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The Conversation

The Conversation is an independent source of news and views, sourced from the academic and research community and delivered direct to the public.

The Greek migrant shipwreck is another preventable tragedy at the borders of Europe

The Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy has been described as the “world’s most dangerous maritime crossing”. This was proven once again last week in the tragic shipwreck of a boat full of men, women and children, around 50 miles…

Getting Social Security on a more stable path is hard but essential – 2 experts suggest a way forward

Social Security is in trouble. The retirement and disability program has been running a cash-flow deficit since 2010. Its trust fund, which holds US$2.7 trillion, is rapidly diminishing. Social Security’s trustees, a group that includes the secretaries of the departments…

Bees Can Learn, Remember, Think and Make Decisions – Here’s a Look at How They Navigate the World

As trees and flowers blossom in spring, bees emerge from their winter nests and burrows. For many species, it’s time to mate, and some will start new solitary nests or colonies. Bees and other pollinators are essential to human society. They…

The women who stood with Martin Luther King Jr. and sustained a movement for social change

Historian Vicki Crawford was one of the first scholars to focus on women’s roles in the civil rights movement. Her 1993 book, “Trailblazers and Torchbearers,” dives into the stories of female leaders whose legacies have often been overshadowed. By Vicki Crawford Today…

A more hawkish China policy? 5 takeaways from House committee’s inaugural hearing on confronting Beijing

In a rare show of bipartisanship, Republican and Democratic House members put on a united front as they probed how to respond to the perceived growing threat of China. The inaugural hearing of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the…

Over the holidays, try talking to your relatives like an anthropologist

How is it possible to spend so much time with your parents and grandparents and not really know them? This question has puzzled me as an anthropologist. It’s especially relevant for the holiday season, when millions of people travel to spend…

Republicans say crime is on the rise – what is the crime rate and what does it mean?

In the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections, Republican candidates across the nation are blaming Democrats for an increase in crime. But as a scholar of criminology and criminal justice, I believe it’s important to note that, despite the apparently confident assertions…

A brief history of Esperanto, the 135-year-old language of peace hated by Hitler and Stalin alike

Joshua Holzer Assistant Professor of Political Science, Westminster College In the late 1800s, the city of Białystok – which was once Polish, then Prussian, then Russian, and is today again part of Poland – was a hub of diversity, with large numbers of…

Why Muslim countries are quick at condemning defamation – but often ignore rights violations against Muslim minorities

by Ahmet T. Kuru   The Indian government finds itself in a diplomatic crisis following offensive remarks by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson, Nupur Sharma, on national television about the Prophet Muhammad and his wife, Aisha. The BJP…

How a public hearing is different from an investigation – and what that means for the Jan. 6 committee

On Thursday, June 9, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol holds the first of several public hearings. By Claire Leavitt – The Conversation The committee aims to lay out the results of months of investigative…

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