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The Conversation

How organized labor shames its traitors − the story of the ‘scab’

  • Written by Ian Afflerbach, Associate Professor of American Literature, University of North Georgia
imageUnited Auto Workers President Shawn Fain wears a shirt reading 'Trump is a Scab' at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19, 2024.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Over its long history, the American labor movement has displayed a remarkably rich vocabulary for shaming those deemed traitors to its cause.

Some insults, such as “blackleg,”...

Read more: How organized labor shames its traitors − the story of the ‘scab’

US is unlikely to stop giving military aid to Israel − because it benefits from it

  • Written by Dov Waxman, Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Professor of Israel Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
imagePro-Palestinian protesters prepare to march in Union Park in Chicago before the start of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19, 2024. Christian Monterrosa/AFP via Getty Images

The Democratic National Convention has been packed with prominent speakers and musical interludes that all focus on unity and moving forward into a more hopeful...

Read more: US is unlikely to stop giving military aid to Israel − because it benefits from it

What links aging and disease? A growing body of research says it’s a faulty metabolism

  • Written by Melanie R. McReynolds, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Penn State
imageAging is inevitable, but there are some ways to slow down decline.Dimitri Otis/Stone via Getty Images

Aging is a biological process that no one can avoid. Ideally, growing old should be a time to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Aging also has a darker side, however, often linked to disease.

Every second, your cells perform billions of...

Read more: What links aging and disease? A growing body of research says it’s a faulty metabolism

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’

  • Written by Dr. David P. Weber, Professor of the Practice in Fraud and Forensic Accounting, Salisbury University
imageBanking regulations haven't caught up with gift cards, which fraudsters are using to steal money from people in ways that are difficult to trace or reverse.The Conversation, CC BY-ND

Wednesday morning, the day before Thanksgiving, Mae awoke, set her hair in curlers and switched on her laptop. The screen froze and a message appeared. It said her...

Read more: Gift card scams generate billions for fraudsters and industry as regulators fail to protect...

Why gift cards fall into a gap in the 2-tier banking regulation system − and a brief history of why that gap exists

  • Written by Dr. David P. Weber, Professor of the Practice in Fraud and Forensic Accounting, Salisbury University

Protections against banking fraud in the U.S. have never been able to keep pace with criminals.

The reason why has its roots in the start of the national banking system proposed by Abraham Lincoln and created by Congress in 1863.

Until the mid-Civil War, the U.S. didn’t have its own federal currency. Banks were free to create their own paper...

Read more: Why gift cards fall into a gap in the 2-tier banking regulation system − and a brief history of...

From thoughts to words: How AI deciphers neural signals to help a man with ALS speak

  • Written by Nicholas Card, Postdoctoral Fellow of Neuroscience and Neuroengineering, University of California, Davis
imageCasey Harrell, who has ALS, works with a brain-computer interface to turn his thoughts into words.Nicholas Card

Brain-computer interfaces are a groundbreaking technology that can help paralyzed people regain functions they’ve lost, like moving a hand. These devices record signals from the brain and decipher the user’s intended action,...

Read more: From thoughts to words: How AI deciphers neural signals to help a man with ALS speak

‘Time poverty’ can keep college students from graduating − especially if they have jobs or children to care for

  • Written by Claire Wladis, Professor of Urban Education, CUNY Graduate Center
imageBlack women are among the demographics with the least time for college.Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Many college students don’t have enough time for their studies. This “time poverty,” as we call it, is often due to inadequate child care access or the need to work to pay for college and living expenses.

In an...

Read more: ‘Time poverty’ can keep college students from graduating − especially if they have jobs or...

Italian teenager Carlo Acutis’ upcoming canonization reflects the Vatican’s desire to appeal to a new generation of Catholics

  • Written by Michael A. Di Giovine, Professor of Anthropology, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
imageCarlo Acutis souvenirs displayed in a shop window in Assisi in June 2023. Michael Di Giovine, CC BY

The Italian teenager Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006 of a rare form of leukemia at age 15, will soon become the Catholic Church’s first “millennial saint.”

Acutis was a computer programmer who created virtual exhibitions and databases...

Read more: Italian teenager Carlo Acutis’ upcoming canonization reflects the Vatican’s desire to appeal to a...

Can a political party get any attention when its rival holds a national convention? Yes, but it’s not easy

  • Written by Stephen J. Farnsworth, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director of the UMW Center for Leadership and Media Studies, University of Mary Washington
imageVice President Kamala Harris greets President Joe Biden on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 19, 2024. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Even for former U.S. President Donald Trump, a master at attention-getting, trying to counterprogram during the Democratic National Convention is nearly impossible.

When one...

Read more: Can a political party get any attention when its rival holds a national convention? Yes, but it’s...

How debt and taxes conspired to rob Nairobi’s slum-dwelling youth of the promise of a better life

  • Written by Angela R. Pashayan, Professor, School of International Service, American University
imageKenya's anti-finance bill protests have been spearheaded by Gen Zers.Gerald Anderson/Anadolu via Getty Images

Throughout the summer of 2024, young Kenyans have taken to the streets of the capital, Nairobi, in a series of anti-government demonstrations.

Dubbed the “Gen Z” protests, the unrest was sparked by the introduction of an unpopular...

Read more: How debt and taxes conspired to rob Nairobi’s slum-dwelling youth of the promise of a better life

More Articles ...

  1. Treating Nord Stream blasts as a whodunit misses the point – and plays into Russia’s plan to distract and divide
  2. Want to fight gender inequality? A review of data from 118 counties shows that development aid works
  3. Want to fight gender inequality? A review of data from 118 countries shows that development aid works
  4. As human population grows, people and wildlife will share more living spaces around the world
  5. Thwaites Glacier won’t collapse like dominoes as feared, study finds, but that doesn’t mean the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is stable
  6. Rural voters don’t necessarily love Walz, despite the camo hat and small-town upbringing
  7. Squid have tiny teeth in their suckers − scientists could use their unique properties to make self-healing materials
  8. Space missions are getting more complex − lessons from Amazon and FedEx can inform satellite and spacecraft management in orbit
  9. China leans into using AI − even as the US leads in developing it
  10. America’s Iran policy is a failure − piecemeal deterrence and sanctions can go only so far
  11. Democratic Party’s embrace of organized labor in 2024 elections has long roots that had started to wither
  12. Los Angeles is in a 4-year sprint to deliver a car-free 2028 Olympics
  13. Politicians step up attacks on the teaching of scientific theories in US schools
  14. Do Charli XCX’s and Kid Rock’s endorsements make a difference? 19% of young people admit they might
  15. AI pioneers want bots to replace human teachers – here’s why that’s unlikely
  16. Blood sugar fluctuations after eating play an important role in anxiety and depression
  17. The mystic and the mathematician: What the towering 20th-century thinkers Simone and André Weil can teach today’s math educators
  18. Readers prefer to click on a clear, simple headline − like this one
  19. 75 years ago, the KKK and anti-communists teamed up to violently stop a folk concert in NY
  20. Does Democratic VP candidate Walz swear too damn much?
  21. Sharks are taking a bite out of anglers’ catch in the Gulf of Mexico, but culling isn’t likely to help
  22. Biden administration’s negotiated price cuts for 10 common prescription drugs likely to save Medicare billions, beginning in 2026
  23. Why don’t more politicians retire? A medical anthropologist explains how the US could benefit from a mandatory retirement age
  24. Could we use volcanoes to make electricity?
  25. Ancient Rome had ways to counter the urban heat island effect – how history’s lessons apply to cities today
  26. 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
  27. Anthropology students present their research in poetry, plays and op-eds in this course
  28. Who is the ‘Laughing Buddha’? A scholar of East Asian Buddhism explains
  29. Banana apocalypse, part 2 – a genomicist explains the tricky genetics of the fungus devastating bananas worldwide
  30. US voters say they’re ready for a woman president − but sexist attitudes still go along with opposition to Harris
  31. Editing fetal genomes is on the horizon − a medical anthropologist explains why ethical discussions with the target communities should happen sooner rather than later
  32. His crayon is purple – but is Harold a Black boy?
  33. Most young voters support Kamala Harris − but that doesn’t guarantee they will show up at the polls
  34. Complicated app settings are a threat to user privacy
  35. West Nile virus season returns − a medical epidemiologist explains how it’s transmitted and how you can avoid it
  36. Hard-to-treat traumas and painful memories may be treatable with EMDR – a trauma therapist explains why it is gaining popularity
  37. US has its first national strategy to reduce plastic pollution − here are 3 strong points and a key issue to watch
  38. US military presence in Syria carries substantial risks, but so does complete withdrawal
  39. What is mpox? A microbiologist explains what’s known about this smallpox cousin
  40. In praise of the weird
  41. Catholics are debating whether to remove paintings by a priest accused of abusing women − but let’s not confuse the artist and the art, writes an art historian
  42. Real-time crime centers are transforming policing – a criminologist explains how these advanced surveillance systems work
  43. Chicagoans watch films of the violent 1968 convention protests to get ready for the Democratic convention
  44. Hispanic women are less likely to get PrEP treatment − new intervention could change that
  45. Raising the retirement age won’t defuse China’s demographic time bomb – but mass immigration might
  46. Trees compete for space, light and resources, and those clashes can leave battle scars
  47. Students with mental health struggles linked to absenteeism and lower grades, showing clear need for more in-school support
  48. Local elections are less partisan because voters will cross party lines when issues hit close to home
  49. Kamala Harris’ sudden political rise echoes that of another female politician, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern
  50. How back-to-back hurricanes set off a year of compounding disasters for one city − and alarm bells about risks in a warming world