The Conversation U.S.
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If so, please consider donating to our fall fundraising campaign.
As a thank-you, you’ll receive a downloadable e-book from our series on bold ideas for tackling the housing crisis.
donate.theconversation.com/us?utm_campa...
#Detroit seniors were paid $120 a month for their time to join a research project, then saw their rent subsidies decrease by the same amount.
A cautionary story about research and unintended harm:
buff.ly/lCExWXk 🧪
A cautionary story about research and unintended harm:
buff.ly/lCExWXk 🧪
Some hard-earned lessons from Detroit on how to protect the safety net for community partners in research
Stipends paid to residents had unintended consequences.
buff.ly
January 21, 2026 at 9:06 AM
#Detroit seniors were paid $120 a month for their time to join a research project, then saw their rent subsidies decrease by the same amount.
A cautionary story about research and unintended harm:
buff.ly/lCExWXk 🧪
A cautionary story about research and unintended harm:
buff.ly/lCExWXk 🧪
Pope Leo XIV’s Jubilee message echoes a long Christian tradition: hope as trust, endurance and responsibility toward others. buff.ly/KY7KGsV
What ‘hope’ has represented in Christian history – and what it might mean now
From ancient Greek myths to Scripture and papal teachings, Christianity has long wrestled with hope.
theconversation.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:28 AM
Pope Leo XIV’s Jubilee message echoes a long Christian tradition: hope as trust, endurance and responsibility toward others. buff.ly/KY7KGsV
Opera isn’t dead yet but it is mismanaged, writes a labor economist.
Operate ticket sales fell 21% since 2019, but 59% of under-35s streamed classical music during COVID. Opera companies need to pass the baton to a new generation of fans and conduct their business in new way
Operate ticket sales fell 21% since 2019, but 59% of under-35s streamed classical music during COVID. Opera companies need to pass the baton to a new generation of fans and conduct their business in new way
Opera is not dying – but it needs a second act for the streaming era
Updated management practices and monetized digital production could help opera companies rely less on subscriptions and big donors for revenue – bolstering budgets.
buff.ly
January 21, 2026 at 5:35 AM
Opera isn’t dead yet but it is mismanaged, writes a labor economist.
Operate ticket sales fell 21% since 2019, but 59% of under-35s streamed classical music during COVID. Opera companies need to pass the baton to a new generation of fans and conduct their business in new way
Operate ticket sales fell 21% since 2019, but 59% of under-35s streamed classical music during COVID. Opera companies need to pass the baton to a new generation of fans and conduct their business in new way
Iran’s regime keeps closing universities. History shows why: Campuses are where dissent turns into protest movements. buff.ly/id3s2jY
Iran’s universities have long been a battleground, where protests happen and students fight for the future
Iranian universities have long been places of reform and political imagination – as well as targets of censorship and repression.
theconversation.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:48 AM
Iran’s regime keeps closing universities. History shows why: Campuses are where dissent turns into protest movements. buff.ly/id3s2jY
Nepal’s rural villages are being hollowed out of young people.
One warning sign: an increase in bear attacks on the elderly. buff.ly/dnQPORH
One warning sign: an increase in bear attacks on the elderly. buff.ly/dnQPORH
January 21, 2026 at 3:22 AM
Nepal’s rural villages are being hollowed out of young people.
One warning sign: an increase in bear attacks on the elderly. buff.ly/dnQPORH
One warning sign: an increase in bear attacks on the elderly. buff.ly/dnQPORH
Brazil’s Supreme Court jailed ex-president Bolsonaro for plotting a coup — then upgraded his cell. The court may be defending its own power as much as defending democracy.
buff.ly/xMRKjbU #polisky #Brazil
buff.ly/xMRKjbU #polisky #Brazil
What triumphalist narratives about Brazil’s high court and Bolsonaro imprisonment leave out
However, there is a more profound lesson we can learn from Brazil: Democracy depends on more than institutions.
buff.ly
January 21, 2026 at 2:28 AM
Brazil’s Supreme Court jailed ex-president Bolsonaro for plotting a coup — then upgraded his cell. The court may be defending its own power as much as defending democracy.
buff.ly/xMRKjbU #polisky #Brazil
buff.ly/xMRKjbU #polisky #Brazil
Make Denmark mad. Make Norway mad. Make NATO nervous.
Trump’s Greenland ambitions could do more than offend allies, they could unravel a world order that was built over 80 years and largely kept the peace. buff.ly/DpbuG0Y
Trump’s Greenland ambitions could do more than offend allies, they could unravel a world order that was built over 80 years and largely kept the peace. buff.ly/DpbuG0Y
Trump’s Greenland ambitions could wreck 20th-century alliances that helped build the modern world order
How the US treats its allies has been a crucial question for every president. What evolved over the centuries into an official embrace of friendly nations is now being reversed by Donald Trump.
theconversation.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:47 AM
Make Denmark mad. Make Norway mad. Make NATO nervous.
Trump’s Greenland ambitions could do more than offend allies, they could unravel a world order that was built over 80 years and largely kept the peace. buff.ly/DpbuG0Y
Trump’s Greenland ambitions could do more than offend allies, they could unravel a world order that was built over 80 years and largely kept the peace. buff.ly/DpbuG0Y
Iran’s universities have long been a battleground, where protests happen and students fight for the future
Iran’s universities have long been a battleground, where protests happen and students fight for the future
Iranian universities have long been places of reform and political imagination – as well as targets of censorship and repression.
buff.ly
January 20, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Iran’s universities have long been a battleground, where protests happen and students fight for the future
AI cannot automate science – a philosopher explains the uniquely human aspects of doing research
AI cannot automate science – a philosopher explains the uniquely human aspects of doing research
While AI can streamline certain parts of the scientific process, a philosopher argues that it cannot replace human expertise and collaboration.
buff.ly
January 20, 2026 at 8:48 PM
AI cannot automate science – a philosopher explains the uniquely human aspects of doing research
What air pollution does to the human body
What air pollution does to the human body
The EPA is changing how it assesses proposed regulations by dropping the monetary value of health benefits from its cost-benefit analyses. That misses a big piece of the picture.
buff.ly
January 20, 2026 at 8:22 PM
What air pollution does to the human body
Opera is not dying – but it needs a second act for the streaming era buff.ly/oyOoT4m
January 20, 2026 at 7:48 PM
Opera is not dying – but it needs a second act for the streaming era buff.ly/oyOoT4m
Shared mourning doesn’t just express grief but it builds lasting social bonds, according to a team of psychologists and anthropologists:
theconversation.com/the-hidden-p...
theconversation.com/the-hidden-p...
The hidden power of grief rituals
Grief can inspire concrete acts of loyalty and generosity.
theconversation.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Shared mourning doesn’t just express grief but it builds lasting social bonds, according to a team of psychologists and anthropologists:
theconversation.com/the-hidden-p...
theconversation.com/the-hidden-p...
What a bear attack in a remote valley in Nepal tells us about the problem of aging rural communities
What a bear attack in a remote valley in Nepal tells us about the problem of aging rural communities
Lack of opportunities are driving young people away from rural villages, leaving fewer people to scare away the wildlife.
buff.ly
January 20, 2026 at 6:22 PM
What a bear attack in a remote valley in Nepal tells us about the problem of aging rural communities
A new flu variant, subclade K, is driving record cases, according to an emergency room pediatrician. This strain is hitting children especially hard, with some running fevers above 104° and ending up hospitalized at unusually high rates. buff.ly/8tA3WD0 #Superflu 🩺🧪
New variant of the flu virus is driving surge of cases across the US and Canada
A particularly infectious subvariant of influenza is keeping emergency room numbers high and causing especially severe illness in children.
buff.ly
January 20, 2026 at 5:14 PM
A new flu variant, subclade K, is driving record cases, according to an emergency room pediatrician. This strain is hitting children especially hard, with some running fevers above 104° and ending up hospitalized at unusually high rates. buff.ly/8tA3WD0 #Superflu 🩺🧪
From bilingual workshops to comics and podcasts, scientists from marginalized communities are redefining science communication as relationship-building, not just information sharing. buff.ly/nDa1EtR
Science is best communicated through identity and culture – how researchers are ensuring STEM serves their communities
Scientists have traditionally focused on educating the public on science or correcting misinformation. But researchers from marginalized communities often have broader goals in science communication.
buff.ly
January 20, 2026 at 3:24 PM
From bilingual workshops to comics and podcasts, scientists from marginalized communities are redefining science communication as relationship-building, not just information sharing. buff.ly/nDa1EtR
Raccoons break into liquor stores, scale skyscrapers and pick locks. A behavioral neuroscientist explains what we've been missing about one of the animal kingdom's most underestimated minds. buff.ly/Uxj7boZ
Raccoons break into liquor stores, scale skyscrapers and pick locks – studying their clever brains can clarify human intelligence, too
Trash pandas’ talent for escaping via lab vents may frustrate researchers, but their problem-solving skills make their brains a fascinating area of research.
buff.ly
January 20, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Raccoons break into liquor stores, scale skyscrapers and pick locks. A behavioral neuroscientist explains what we've been missing about one of the animal kingdom's most underestimated minds. buff.ly/Uxj7boZ
Reposted by The Conversation U.S.
Students were encouraged to inform on their teachers... in the Soviet Union.
"A growing threat to #academicfreedom: Students who act as informants and police their classes and professors for signs of political incorrectness."
#AcademicSky
theconversation.com/theres-an-in...
"A growing threat to #academicfreedom: Students who act as informants and police their classes and professors for signs of political incorrectness."
#AcademicSky
theconversation.com/theres-an-in...
There’s an intensifying kind of threat to academic freedom – watchful students serving as informants
Restricting academic freedom is often thought of in terms of universities telling professors what they can and cannot do or teach. But that isn’t the only scenario.
theconversation.com
January 18, 2026 at 9:49 PM
Students were encouraged to inform on their teachers... in the Soviet Union.
"A growing threat to #academicfreedom: Students who act as informants and police their classes and professors for signs of political incorrectness."
#AcademicSky
theconversation.com/theres-an-in...
"A growing threat to #academicfreedom: Students who act as informants and police their classes and professors for signs of political incorrectness."
#AcademicSky
theconversation.com/theres-an-in...
Reposted by The Conversation U.S.
“It’s also a reminder that time to steer the direction of AI development away from private exploitation and toward public benefit is quickly running out.”
OpenAI says it will start experimenting with putting ads in the free version of ChatGPT.
This could be the start of AI companies data-mining their users the way social media companies do – and taking it a step further.
This could be the start of AI companies data-mining their users the way social media companies do – and taking it a step further.
Could ChatGPT convince you to buy something? Threat of manipulation looms as AI companies gear up to sell ads
AI companies are gearing up to follow the social media model of monetizing their platforms through advertising. The danger for consumers with AI goes beyond data privacy to covert manipulation.
buff.ly
January 19, 2026 at 1:56 PM
“It’s also a reminder that time to steer the direction of AI development away from private exploitation and toward public benefit is quickly running out.”
Reposted by The Conversation U.S.
Long but very interesting read.
US military has a long history in Greenland, from mining during WWII to a nuclear-powered Army base built into the ice
US military has a long history in Greenland, from mining during WWII to a nuclear-powered Army base built into the ice
History also shows that many of the fanciful engineering ideas for Greenland failed because they misjudged the island’s harsh climate and dynamic ice sheet.
buff.ly
January 19, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Long but very interesting read.
Reposted by The Conversation U.S.
“Mars dust storms are many times larger and taller than this large terrestrial dust devil photographed in a valley near Las Vegas. Fernando Saca, University of Michigan”
January 20, 2026 at 5:32 AM
“Mars dust storms are many times larger and taller than this large terrestrial dust devil photographed in a valley near Las Vegas. Fernando Saca, University of Michigan”
One year in, the Trump administration has rolled back civil rights enforcement wherever it could—removing Smithsonian exhibits, restoring Confederate monuments, and enabling employer discrimination, a law professor explains. buff.ly/UJJFsI9
12 ways the Trump administration dismantled civil rights law and the foundations of inclusive democracy in its first year
At its one-year mark, the Trump administration is dismantling the systems that once helped the US move toward a more open and equal democracy.
buff.ly
January 20, 2026 at 1:07 PM
One year in, the Trump administration has rolled back civil rights enforcement wherever it could—removing Smithsonian exhibits, restoring Confederate monuments, and enabling employer discrimination, a law professor explains. buff.ly/UJJFsI9
Americans check their phones over 140 times daily. And reading comprehension scores are declining.
Pausing for just a few seconds to critically evaluate information can counteract the mental habits that make us susceptible to misinformation, according to a literacy expert. buff.ly/XMSkj6d
Pausing for just a few seconds to critically evaluate information can counteract the mental habits that make us susceptible to misinformation, according to a literacy expert. buff.ly/XMSkj6d
Deep reading can boost your critical thinking and help you resist misinformation – here’s how to build the skill
Reading comprehension scores are tanking, and fewer Americans are picking up books. But practicing deep reading can help you process content more carefully and keep you from falling for…
buff.ly
January 20, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Americans check their phones over 140 times daily. And reading comprehension scores are declining.
Pausing for just a few seconds to critically evaluate information can counteract the mental habits that make us susceptible to misinformation, according to a literacy expert. buff.ly/XMSkj6d
Pausing for just a few seconds to critically evaluate information can counteract the mental habits that make us susceptible to misinformation, according to a literacy expert. buff.ly/XMSkj6d
History shows Republicans will face an uphill battle in this year’s House elections. The only 2 modern presidents whose parties gained seats were Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
buff.ly/r6zb0BI
buff.ly/r6zb0BI
January 20, 2026 at 11:48 AM
History shows Republicans will face an uphill battle in this year’s House elections. The only 2 modern presidents whose parties gained seats were Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
buff.ly/r6zb0BI
buff.ly/r6zb0BI
Supreme Court justices are currently weighing arguments over whether many of Trump’s tariffs are constitutional.
A trade economist argues how Trump acted poses a threat to “economic democracy” – decision-making that incorporates the viewpoints of everyone affected by the decision.
A trade economist argues how Trump acted poses a threat to “economic democracy” – decision-making that incorporates the viewpoints of everyone affected by the decision.
Supreme Court is set to rule on constitutionality of Trump tariffs – but not their wisdom
Justices are currently looking at whether Trump’s tariffs are constitutional. But that ruling won’t shed any light on whether they are wise.
buff.ly
January 20, 2026 at 9:06 AM
Supreme Court justices are currently weighing arguments over whether many of Trump’s tariffs are constitutional.
A trade economist argues how Trump acted poses a threat to “economic democracy” – decision-making that incorporates the viewpoints of everyone affected by the decision.
A trade economist argues how Trump acted poses a threat to “economic democracy” – decision-making that incorporates the viewpoints of everyone affected by the decision.
Chavismo, the ideology named after former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, has adapted before – but can Venezuela’s leftist ideology become US friendly and survive? A former UK diplomat who met with Chávez himself explores the possibilities. buff.ly/w2lku5O
Chavismo has adapted before – but can Venezuela’s leftist ideology become US friendly and survive?
The ideology named after former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez became more authoritarian under Nicolás Maduro. Can the country’s new leader steer it back toward democracy?
theconversation.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:28 AM
Chavismo, the ideology named after former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, has adapted before – but can Venezuela’s leftist ideology become US friendly and survive? A former UK diplomat who met with Chávez himself explores the possibilities. buff.ly/w2lku5O