The Conversation
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Sugar starts corroding your teeth within seconds
Between Halloween candy, Thanksgiving pies and holiday cookies, the end of the year is often packed with opportunities to consume sugar. But what happens ... -
Can the world quit coal?
As world leaders, researchers, activists and lobbyists gather in Brazil for the 30th annual United Nations climate conference, frustration is high that global action ... -
The ‘supercenter’ effect: How massive, one-stop retailers fuel overconsumption – and waste
Imagine walking out of a Walmart, Target or Costco. As you push your large shopping cart to your car, you ask yourself: Did I ... -
Why index funds and ETFs are good for retirees
Older adults likely began their investing careers before exchange-traded funds existed and have stuck with traditional mutual funds. But as retirement approaches, many investors ... -
Government shutdown hasn’t left consumers glum about the economy – for now, at least
The ongoing federal shutdown has resulted in a pause on regular government data releases, meaning economic data has been in short supply of late. That has left market-watchers ... -
How does AI affect how we learn?
When OpenAI released “study mode” in July 2025, the company touted ChatGPT’s educational benefits. “When ChatGPT is prompted to teach or tutor, it can ... -
Why journalists are reluctant to call Trump an authoritarian
In an authoritarian state, leaders use unconstitutional practices to consolidate power: rejecting democratic rules, delegitimizing opponents, tolerating political violence, and curtailing civil liberties. Since ... -
Misunderstood Malthus: The English thinker has lessons for today
No one uses “Malthusian” as a compliment. Since 1798, when economist and cleric Thomas Malthus published An Essay on the Principles of Population, the ... -
Don’t write off the Putin–Trump summit just yet
Like many such encounters, the Aug. 15, 2025, Alaska red-carpet rollout for Russian President Vladimir Putin is classic Donald Trump: diplomacy as pageantry, emerging ... -
Is ChatGPT making us stupid?
Back in 2008, The Atlantic sparked controversy with a provocative cover story: Is Google Making Us Stupid? In that 4,000-word essay, later expanded into ... -
Are people at the South Pole upside down?
When I was standing at the South Pole, I felt the same way I feel anywhere on Earth because my feet were still on ... -
Trump’s justifications for the latest travel ban aren’t supported by the data on immigration
The Trump administration on June 4, 2025, announced travel restrictions targeting 19 countries in Africa and Asia, including many of the world’s poorest nations. ... -
Nowadays autocrats use manipulation, not violence
President Donald Trump’s critics often accuse him of harboring authoritarian ambitions. Journalists and scholars have drawn parallels between his leadership style and that of ... -
Harvard fights to keep enrolling international students
A federal judge in Boston on May 23, 2025, temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that would have revoked Harvard University’s authorization to enroll ... -
Why we fall for fake health information – and how it spreads faster than facts
In today’s digital world, people routinely turn to the internet for health or medical information. In addition to actively searching online, they often come ... -
The sharp decline in young Americans’ support for free speech
For much of the 20th century, young Americans were seen as free speech’s fiercest defenders. But now, young Americans are growing more skeptical of ... -
Pope Leo XIV: Why the College of Cardinals chose the Chicago native and Augustinian to lead the church after Francis
When 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost appeared on the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time as Pope Leo XIV on ... -
Japanese women have long sacrificed their surnames in marriage − politics and demographics might change that
For centuries, women entering marriage in Japan have been bound by the Confucian notion of personal sacrifice for the good of the family – ... -
What will happen at the funeral of Pope Francis
The 88-year-old pontiff had been well aware of his fragile state and advanced age. As early as 2015, Pope Francis had expressed the desire ... -
Giving cash to families can help bring down child marriage rates
Providing cash transfers to low-income families can reduce child marriage rates among girls living in rural communities. That is what we found in a ... -
What is a ‘revisionist’ state, and what are they trying to revise?
Once upon a time, “revisionist power” was a term reserved for nations trying to overturn the postwar liberal order – the usual suspects being ... -
Remembering China’s Empress Dowager Ling, a Buddhist who paved the way for future female rulers
In sixth-century China, a woman known to history as Empress Dowager Ling ruled over an empire called the Northern Wei. Historians do not know ... -
The history and politics of often-maligned isolationism
Few terms in American foreign policy discourse are as misunderstood or politically charged as “isolationism.” Often used as a political weapon, the term conjures ... -
China to step in?
If US attempts World Bank retreat, the China-led AIIB could be poised to step in – and provide a model of global cooperation Donald ... -
Inflation is heating up again, putting pressure on Trump to cool it on tariffs
Inflation figures released on Feb. 12, 2025, will come as a disappointment to Americans who hoped President Donald Trump would be true to his ... -
AI datasets have human values blind spots − new research
My colleagues and I at Purdue University have uncovered a significant imbalance in the human values embedded in AI systems. The systems were predominantly ... -
From Myanmar to Gaza, Ukraine to Sudan – 2024 was another grim year, according to our mass atrocity index
With major conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia, 1 in 8 people worldwide were exposed to conflict in 2024 – ... -
Trudeau taps out: How Trump’s taunts and tariff threats added to domestic woes confronting Canada’s long-standing PM
After weeks of speculation over his future, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his intention to resign on Jan. 6, 2025. His departure will ... -
Afghanistan shows what investing in women’s education – or divesting – can do to an economy
When the Taliban fell from power in Afghanistan in 2001, women were once again allowed to go to school after being banned since 1996. ... -
How cities are reinventing the public-private partnership
Cities tackle a vast array of responsibilities – from building transit networks to running schools – and sometimes they can use a little help. ... -
How liberals lost comedy − and helped Trump win
Throughout the 2024 election cycle, reproductive rights were a vulnerability for Donald Trump. His appointment of antiabortion judges alienated key groups, including undecided young ... -
Why winter makes you more vulnerable to colds
You’ve probably heard “Don’t go outside in the winter with your hair wet or without a coat; you’ll catch a cold.” That’s not exactly ... -
Light exercise can yield significant cognitive benefits, new research shows
Everyday physical activity, like going for a short walk or playing with the kids, may provide short-term benefits for cognitive health, equivalent to reversing ... -
The journey matters as much as the destination
Americans spent more than US$850 billion on domestic leisure travel in 2023, a sum that looks likely to rise in future years. Whether it’s ... -
Light exercise can yield significant cognitive benefits, new research shows
Everyday physical activity, like going for a short walk or playing with the kids, may provide short-term benefits for cognitive health, equivalent to reversing ...
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