Charles O. Stanier, University of Iowa; Gregory Carmichael, University of Iowa, and Peter S. Thorne, University of Iowa Canada’s seemingly endless wildfires in 2023 introduced millions of people across North America to the health hazards of wildfire smoke. While Western states have contended with smoky fire seasons for years, the air quality alerts across the […]
The Conversation
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The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz
Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation We hope you’ve enjoyed this quiz from our quizmaster, Fritz Holznagel, a past winner of the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. If you have feedback on the quiz, please send us an email at us.quiz@theconversation.com. Fritz Holznagel, Quizmaster, The Conversation This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. […]
Posted inNews, Weather
2023 hurricane forecast: Get ready for a busy Pacific storm season, quieter Atlantic than recent years thanks to El Niño
Kelsey Ellis, University of Tennessee and Nicholas Grondin, University of Tennessee The official 2023 hurricane season forecasts were just released, and while the Atlantic may see an average storm season this year, a busier-than-normal season is forecast in the eastern Pacific, meaning heightened risks for Mexico and Hawaii. A big reason is El Niño. El […]
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More than two dozen cities and states are suing Big Oil over climate change – they just got a boost from the US Supreme Court
Patrick Parenteau, Vermont Law & Graduate School and John Dernbach, Widener University Honolulu has lost more than 5 miles of its famous beaches to sea level rise and storm surges. Sunny-day flooding during high tides makes many city roads impassable, and water mains for the public drinking water system are corroding from saltwater because of […]
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Heading to a beach this summer? Here’s how to keep harmful algae blooms from spoiling your trip
Brad Reisfeld, Colorado State University Plunging into the ocean or a lake is one of the great joys of summer. But arriving at the beach to find water that’s green, red or brown, and possibly foul-smelling, can instantly spoil the party. As a toxicologist, I study health risks from both synthetic and natural substances. I’ve […]
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El Niño is coming, and ocean temps are already at record highs – that can spell disaster for fish and corals
Dillon Amaya, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration It’s coming. Winds are weakening along the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Heat is building beneath the ocean surface. By July, most forecast models agree that the climate system’s biggest player – El Niño – will return for the first time in nearly four years. El Niño is one side […]
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From goddesses and rabbits to theology and ‘Superstar’: 4 essential reads on Easter’s surprisingly complicated history
Molly Jackson, The Conversation What’s Easter about? In some ways, the answer is pretty simple: Jesus Christ, and Christians’ belief that he rose from the dead. In other ways, though, the springtime holiday is far from straightforward. How did rabbits get involved? Where did the name “Easter” come from – and why is the English […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The luck of the Irish might surface on St. Patrick’s Day, but it evades the Kennedy family, America’s best-known Irish dynasty
Mary Burke, University of Connecticut John F. Kennedy, whose ancestors left Ireland during the potato famine of the mid-19th century, was famously the first United States president of Catholic Irish descent. When Americans narrowly elected Kennedy in 1960, anti-Catholic bias was still part of the mainstream culture. I am a scholar of Irish literature and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Springing forward into daylight saving time is a step back for health – a neurologist explains the medical evidence, and why this shift is worse than the fall time change
Beth Ann Malow, Vanderbilt University As people in the U.S. prepare to set their clocks ahead one hour on Sunday, March 12, 2023, I find myself bracing for the annual ritual of media stories about the disruptions to daily routines caused by switching from standard time to daylight saving time. About one-third of Americans say […]
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The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz
Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation We hope you’ve enjoyed this quiz from our and quizmaster, Fritz Holznagel, a past winner of the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. If you have feedback on the quiz, please send us an email at us.quiz@theconversation.com. Fritz Holznagel, Quizmaster, The Conversation This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons […]
Posted inNews
The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz
Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation We hope you’ve enjoyed this quiz from our newish quizmaster, Fritz Holznagel, a past winner of the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. If you have feedback on the quiz, please send us an email at us.quiz@theconversation.com. Fritz Holznagel, Quizmaster, The Conversation This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons […]
Posted inNews
The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz
The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation We hope you’ve enjoyed this quiz from our newish quizmaster, Fritz Holznagel, a past winner of the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. If you have feedback on the quiz, please send us an email at us.quiz@theconversation.com. Fritz Holznagel, Quizmaster, The Conversation This article is republished from The […]
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Don’t underestimate Cupid – he’s not the chubby cherub you associate with Valentine’s Day
Debbie Felton, UMass Amherst Ah, Valentine’s Day: that Hallmark holiday of greeting cards and chocolates, its bloody origins almost entirely forgotten over the last 2,000 years! What began as a Christian feast day honoring two or three early Christian martyrs – the original “Valentines” – is now associated with flocks of winged cherubic Cupids, whose […]
Posted inCity & Government
COVID-19 deaths in the US continue to be undercounted, research shows, despite claims of ‘overcounts’
Andrew Stokes, Boston University; Dielle Lundberg, Boston University; Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, University of Minnesota, and Yea-Hung Chen, University of California, San Francisco Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020, a recurring topic of debate has been whether official COVID-19 death statistics in the U.S. accurately capture the fatalities associated with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that […]
Posted inArts & Culture
‘The Whale’ is a horror film that taps into our fear of fatness
Beth Younger, Drake University Editor’s note: This article contains plot spoilers for “The Whale.” I knew before seeing “The Whale” that it was a movie about a man named Charlie who weighs over 600 pounds, is grief-stricken over the death of his partner, and is effectively trapped in his apartment due to his weight. I […]
Posted inArts & Culture
This lunar year will be the Year of the Rabbit or the Year of the Cat, depending on where you live
Megan Bryson, University of Tennessee On Jan. 22, 2023, more than a billion people globally will welcome the Year of the Rabbit – or the Year of Cat, depending on which cultural traditions they follow – as the start of the Lunar New Year. In the New York City public school district, Lunar New Year […]
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How the distortion of Martin Luther King Jr.‘s words enables more, not less, racial division within American society
Hajar Yazdiha, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas is just the latest conservative lawmaker to misuse the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to judge a person on character and not race. In the protracted battle to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the […]
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Lobsters versus right whales: The latest chapter in a long quest to make fishing more sustainable
Blake Earle, Texas A&M University Maine lobster fishermen received a Christmas gift from Congress at the end of 2022: A six-year delay on new federal regulations designed to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. The rules would have required lobstermen to create new seasonal nonfishing zones and further reduce their use of vertical ropes […]
Posted inCity & Government
Are gas stoves bad for your health? Here’s why the federal government is considering new safety regulations
Jonathan Levy, Boston University Cooks love their gadgets, from countertop slow cookers to instant-read thermometers. Now, there’s increasing interest in magnetic induction cooktops – surfaces that cook much faster than conventional stoves, without igniting a flame or heating an electric coil. Some of this attention is overdue: Induction has long been popular in Europe and […]
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The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz
Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation We hope you’ve enjoyed this first regular quiz from our new quizmaster, Fritz Holznagel, a past winner of the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. If you have feedback on the quiz, please send us an email at us.quiz@theconversation.com. Fritz Holznagel, Quizmaster, The Conversation This article is republished from The Conversation under a […]
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Pope Benedict XVI: A man at odds with the modern world who leaves a legacy of intellectual brilliance and controversy
Mathew Schmalz, College of the Holy Cross Benedict XVI leaves behind a complex legacy as a Pope and theologian. To many observers, Benedict, who died on Dec. 31, 2022 at the age of 95, was known for criticizing what he saw as the modern world’s rejection of God and Christianity’s timeless truths. But as a […]
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Talking turkey! How the Thanksgiving bird got its name (and then lent it to film flops)
Jack Lynch, Rutgers University – Newark “Meleagris Gallopavo Day” is a bit of a mouthful. Which may be why this Thanksgiving, most people will opt for the less ornithologically precise “Turkey Day.” And just as turkey is a versatile meat – think of those leftover options! – so too is the word “turkey,” which can […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Why is turkey the main dish on Thanksgiving?
Troy Bickham, Texas A&M University 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 did turkey become the national Thanksgiving go-to dish? Gianna, age 10, Phoenix, Arizona Have you ever wondered why Thanksgiving revolves around turkey and not […]
Posted inSports
What to watch for when you are watching the World Cup: Essential reads for on and off the field
Matt Williams, The Conversation Whether you call it “soccer” or “football,” the beautiful game is enjoyed by fans around the world. And every four years, it is celebrated in a monthlong spectacle: the World Cup. This time around, proceedings will start on Nov. 20 in host nation Qatar – something that has caused understandable consternation […]
Posted inArts & Culture
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ continues the series’ quest to recover and celebrate lost cultures
Julian C. Chambliss, Michigan State University As someone who teaches and writes about Afrofuturism, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” I’m particularly excited about the introduction of Namor and the hidden kingdom of Talokan, which he leads. The first “Black Panther” film adhered to a longstanding practice in Afrofuturist stories […]