Who we are

We publish trustworthy and informative articles written by academic experts for the general public and edited by our team of journalists.

On this website (and through distribution of our articles to thousands of news outlets worldwide), you’ll find explanatory journalism on the events, discoveries and issues that matter today. Our articles share researchers’ expertise in policy, science, health, economics, education, history, ethics and most every subject studied in colleges and universities. Some articles offer practical advice grounded in research, while others simply provide authoritative answers to questions that sparked our curiosity.

The Conversation U.S. is part of a global group of news organizations founded in Australia in 2011 by Andrew Jaspan, a former newspaper editor who wanted to encourage academics to engage with the public, and Jack Rejtman. Jaspan led the U.S. launch in October 2014. Our main newsroom is in Boston, with editors working remotely in cities across the country.

There are also editions in Africa, Australia, Canada, France, Indonesia, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The Conversation arose out of deep-seated concerns for the fading quality of our public discourse and recognition of the vital role that academic experts could play in the public arena.

Information has always been essential to democracy. It’s a societal good, like clean water. But many now find it difficult to put their trust in the media and experts who have spent years researching a topic. Instead, they listen to those who have the loudest voices. Those uninformed views are amplified by social media networks that reward those who spark outrage instead of insight or thoughtful discussion.

The Conversation U.S. seeks to be part of the solution to this problem, to raise up the voices of true experts and to make their knowledge available to everyone.

The Conversation’s editorial process is deliberate and collaborative. Our editors pay close attention to the news environment to identify the issues citizens are concerned about. They reach out to leading scholars across academia and work with them to help them share their knowledge with the broad public.

Through a Creative Commons license, we distribute our articles – at no charge – to news organizations across the geographic and ideological spectrum. We pay particular attention to strengthening news organizations that are severely underresourced. The Associated Press distributes our content daily to thousands of newsrooms.

Importantly, The Conversation U.S. is committed to transparency and credibility. Authors are allowed to write only on subjects in which they have proven expertise. They must sign a disclosure statement outlining any relevant funding or affiliations. We disclose all of The Conversation U.S.’s funders on our homepage and elsewhere. Our goals are summed up in our editorial charter.

Our approach has hit a responsive chord: After growing steadily since our launch, our readership has soared since the pandemic began in early 2020. Today, The Conversation U.S. has published scholars at more than 900 colleges and universities and more than 12,000 articles sharing their expertise on subjects from astronomy to Zoroastrianism.

If you are a scholar interested in writing for us, please send us a pitch.

Our major funding comes from the generous support of foundations and universities, as well as readers, for which we are grateful. If you value The Conversation’s journalism, we would appreciate your donation.