for a commercial space program
  8. 4 ways Wissahickon Valley Park makes Philly more resilient against climate change
  9. The Polaris Dawn mission to Earth’s orbit will test SpaceX’s capabilities for a commercial space program
  10. No, the world isn’t heading toward a new Cold War – it’s closer to the grinding world order collapse of the 1930s
  11. How organized labor shames its traitors − the story of the ‘scab’
  12. US is unlikely to stop giving military aid to Israel − because it benefits from it
  13. What links aging and disease? A growing body of research says it’s a faulty metabolism
  14. Gift card scams generate billions for fraudsters and industry as regulators fail to protect consumers − and how one 83-year-old fell into the ‘fear bubble’
  15. Why gift cards fall into a gap in the 2-tier banking regulation system − and a brief history of why that gap exists
  16. From thoughts to words: How AI deciphers neural signals to help a man with ALS speak
  17. ‘Time poverty’ can keep college students from graduating − especially if they have jobs or children to care for
  18. Italian teenager Carlo Acutis’ upcoming canonization reflects the Vatican’s desire to appeal to a new generation of Catholics
  19. Can a political party get any attention when its rival holds a national convention? Yes, but it’s not easy
  20. How debt and taxes conspired to rob Nairobi’s slum-dwelling youth of the promise of a better life
  21. Treating Nord Stream blasts as a whodunit misses the point – and plays into Russia’s plan to distract and divide
  22. Want to fight gender inequality? A review of data from 118 counties shows that development aid works
  23. Want to fight gender inequality? A review of data from 118 countries shows that development aid works
  24. As human population grows, people and wildlife will share more living spaces around the world
  25. Thwaites Glacier won’t collapse like dominoes as feared, study finds, but that doesn’t mean the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is stable
  26. Rural voters don’t necessarily love Walz, despite the camo hat and small-town upbringing
  27. Squid have tiny teeth in their suckers − scientists could use their unique properties to make self-healing materials
  28. Space missions are getting more complex − lessons from Amazon and FedEx can inform satellite and spacecraft management in orbit
  29. China leans into using AI − even as the US leads in developing it
  30. America’s Iran policy is a failure − piecemeal deterrence and sanctions can go only so far
  31. Democratic Party’s embrace of organized labor in 2024 elections has long roots that had started to wither
  32. Los Angeles is in a 4-year sprint to deliver a car-free 2028 Olympics
  33. Politicians step up attacks on the teaching of scientific theories in US schools
  34. Do Charli XCX’s and Kid Rock’s endorsements make a difference? 19% of young people admit they might
  35. AI pioneers want bots to replace human teachers – here’s why that’s unlikely
  36. Blood sugar fluctuations after eating play an important role in anxiety and depression
  37. The mystic and the mathematician: What the towering 20th-century thinkers Simone and André Weil can teach today’s math educators
  38. Readers prefer to click on a clear, simple headline − like this one
  39. 75 years ago, the KKK and anti-communists teamed up to violently stop a folk concert in NY
  40. Does Democratic VP candidate Walz swear too damn much?
  41. Sharks are taking a bite out of anglers’ catch in the Gulf of Mexico, but culling isn’t likely to help
  42. Biden administration’s negotiated price cuts for 10 common prescription drugs likely to save Medicare billions, beginning in 2026
  43. Why don’t more politicians retire? A medical anthropologist explains how the US could benefit from a mandatory retirement age
  44. Could we use volcanoes to make electricity?
  45. Ancient Rome had ways to counter the urban heat island effect – how history’s lessons apply to cities today
  46. Astronomers have warned against colonial practices in the space industry − a philosopher of science explains how the industry could explore other planets without exploiting them
  47. Anthropology students present their research in poetry, plays and op-eds in this course
  48. Who is the ‘Laughing Buddha’? A scholar of East Asian Buddhism explains
  49. Banana apocalypse, part 2 – a genomicist explains the tricky genetics of the fungus devastating bananas worldwide
  50. US voters say they’re ready for a woman president − but sexist attitudes still go along with opposition to Harris