The Conversation U.S. - News written by researchers and scientists to help you understand

a hand in a 'halt' pose pokes out from a door

Civility requires the willingness to engage – a dispute with a neighbor revealed how much motivation matters

Deborah Mower, University of Mississippi

illustration of people in colonial garb with muskets

How did it feel to be an American colonist in 1776? Probably itchy, achy and slightly nauseated

Katherine Ott, Smithsonian Institution

As a major heat wave grips the eastern US, here’s how to stay safe – and the heat stroke warning signs to watch for

Brian Bossak, College of Charleston

A person uses a fan as they wait in line to purchase Broadway tickets in Times Square, during a heat advisory in New York, May 19, 2026.

From Augustine to Jefferson, the idea of separating church and state has deep religious and secular roots

Steven K. Green, Willamette University

Black and white sketches of two men shown side by side.

Banning transgender girls from school sports affects all children – why allowing strangers to scrutinize children’s bodies may put all girls at risk of harassment

Megan Gandy, West Virginia University

Aerial view of four small figures standing on a track, their shadows extending before them

Alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs, yet its presence is ubiquitous in social settings and celebrations

Emma Fenske, Oregon Health & Science University

Seven highball glasses of alcoholic drinks in red, white and blue sitting on a table.

How health insurers get a free pass to deny coverage from a 52-year-old law meant to protect worker pensions

Miranda Yaver, University of Pittsburgh

An envelope from which an Insurance claim document peeks out, stamped DENIED.

Supreme Court bars states from protecting consumers if federal agencies won’t

Sarah J. Morath, Wake Forest University

Plastic containers of the Roundup weed killer sit on a store shelf.

Military voters were at the heart of the Supreme Court’s mail-in ballot decision

Jamie Rowen, UMass Amherst

A uniformed service member at a table marking a paper ballot

‘In the end the court did its job’ – a former federal judge reviews a Supreme Court term full of momentous decisions

John E. Jones III, Dickinson College

The top of a large white building with pillars.

Get context to understand the news, in your inbox daily or weekly

Subscribe to our newsletters

Delegates at the signing of the U.S. Constitution

As the US turns 250, a forgotten founding influence helps explain its current unease

Robert A. Ballingall, University of Maine

A crumbling sidewalk with green grass on either side.

Why Denver stopped treating sidewalk repair as a DIY project – lessons for other cities and homeowners

Wes Marshall, University of Colorado Denver

An image of the Teton Mountains and a large rock glacier.

You’ve never heard of these glaciers, but they’re becoming critical climate havens as America’s iconic mountain glaciers and their water fade

Dan McGrath, Colorado State University; Ashlesha Khatiwada, Colorado State University, and Scott Hotaling, Utah State University

How a box set from 1964 attempted to capture the sweep of American music from the colonial era to the counterculture

Ted Olson, East Tennessee State University

black and whgite photograph of a man singing and playing banjo in a crowded room

Canada’s little-known role in helping to spur American independence in 1776

Sarah M.S. Pearsall, Johns Hopkins University

A painting depicting a battlefield scene.

Supreme Court rules against trans girls participating in single-sex sports, but leaves open larger questions of trans rights

Marie-Amelie George, Wake Forest University

A group of people are seen from behind, with their arms around one another and protest signs, in from of the Supreme Court building.

In rebuke to Trump, Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, emphasizing the promise of equality in the Declaration of Independence

Morgan Marietta, University of Tennessee

A federal building with white columns appears behind tree branches.

As key trade talks start, the US-Mexico relationship will likely limp along – but at a cost

Pamela K. Starr, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

A worker wearing protective gear welds metal at a steel tank factory in Mexico City.

How public celebrations quietly remake what it means to be American

Catherine Simpson Bueker, Emmanuel College

Several members of a Laotian heritage group march in a parade, carrying American flags

200 years after his birth, controversial composer Stephen Foster still sings to America’s contradictions

Christopher Lynch, University of Pittsburgh

Three separate copies of sheet music, with the one in the middle titled 'Massa's In De Cold Ground' and attributed to Stephen C. Foster.

Data center fights pit social values, democracy and capitalism against each other

Lauren Mullenbach, University of Michigan

A view of open grassland with a barn and a sign reading 'No data center.'

Read all our latest articles

Join the 1,746 readers who give monthly to fund fact-based journalism

I'll pitch in

The Supreme Court

A judge's gavel resting on a pile of money.

Political parties can now spend unlimited money supporting candidates, after Supreme Court overturns decades of precedent

John J. Martin, Quinnipiac University

In 2 landmark decisions, the Supreme Court expands gun rights for concealed carry holders and casual drug users

Morgan Marietta, University of Tennessee

US Supreme Court opens the courthouse door to lawsuits tied to Cuba’s property seizures 6 decades after the fact

Manuel A. Gómez, Florida International University

Two cars, one very old and the other new fill up their tanks.

Supreme Court rules your cellphone location data is protected by the Fourth Amendment

Anne Toomey McKenna, Penn State

aerial view of commercial and retail buildings and parking lots

Why a Supreme Court case over a haircut could be a setback for religious liberty

Charles J. Russo, University of Dayton

A white building with tall, white pillars on the front, seen through leafy green branches.

U.S.-Iran war

Several ships appear with a motorboat on a stretch of ocean.

The danger of US-Iran ceasefire agreement is what it leaves out

Monica Duffy Toft, Tufts University

Trump’s US-Iran ceasefire deal is a costly return to prewar conditions – and resolving nuclear questions will run into the ‘indivisibility problem’

Farah N. Jan, University of Pennsylvania

How are Saudis viewing the US-Iran war? Our polling suggests Gulf kingdom is split on key issues

Robert Kubinec, University of South Carolina and Alexis Montambault-Trudelle, Université Laval

A group of people in traditional Saudi dress walk up stairs.

In Iran war’s shadow, Israel’s renewed Lebanon campaign risks repeating failed lessons – and occupations – of the past

Asher Kaufman, University of Notre Dame

The war in Iran – again – points to the strategic shortcomings of assassination as policy of foreign affairs

Brian O'Neill, Georgia Institute of Technology

Men with guns stand in front of a large poster at a rally.

World Cup

World Cup propels surveillance to new heights

Anne Toomey McKenna, Penn State

Does the World Cup favor democratic or autocratic nations? I did some number crunching to find out

John A. Tures, LaGrange College

Two giant flags are seen on a football pitch.

How Messi, Mbappe and Haaland use their brains (as well as feet) to gain a psychological edge at the World Cup

Eric Zillmer, Drexel University

A man in a red soccer kit sits on the grass.

Is soccer taking over America … or are Americans taking over football?

Kirk Bowman, Georgia Institute of Technology

Two soccer fans wear patriotic English and American clothing and face paint.

We ran 100,000 computer simulations of the World Cup. And the winner will be …

Achim Zeileis, University of Innsbruck

An octopus sits on. abox with a yellow and red flag.

250th anniversary of American revolution

Silhouettes of people watching a fireworks show, with several bursts in the sky above

Fireworks, heat and drought put this July 4th at high risk for wildfires

Lauren Lowman, Wake Forest University

How a tiny Caribbean island made American independence possible

R. Grant Gilmore III, College of Charleston

painting of a ship approaching St. Eustatius

Muslims were part of America’s story long before the republic began

Iqbal Akhtar, Florida International University

Men and women stand in separate rows, bowing their heads in prayer.

2026 isn’t the first time Christians have tried to claim the United States as their own

David Mislin, Temple University

A Christian cross set against the backdrop of the American flag.

The US founders’ other revolutionary choice: Separating religion and government

Peter C. Mancall, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

A painting of men in formal suits, many of them wearing wigs, gathered in a high-ceilinged room with green curtains.

Extreme weather and natural disasters

A family sits outside in the shade on a hot day

Heat waves can leave homes dangerously hot – even for young, healthy adults

Zoltan Nagy, Eindhoven University of Technology

Heat waves increase wildfire risk – a new study explains how much, and it’s not a small number

Dmitri Kalashnikov, University of California, Merced; Cong Yin, University of California, Merced; Madhulika Gurazada, University of California, Merced, and Mukesh Kumar, University of California, Merced

El Niño is back, and ocean temperatures are already near record highs – that can spell disaster for fish and corals

Dillon Amaya, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Wildfires are reversing America’s progress on ozone pollution, the main ingredient in smog

Weizhi Deng, University of Iowa; Jun Wang, University of Iowa, and Meng Zhou, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

People stand on a train platform in very smoky, orange air.

Federal flood insurance carries 2 moral hazards – which you face depends largely on how wealthy you are

Ivis García, Texas A&M University

Waterfront mansions on Miami Beach, Florida.

Are you an academic expert who wants to share your knowledge?

Pitch an article

International

Aid workers rescue a woman strapped to a stretcher while descending a pile of rubble.

Aid is on the way after Venezuela’s earthquakes, but it’s not clear how quickly it can get there

Dulce Suarez, Florida International University

Americans are not as well off as people in peer nations – US safety net’s shortfalls show up in global data

Stephen Bagwell, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Susan Randolph, University of Connecticut

A tattered American flag flies from a flagpole.

Venezuela’s deadly earthquakes happened on a fault similar to the San Andreas, and the risks aren’t over yet – a geophysicist explains

Sylvain Barbot, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

A woman holds a boy as they stand in front of a collapsed building

The forgotten story of abolition in revolutionary France – the first emancipation

Jeremy D. Popkin, University of Kentucky

A sculpture depicting the breaking of chains.

Israel’s ‘campaign between the wars’: How strategy to contain Iran and its allies risks further straining ties with US

Amy McAuliffe, University of Notre Dame

A soldier with a large gun is seen looking out the roof of an armored car.

New research in health and science

How young coquí frogs balance the competing demands of growth and fighting disease

Zuania Colón-Piñeiro, University of Florida; Ana V. Longo, University of Florida; Miguel A. Acevedo, University of Florida, and Nich W. Martin, University of Florida

Melatonin can be a safe and effective sleep aid for all ages – but product inconsistencies and improper dosing lead to real harms

Sally Ibrahim, Case Western Reserve University

A child sleeps peacefully, holding a teddy bear.

Quantum sensors could spot hidden damage in the thousands of US bridges rated ‘structurally deficient’

Alex Krasnok, Florida International University

First new US sunscreen ingredient since 1999 approved by FDA – a skin scientist explains how bemotrizinol works

Guy German, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Close-up of hands applying sun cream under a bright blue sky.

The world agreed to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 – but marine protection can’t be judged by area alone

Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, Oregon State University and Ana K. Spalding, Smithsonian Institution

Artificial intelligence

A robot finger and a human finger are about to touch

8 principles from human ecology can help AI work for human well-being

Dipesh Navsaria, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Lori DiPrete Brown, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Soyeon Shim, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The art of literary translation exposes the limits of AI

Krupa Shandilya, Amherst College

Anyone can fake a scientific image with AI, tricking even academic journals – and undermining trust in science

Nan Li, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Why sophrosyne, an ancient Greek virtue, matters more than ever in the age of AI

Ross Channing Reed, Missouri University of Science and Technology

A yellow cartoon of a brain rests on one side of a perfectly balanced beam, set against a teal backdrop.

How Pennsylvania towns are protecting themselves from the noise, heat and utility costs of massive data centers

Michael Helbing, Penn State

Man stands on front porch above yellow sign that says 'No Data Centers'

Our partners and funders

The Conversation is a nonprofit organization and our work is made possible by the generosity of our readers, foundations, and university and college members. They make it possible for us to bring this journalism to the public without paywalls or licensing fees.

View all our partners and funders

View all our Founding Partners

View all our Funding Partners

View all our Member Partners

Find out more about us